"Cerberus - 3-Headed Hound of Hades"

Definition: The three-headed, serpent-tailed dog Cerberus was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. In Hesiod's Theogony, Cerberus had not three, but fifty heads.

Cerberus was a fierce, pitiless, flesh-eating watchdog, stationed by the River Styx, from which post he would keep the living from entering the land of the dead. Even the gods feared Cerberus, but Hercules (Heracles), for his 12th Labor, had to kidnap the three headed dog and bring him to King Eurystheus. Vergil included in his Aeneid a trip to the Underworld, in which it was necessary for the Roman hero, Aeneas, to get past Cerberus. In Book VI of the Aeneid , the Sibyl threw tranquilizers to each of the three heads of Cerberus so Aeneas could pass in safety.

Orpheus and Psyche were two other mortals who managed to get by Cerberus.

Also Known As: Hell Hound, Hound of Hades

Alternate Spellings: Cerberos, Kerberos

Cerberus

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Cerberus the mythical three-headed dog. For other uses, see Cerberus (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos (Greek Κέρβερος, Kérberos, "demon of the pit") was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) called a hellhound. Other hell hounds included Orthus, his two headed brother. Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally, no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. In Dante's Inferno, he is described as having a human head. This symbolizes the possibility of Cerberus being more human than animal

Cerberus was overcome several times:

Heracles' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by wrestling it into submission.
Orpheus used his musical skills to lull Cerberus to sleep.
Hermes put him to sleep with water from the river Lethe.
In Roman mythology, the Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller entry to the underworld.
In a Roman tale, Psyche also lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.
In The Inferno, Cerberus punishes the gluttons and is passed by Virgil and Dante due to Virgil throwing into one of his mouths some of the putrid earth found in the Third Circle.

In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy, the recently excavated subterranean shrine was found to contain giant chains fixed to the wall for three large dogs before the entrance to the shrine of Hades and Persephone. The three dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient temple. ^{[ citation needed]}

Twelfth Labour of Heracles

Heracles and Cerberus. Detail of a Roman mosaic from Llíria (Spain).

In the last of his Twelve Labours, Heracles was to capture Cerberus from Hades , the God of the dead and the ruler of the Underworld. After having been given the task, Heracles went to Eleusis to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries so that he could learn how to enter and exit the underworld alive, and in passing absolve himself for killing centaurs. He found the entrance to the underworld at Tanaerum, and Athena and Hermes helped him to traverse the entrance in each direction. He passed Charon with Hermes's assistance and his own heavy and fierce frowning. Whilst in the underworld, Heracles freed Theseus, but the earth shook when he attempted to liberate Pirithous, so he had to leave him behind. They had been imprisoned by Hades, by magically binding them to a bench, because they had attempted to kidnap Persephone. The magic was so strong, that when Heracles pulled Theseus free, part of Theseus's thighs remained on the bench, explaining why his descendants had notably lean thighs. Heracles presented himself before the throne of Hades and Persephone and asked permission to take Cerberus, to which the gods agreed as long as Heracles did not harm the hound in any way. Some say Persephone gave her consent because Heracles was her own brother. In any case, Heracles wrestled the dog into submission and dragged it out of Hades, passing through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese. When he returned with Cerberus to the palace, Eurystheus , the man who had assigned the task to Heracles, was so afraid of the fearsome beast that he jumped into a pithos (large storage jar) to hide. From the spittle of the dog which fell upon earth, the first poisonous plants were born, including deadly aconite.