Cerberus

For other uses, see Cerberus (Greek myth) and Cerberus (disambiguation).

Heracles, wearing his characteristic lion-skin, club in right hand, leash in left, presenting a three-headed Cerberus, snakes coiling from his snouts, necks and front paws, to a frightened Eurystheus hiding in a giant pot. Caeretan hydria (c. 530 BC) from Caere (Louvre E701).[1]

In Greek mythology, Cerberus (/ˈsɜːrbərəs/[2] or /ˈkɜːrbərəs/; Greek: Κέρβερος Kérberos [ˈkerberos]), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and was usually described as having three heads, a serpent for a tail, and snakes protruding from his body. Cerberus is primarily known for his capture by Heracles, the last of Heracles' twelve labours.

  1. ^ LIMC Herakles 2616 Archived 10 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine (Smallwood, pp. 92, 98); Ogden 2013b, p. 63; Ogden 2013a, p. 105; Gantz, p. 22; Perseus Louvre E 701 (Vase).
  2. ^ "Cerberus". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 16 July 2009.