Cerberus
Return Home
Return to Mystical Creatures Page
In Greek mythology, the three-headed watchdog who guards the entrance to the lower world, the Hades. It is a child of the giant Typhon and Echidna, a monstrous creature herself, being half woman and half snake. Originally, the dog was portrayed having fifty or hundred heads but was later pictured with only three heads (and sometimes with the tail of a serpent). Cerberus permitted new spirits to enter the realm of dead, but allowed none of them to leave. Only a few ever managed to sneak past the creature, among which Orpheus, who lulled it to sleep by playing his lyre, and Heracles, who brought it to the land of the living for a while (being the last of his Twelve Labors). In Roman mythology, the Trojan prince Aeneas and Psyche were able to pacify it with honey cake. Cerberus was the guardian of the Greek Underworld, and a faithful servant of Hades (the god who ruled that gloomy realm). He was represented as a grotesque dog who had three heads (although the poet Hesiod claims that Cerberus had fifty heads - quite an extravagant number), all of which snarled at those foolish enough to attempt to leave the Underworld; the dog also had the tail of a serpent. According to legend, Cerberus was the result of the union of Echidna and Typhon, two beings that are best described as somewhat monstrous themselves. Additionally, he was the brother to both the Hydra and the Chimera, which further emphasizes his monstrous aspect. Cerberus is featured in several mythological stories in his role as the watchdog of Hades. Perhaps the best known involves the vigorous hero Herakles (or Hercules, if you prefer the more familiar Latinized version). Herakles underwent a series of Twelve Labors, one of which was to capture the fierce canine guardian and parade him around the Greek city of Mycenae for a bit, and then return the dog to Hades. This unbelievable stunt was in due course accomplished by the hero, although one would imagine that Cerberus did not enjoy it in the least. Another tale depicts the poet and singer Orpheus charming Cerberus by the power of his song, which emphasizes Orpheus's magical gifts of enchantment (indeed, Cerberus was notorious for not allowing mortals who were still alive to enter the Underworld, with the exception of a handful of mythological characters). Cerberus was a three-headed hound (although the poet Hesiod says he had 50) with snaky extremities and a snake for a tail. Cerberus was said to be the offspring of two monsters, Typhon (fire breathing serpent) and Echidna (commonly portrayed as an odd and unsettling juxtaposition of beautiful woman and deadly serpent also mother of the Sphinx and other motley assortment of monsters). Cerberus was the watchdog of the Greek underworld and faithful servant to Hades. He was charged with the job of devouring anyone trying to return to the land of the living and refused entrance to living humans. Like the Gorgons, Cerberus was so dreadful to behold that anyone that looked upon him was turned to stone. He was the brother to the Hydra and the Chimera. Cerberus is featured in several mythological stories in his role as the watchdog of Hades. One of the well known stories involves the Thracian singer, Orpheus, who was much revered in ancient Greece. He was happily married to the nymph, Eurydice. One day she died of a snake bite. Orpheus was so grief stricken by this sudden loss that he no longer sang or played. He decided to risk his own life in a desperate journey to the land of the dead in the forlorn hope of bringing Eurydice home. By using his miraculous music, Orpheus was able to charm the boatman Charon, who ferried him across the Styx. Even though Cerberus was diligent in his job of security, he abandoned his watchdog task and lay down meekly to the strains of Orpheus's lyre after which Orpheus was able to gain passage. Which emphasizes Orpheus's magical gifts of enchantment (indeed, Cerberus was notorious for not allowing mortals who were still alive to enter the Underworld, with the exception of a handful of mythological characters). Hades and his wife Persephone, granted Orpheus his only desire on one condition: under no circumstances was Orpheus to look back at Eurydice until both of them were completely returned to the land of the living. But so overcome was the singer by the love for his departed wife that just before they reached the surface, he could not resist a quick glance in the half-light. The result was that Eurydice turned into a ghost again and sank back to Hades' kingdom forever. Orpheus' own fate was to be dismembered by Thracian maenads, the female worshipers of Dionysus.
