Read the following passage and answer the questions

Conveying bravery and awe, lions have been appropriated since the earliest times as gods and symbols of leadership. They have also been co-opted into the service of commerce and subjected to numerous affronts to their stateliness.

LIONS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

To the ancient Mesopotamians, Gilgamesh was a powerful figure who may have been a king. In an epic poem about his reign, he strangled a magical lion with his bare hands. Also, the god Lamassu was shown as a winged lion while the goddess of love, Inanna-Ishtar, had a lion as one of her symbols.

One of the 12 labors of the Greek god Heracles (Hercules to the Romans) was to kill the Nemean lion, a creature of incredible ferocity. Its fur was so strong no knife or spear could penetrate it, but Heracles, channeling Gilgamesh, dispatched the beast by strangling it.

Lions were also mythologized by the Greeks as drawing the chariots of a variety of deities, and acting as protectors of homes.

The Ancient Egyptians also venerated the lion; the Sphinx statue at Giza has the head of a man and the body of a lion. Egyptians also represented the goddess Sekhmet as a lion whose task was to destroy the wicked and protect the good.

The Bible contains several stories involving lions, such as Daniel in the lion's den while Samson does Gilgamesh and Heracles by killing a lion with his hands. Then, there's the story of Saint Mark being fed to lions but the animals refused to eat the proffered meal and curled up at the feet of the evangelist.

The Lion as a Marketing Tool

• Manufacturers have shamelessly recruited lions as a sales tool; well, they're not going to use snakes, spiders, or rats are they?
• The Lion Motor Car Company of Adrian, Michigan, was a short-lived—1909-1912—foray into the growing automobile business. A fire pretty much finished off the business;
• You can “elevate your shower experience” with Iron Lion Soap
• Lion cereal is from Nestlé—it has “A unique combination of chocolate and caramel created to feed your wild hunger.” 
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) has used eight roaring lions (the first one didn't roar) as a trademark since the first one was employed in 1924.
• C.S. Lewis gave us Aslan in his Narnia book series.

Why have Lions been considered a symbol of bravery?

Because of their bravery and awe 

The correct answer is OPTION 1 - Because of their bravery and awe

The passage states in the opening sentence that lions "convey bravery and awe" and have been used as gods and symbols of leadership since ancient times. Their strength and fearlessness in myths and religious texts further reinforce this perception.

While mythological references exist, the primary reason lions symbolize bravery is their inherent qualities of strength and majesty, making the first option the most appropriate choice.