The origin of the Nemean Lion is not certain. Some say he was the son of either Typhon or the Chimera and the dog Orthros. Some say the moon goddess Selene gave birth to the lion and let it fall to Earth near a two-mouthed cave at Nemea. She set it against the people because they had failed to properly observe her worship. Some say that Hera had Selene create the lion from sea foam and that Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, carried it to Nemea. Others say the lion was the son of the snake goddess Echidna and her son, the dog Orthos. This would make the lion a brother to the Sphinx of Thebes. Hera was said to have brought the lion from the eastern land of the Arimoi and to have released it near Nemea.