The lion is the symbol of the Soul, as C. S. Lewis so ably shows us in his Narnia tales. Of the courage of the Soul.
Hercules is often shown wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion, which he defeated by tearing open its jaws.
Hercules is given Mythologically as a demigod, or a soul which is raised to the rank of the gods. This is a rarely bestowed honour. Dionysus and Perseus, share it with Hercules. Odysseus, who also visited the Underworld, as did Hercules, yet despite this is not given that exalted condition.
As images of the evolving self we have to consider what they demonstrate to us.
Hercules is also given in the tradition as the highest, the first expression of the One. Equivalent to, though not necessarily the same as, Phanes or Protogonus.
So Hercules encompasses the personality, the Soul and the highest expression.
This is symbolised in the club that Hercules is often shown carrying, e.g. as the Cerne Abbas giant!
The club shows the passage of the soul from its origin in the Divine into incarnation and back to its source. It is said the soul has two centres one below and the other above.
The Club Of Hercules
Seen from below, the light above, is seen as a star shining beyond the mouth of the well in which the personality lurks, or is bound. The hand holding the club is that of the Divine body of Hercules. He, like Indra stands as an exalted self, awoken to its Divine identity.
