lion were excavated in Hungary and in Ukraine's Black Sea region, which are estimated at around 5,500 to 3,000 years old. Remains were also found in Romania and European Turkey. Historic range of Panthera leo In Southeast Europe, the lion inhabited part of the Balkan Peninsula, up to Hungary and Ukraine during the Neolithic period. It survived in Bulgaria until the 4th or 3rd century BC. Around 1000 BC, it became extinct in the Peloponnese. It disappeared from Macedonia around the first century AD, from Western Thrace not before the 2nd century AD and from Thessaly possibly in the 4th century AD; Themistius regretted that no more lions could be furnished for beast-shows. In Transcaucasia, the lion was present until the 10th century. The peak of its historic range covered all of the plains and foothills of eastern Transcaucasia, westward almost to Tbilisi in modern Georgia. Northwards, its range extended through the eastern Caucasus, from the Apsheron Peninsula to the mouth of the Samur River near the current Azerbaijan-Russia border, extending to the Araks river. From there, the boundary of its range narrowly turned east to Yerevan in modern Armenia, with its northern boundary then extending westward to Turkey. In culture Lions feature in ancient Greek mythology and writings, including the myth of the Nemean lion, which was believed to be a supernatural lion that occupied the sacred town of Nemea in the Peloponnese. Homer mentioned lions 45 times in his poems, but this could have been due to his experience in Asia Minor. Phalaecus, a tyrant of Amvrakia (modern-day Arta), was allegedly killed by a female lion due to his holding a newborn lion cub, after finding it on a hunting expedition. Conon refers to the myth of how Olynthus city got its name, when during around the period of the Trojan War, son of Strymon, Olynthos during a lion hunt was killed by a lion. According to Herodotus lions occurred between Achelous river and Nestus, being plentiful between Akanthos and Thermi. When Xerxes advanced near Echedorus in 480 BC, the troops' camels were attacked by lions. Xenophon stated around 400 BC that lions were hunted around Mount Kissos, Pangaio, the Pindus mountains and elsewhere. Aristotle in the 4th century BC provided some data on lion distribution, behaviour, breeding and also anatomy. According to him, lions were more numerous in North Africa than in Europe; they had approached towns,