Big cats have been part of many culture's myths and folklore. Here I have a collection of some from different regions. I've written them in story form when possible (meaning those I could find in story format). Others are simple explanations of big cats in mythology. All stories have been slightly abridged, giving the main points of each and leaving out some of the smaller details so as to not directly copy the story as it was written in my sources. Keep in mind that the following therefore are only a summary of the main essence of what each story is about.

The lion took many forms in ancient Egyptian mythology. For instance, it was said that the sun rose in the east over the backs of two lions which represented the mountains. This symbol was referred to as the 'double lion' and was considered a form of the sun god Ra.

One of the more famous representations of a lion is the lioness goddess Sekhmet, who's name roughly means 'the terrible'. One legend involves the destruction of mankind by the lioness and how she was finally subdued.

This legend is actually the second part of a creation myth. I will include a brief summary of the beginning:

The sun god Ra was said to have created the earth and men. It was also said that Ra ruled over mankind for nearly 1,000 years. The part of the legend involving the lioness goddess Sekhmet begins in the later years of Ra's reign .

The creator god Ra had reigned over humanity for many years. The people were beginning to complain that he had grown old and frail, and plotted to organize a rebellion against him. When Ra heard of this , he organized a council of the gods to ask their advice. It was suggested that Ra send his eye to earth in the form of the lioness goddess Sekhmet.

This was done, and the lioness roamed about earth killing men and women and drinking their blood. When Ra was satisfied that those who plotted against him were destroyed, he asked Sekhmet to end her destruction. The lioness however refused, and continued killing saying she enjoyed her task.

Ra now feared mankind would be completely destroyed. He sent for his servants, and asked that they bring him large amounts of pomegranates. These were crushed and placed into several vessels of beer. The vessels were then poured over the fields where Sekhmet could find the liquid. She mistook it for the blood of humans and drank it. She then became too drunk to continue her killing , and mankind was spared.

The following story is a form of fairy tale from South Africa

At one time, the lion was able to fly. He had wings like those of a bat, and no animal could escape him as he swooped down to grab his prey. He was always careful not to break the bones of his prey. No one knew why, but all were too afraid to ask. The lion would keep these bones in his lair. This lair was guarded by two white crows raised by the lion himself. Each day as he went to hunt, the crows were instructed to remain at the entrance of the lair and guard the precious bones from trespassers that might break them.

One day while the lion was away hunting, a bullfrog came to the entrance of the lair. He asked the crows why they were there. They responded that they were instructed to guard the lions bones. The bullfrog then said, "You must be tired of sitting around all day, why don't you let me guard this lair so you can fly for a while." The crows, seeing that the lion was not around, agreed and flew off.

The bullfrog then went in to the lion's lair and broke all of the bones, for he was curious as to why the lion was so careful to keep them intact. When the crows returned and found the bones broken, they feared for their lives. They told the bullfrog, "Now the lion will surely kill us!" The bullfrog just hopped away to his pond. The crows were angry with the bullfrog and followed him, trying to peck him. The bullfrog then told them, "If the lion become angry, tell him I broke the bones. If he wants to punish me he can come here to find me."

Meanwhile, the lion was preparing to attack his prey. When he tried to pounce, he found he could no longer fly. Now the lion became angry and let out a loud roar, and returned to his lair where he found the crows. "Who has been allowed to break my bones!? I'll bite off your heads for this!" The frightened crows replied that it was the bullfrog and began to fly away. The lion then tried to catch them, but since he could no longer fly himself was only able to leap at them. the crows laughed, "He's unable to fly!" and flew off to tell the other animals what had happened.

The angry lion then went after the bullfrog to punish him. When he reached the pond, he crept up slowly on the bullfrog, and pounced. The bullfrog, however, dove into the water and emerged on the other side. This continued for a while, but each time the lion pounced, the bullfrog would leap into the water and emerge on the other side. To this day, the lion has learned to creep up slowly on his prey. As for the bullfrog, whenever he sees a lion, he will jump into the water where he hides and laughs.

Although the hero in the next story is the traditional African trickster character rabbit, it illustrates the portrayal of the lion as a powerful ruler in his role as villain.

There was a certain valley with a town where all the predators lived. They lived in their town a long time, killing the other animals and brining them back to be eaten. None of the other animals dared to enter the valley for fear they would be eaten themselves.

Rabbit decided he would go to the valley, since there was food there for him to gather and eat. All the other animals warned Rabbit not to go there, but he simply told them "I will see to it that the fierce animals chase each other out."

So Rabbit set out to work on a plan. First, he forged the largest bell he could out of iron. Then he went to his hen house and gathered a huge amount of eggs. Rabbit then went to the water hole near the village of the predators and hid in the reeds, waiting.

Lion, the chief of the village, had sent his servants out to fetch water so they could prepare his food. Fox was the first to arrive at the water hole. When Rabbit saw Fox coming, he began to ring his bell, which was so large it made a terrible racket. Fox stared into the reeds, wondering what the noise was. Rabbit then threw a rotten egg, hitting Fox in the head. "Touch your head! Smell it!" Rabbit then yelled. When Fox did this, he thought something had broken his head open. Terrified, he ran back to the village.

When he returned, he told Lion what had happened. "Something terrible is near the water! It has broken open my head!" Lion was angry with him, "Coward! There is no such thing hiding near the water!"

So it was then Hyena who was sent to the water hole. Again , Rabbit rang his bell. When Hyena also waited to see what the noise was, Rabbit again threw a rotten egg. It hit Hyena in the head, and Rabbit said, "Touch it! Smell it!" Hyena too then thought his head had been broken open, and he also ran back to tell Lion. "Fox was right! There is something terrible hiding by the water!'

Lion was angry with his subjects, "I will go myself and prove there is nothing to be afraid of by the water!" So Lion went down to the water hole where Rabbit was hiding. When he reached the water hole, Lion let out a loud roar. "My bell is louder than that!" Rabbit said, and with that began ringing the bell. When Lion heard the racket, he was afraid, as was his followers. "My people were right, there is something terrible here!" When he started to run, Rabbit again threw a rotten egg, hitting Lion in the head. Lion also thought his head was broken open, and ran back to the village in terror.

When the animals saw their chief running, they all abandoned their village. In their haste, they forgot the medicine bag which helped them to hunt the other animals. Lion decided that Hyena should return to get the bag and bring it to him. So Hyena came to the abandoned village, retrieved the medicine bag, and quickly ran to his chief. What he did not know, however, was that Rabbit had hidden himself in the bag with his bell.

When Hyena met up with the others, Rabbit again rang his bell from inside the bag. "He's followed us!" Lion cried, and the animals again began to run. As they ran, Lion fell and tumbled into a gully and thought he had broken his neck. He tried again to escape, and ran again with all his followers away from the village. The predators were so frightened that Lion forbade anyone to return to the village they abandoned. From then on, the other animals were free to travel to the valley without fear of Lion and his fierce followers.

The following are some short fables including big cats. Each has the typical depiction's of big cats as symbols of strength and nobility.

Once the animals were arguing over who was the greatest. It was decided that the number of offspring each had was a good measure of how great they were. Each bragged about the number they had. "I have two calves!" The cow bragged. The fox challenged her, "I have three kits, so I must be greater than you!" The fox was in turn challenged by the bird, who claimed, "Well, I have five chicks!" The rabbit then challenged them all, "I have twenty children, more than any of you. I must be the greatest!" None of the animals could top that number, and it was agreed that rabbit was the greatest by all except the lioness.

The lioness had not spoken at all, and the angry rabbit challenged her, "If I am not greater than all other animals, how about you? How many children do you have!?" To this the lioness proudly answered , "Only one, but I am still Queen of the Beasts." This angered the rabbit. "How can you claim to be a queen with only one little cub?" The lioness then told her, "True, I don't have nearly as much children as you. But your offspring will grow into little rabbits, while my one cub will grow into a powerful lion." The rabbit then saw the truth in this, and no longer claimed greatness.

the moral of the story : Quantity is not always quality.

Sources: "Legends of the Egyptian Gods" E. A. Wallis Budge. Dover Publications edition 1994, New York.
"The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead" Translated by R. O Faulkner. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1994.
"African Folktales" Retold by Roger D. Abrams. Pantheon, New York, 1983.