Leo (constellation) thus, the warriors' clubs, swords, and spears were rendered useless against it. Realizing that he must defeat the Lion with his bare hands, Hercules slipped into the Lion's cave and engaged it at close quarters. When the Lion pounced, Hercules caught it in midair, one hand grasping the Lion's forelegs and the other its hind legs, and bent it backwards, breaking its back and freeing the trapped maidens. Zeus commemorated this labor by placing the Lion in the sky. The Roman poet Ovid called it "Herculeus Leo" and "Violentus Leo". "Bacchi Sidus" (star of Bacchus) was another of its titles,
Leo the Lion (MGM) in use since 1957 (a total of years), was actually named "Leo". Slats, trained by Volney Phifer, was the first lion used for the newly formed studio. Born at the Dublin Zoo on March 20, 1919, and originally named Cairbre, Slats was used on all black-and-white MGM films between 1924 and 1928. The original logo was designed by Howard Dietz and used by the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation studio from 1916 to 1923 (see left). Goldwyn Pictures was ultimately absorbed into the partnership that formed MGM, and the first MGM film that used the logo was "He Who Gets Slapped" (1924).