Recently we went on a trip to the met museum and explore the culture of greek, india and china.  In the picture above is a statue of a lion that was found in the greek section.  The way the lion was created revolve around the egyptian influence on it.  The lion was more leaner than the usual lion seen in real life. This is meant to symbolize the definition of strength. The lion rely upon it ability to move around to fight its adversary. Lion are often symbol of guardian that protect something. In this case it is the guardian of a large tomb.

This lion statue is in the china section of the museum. The lion show here is much more muscular than the previous one. The lion rely only on sheer power to fight.  The lion in this case is not a fully lion but a chimera. Chimera as mythology states is mix of a lion, goat, snake and a dragon.  The lion here primarily focus on the features of a dragon since it from china. Dragon play a huge part in china culture. Usually lion in china are not seen as guardian to a tomb. They are more like the gatekeeper for a palace or kingdom.

David Yang,