Cerberus

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This article is about the mythical dog. For other uses, see 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]
 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 multiple parts of his body.
Cerberus is primarily known for his capture by Heracles, one of Heracles' twelve
labours.

Contents

 1Descriptions
 2The Twelfth Labour of Heracles
o 2.1Theseus and Pirithous
o 2.2Capture
o 2.3Exit from the underworld
o 2.4Presented to Eurystheus, returned to Hades
 3Principal sources
 4Iconography
 5Etymology
 6Cerberus rationalized
 7Cerberus allegorized
 8Constellation
 9Snake genus
 10See also
 11Notes
 12References
 13External links

Descriptions[edit]
Descriptions of Cerberus vary, including the number of his heads. Cerberus was
usually three-headed, though not always. Cerberus had several multi-headed
relatives. His father was the multi snake-headed Typhon,[3] and Cerberus was the
brother of three other multi-headed monsters, the multi-snake-headed Lernaean
Hydra; Orthrus, the two-headed dog who guarded the Cattle of Geryon; and
the Chimera, who had three heads: that of a lion, a goat, and a snake. [4] And, like
these close relatives, Cerberus was, with only the rare iconographic exception,
multi-headed.
In the earliest description of Cerberus, Hesiod's Theogony (c. 8th – 7th century
BC), Cerberus has fifty heads, while Pindar (c. 522 – c. 443 BC) gave him one
hundred heads.[5] However, later writers almost universally give Cerberus three
heads.[6] An exception is the Latin poet Horace's Cerberus which has a single dog
head, and one hundred snake heads.[7] Perhaps trying to reconcile these
competing traditions, Apollodorus's Cerberus has three dog heads and the heads
of "all sorts of snakes" along his back, while the Byzantine poet John
Tzetzes (who probably based his account on Apollodorus) gives Cerberus fifty
heads, three of which were dog heads, the rest being the "heads of other beasts
of all sorts".[8]

Heracles, chain in left hand, his club laid aside, calms a two-headed Cerberus, which has a snake
protruding from each of his heads, a mane down his necks and back, and a snake tail. Cerberus is
emerging from a portico, which represents the palace of Hades in the underworld. Between them, a
tree represents the sacred grove of Hades' wife Persephone. On the far left, Athena stands, left arm
extended. Amphora (c. 525–510 BC) from Vulci (Louvre F204).[9]

In art Cerberus is most commonly depicted with two dog heads (visible), never
more than three, but occasionally with only one.[10] On one of the two earliest
depictions (c. 590–580 BC), a Corinthian cup from Argos (see below), now lost,
Cerberus was shown as a normal single-headed dog. [11] The first appearance of a
three-headed Cerberus occurs on a mid-sixth-century BC Laconian cup (see
below).[12]
Horace's many snake-headed Cerberus followed a long tradition of Cerberus
being part snake. This is perhaps already implied as early as in
Hesiod's Theogony, where Cerberus' mother is the half-snake Echidna, and his
father the snake-headed Typhon. In art Cerberus is often shown as being part
snake,[13] for example the lost Corinthian cup showed snakes protruding from
Cerberus' body, while the mid sixth-century BC Laconian cup gives Cerberus a
snake for a tail. In the literary record, the first certain indication of Cerberus'
serpentine nature comes from the rationalized account of Hecataeus of
Miletus (fl. 500–494 BC), who makes Cerberus a large poisonous snake.
[14]
 Plato refers to Cerberus' composite nature,[15] and Euphorion of Chalcis (3rd
century BC) describes Cerberus as having multiple snake tails, [16] and presumably
in connection to his serpentine nature, associates Cerberus with the creation of
the poisonous aconite plant.[17] Virgil has snakes writhe around Cerberus' neck,
[18]
 Ovid's Cerberus has a venomous mouth,[19] necks "vile with snakes",[20] and "hair
inwoven with the threatening snake",[21] while Seneca gives Cerberus a mane
consisting of snakes, and a single snake tail. [22]
Cerberus was given various other traits. According to Euripides, Cerberus not
only had three heads but three bodies, [23] and according to Virgil he had multiple
backs.[24] Cerberus ate raw flesh (according to Hesiod),[25] had eyes which flashed
fire (according to Euphorion), a three-tongued mouth (according to Horace), and
acute hearing (according to Seneca).[26]
The Twelfth Labour of Heracles[edit]

Athena, Hermes and Heracles, leading a two-headed Cerberus out of the underworld, as Persephone
looks on. Hydria (c. 550–500 BC) attributed to the Leagros Group (Louvre CA 2992).[27]

Cerberus' only mythology concerns his capture by Heracles. [28] As early

as Homer we learn that Heracles was sent by Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, to
bring back Cerberus from Hades the king of the underworld.[29] According
to Apollodorus, this was the twelfth and final labour imposed on Heracles. [30] In a
fragment from a lost play Pirithous, (attributed to either Euripides or Critias)
Heracles says that, although Eurystheus commanded him to bring back
Cerberus, it was not from any desire to see Cerberus, but only because
Eurystheus thought that the task was impossible.[31]
Heracles was aided in his mission by his being an initiate of the Eleusinian
Mysteries. Euripides has his initiation being "lucky" for Heracles in capturing
Cerberus.[32] And both Diodorus Siculus and Apollodorus say that Heracles was
initiated into the Mysteries, in preparation for his descent into the underworld.
According to Diodorus, Heracles went to Athens, where Musaeus, the son
of Orpheus, was in charge of the initiation rites,[33] while according to Apollodorus,
he went to Eumolpus at Eleusis.[34]
Heracles also had the help of Hermes, the usual guide of the underworld, as well
as Athena. In the Odyssey, Homer has Hermes and Athena as his guides.[35] And
Hermes and Athena are often shown with Heracles on vase paintings depicting
Cerberus' capture. By most accounts, Heracles made his descent into the
underworld through an entrance at Tainaron, the most famous of the various
Greek entrances to the underworld.[36] The place is first mentioned in connection
with the Cerberus story in the rationalized account of Hecataeus of Miletus (fl.
500–494 BC), and Euripides, Seneca, and Apolodorus, all have Heracles
descend into the underworld there.[37] However Xenophon reports that Heracles
was said to have descended at the Acherusian Chersonese near Heraclea
Pontica, on the Black Sea, a place more usually associated with Heracles' exit
from the underworld (see below).[38] Heraclea, founded c. 560 BC, perhaps took
its name from the association of its site with Heracles' Cerberian exploit. [39]
Theseus and Pirithous[edit]
While in the underworld, Heracles met the heroes Theseus and Pirithous, where
the two companions were being held prisoner by Hades for attempting to carry
off Hades' wife Persephone. Along with bringing back Cerberus, Heracles also
managed (usually) to rescue Theseus, and in some versions Pirithous as well.
[40]
 According to Apollodorus, Heracles found Theseus and Pirithous near the
gates of Hades, bound to the "Chair of Forgetfulness, to which they grew and
were held fast by coils of serpents", and when they saw Heracles, "they stretched
out their hands as if they should be raised from the dead by his might", and
Heracles was able to free Theseus, but when he tried to raise up Pirithous, "the
earth quaked and he let go."[41]
The earliest evidence for the involvement of Theseus and Pirithous in the
Cerberus story, is found on a shield-band relief (c. 560 BC) from Olympia, where
Theseus and Pirithous (named) are seated together on a chair, arms held out in
supplication, while Heracles approaches, about to draw his sword. [42] The earliest
literary mention of the rescue occurs in Euripides, where Heracles saves
Theseus (with no mention of Pirithous). [43] In the lost play Pirithous, both heroes
are rescued,[44] while in the rationalized account of Philochorus, Heracles was
able to rescue Theseus, but not Pirithous.[45] In one place Diodorus says Heracles
brought back both Theseus and Pirithous, by the favor of Persephone,[46] while in
another he says that Pirithous remained in Hades, or according to "some writers
of myth" that neither Theseus, nor Pirithous returned. [47] Both are rescued in
Hyginus.[48]
Capture[edit]

Athena, Heracles, and a two-headed Cerberus, with mane down his necks and back. Hermes (not
shown in the photograph) stands to the left of Athena. An amphora (c. 575–525 BC)
from Kameiros, Rhodes (Louvre A481).[49]

There are various versions of how Heracles accomplished Cerberus' capture.

[50]
 According to Apollodorus, Heracles asked Hades for Cerberus, and Hades told
Heracles he would allow him to take Cerberus only if he "mastered him without
the use of the weapons which he carried", and so, using his lion-skin as a shield,
Heracles squeezed Cerberus around the head until he submitted. [51]
In some early sources Cerberus' capture seems to involve Heracles fighting
Hades. Homer (Iliad 5.395–397) has Hades injured by an arrow shot by
Heracles.[52] A scholium to the Iliad passage, explains that Hades had
commanded that Heracles "master Cerberus without shield or Iron". [53] Heracles
did this, by (as in Apollodorus) using his lion-skin instead of his shield, and
making stone points for his arrows, but when Hades still opposed him, Heracles
shot Hades in anger. Consistent with the no iron requirement, on an early-sixth-
century BC lost Corinthian cup, Heracles is shown attacking Hades with a stone,
[54]
 while the iconographic tradition, from c. 560 BC, often shows Heracles using
his wooden club against Cerberus. [55]
Euripides, has Amphitryon ask Heracles: "Did you conquer him in fight, or receive
him from the goddess [i.e. Persephone]? To which, Heracles answers: "In fight",
[56]
 and the Pirithous fragment says that Heracles "overcame the beast by force".
[57]
 However, according to Diodorus, Persephone welcomed Heracles "like a
brother" and gave Cerberus "in chains" to Heracles. [58] Aristophanes, has
Heracles seize Cerberus in a stranglehold and run off, [59] while Seneca has
Heracles again use his lion-skin as shield, and his wooden club, to subdue
Cerberus, after which a quailing Hades and Persephone, allow Heracles to lead
a chained and submissive Cerberus away.[60] Cerberus is often shown being
chained, and Ovid tells that Heracles dragged the three headed Cerberus with
chains of adamant.[61]
Exit from the underworld[edit]
Hercules and Cerberus. Oil on canvas, by Peter Paul Rubens 1636, Prado Museum.

There were several locations which were said to be the place where Heracles
brought up Cerberus from the underworld.[62] The geographer Strabo (63/64 BC –
c. AD 24) reports that "according to the myth writers" Cerberus was brought up at
Tainaron,[63] the same place where Euripides has Heracles enter the underworld.
Seneca has Heracles enter and exit at Tainaron. [64] Apollodorus, although he has
Heracles enter at Tainaron, has him exit at Troezen.[65] The
geographer Pausanias tells us that there was a temple at Troezen with "altars to
the gods said to rule under the earth", where it was said that, in addition to
Cerberus being "dragged" up by Heracles, Semele was supposed to have been
brought up out of the underworld by Dionysus.[66]
Another tradition had Cerberus brought up at Heraclea Pontica (the same place
which Xenophon had earlier associated with Heracles' descent) and the cause of
the poisonous plant aconite which grew there in abundance.[67] Herodorus of
Heraclea and Euphorion said that when Heracles brought Cerberus up from the
underworld at Heraclea, Cerberus "vomited bile" from which the aconite plant
grew up.[68] Ovid, also makes Cerberus the cause of the poisonous aconite,
saying that on the "shores of Scythia", upon leaving the underworld, as Cerberus
was being dragged by Heracles from a cave, dazzled by the unaccustomed
daylight, Cerberus spewed out a "poison-foam", which made the aconite plants
growing there poisonous.[69] Seneca's Cerberus too, like Ovid's, reacts violently to
his first sight of daylight. Enraged, the previously submissive Cerberus struggles
furiously, and Heracles and Theseus must together drag Cerberus into the light. [70]
Pausanias reports that according to local legend Cerberus was brought up
through a chasm in the earth dedicated to Clymenus (Hades) next to the
sanctuary of Chthonia at Hermione, and in Euripides' Heracles, though Euripides
does not say that Cerberus was brought out there, he has Cerberus kept for a
while in the "grove of Chthonia" at Hermione.[71] Pausanias also mentions that at
Mount Laphystion in Boeotia, that there was a statue of Heracles Charops ("with
bright eyes"), where the Boeotians said Heracles brought up Cerberus. [72] Other
locations which perhaps were also associated with Cerberus being brought out of
the underworld include, Hierapolis, Thesprotia, and Emeia near Mycenae.[73]
Presented to Eurystheus, returned to Hades[edit]
In some accounts, after bringing Cerberus up from the underworld, Heracles
paraded the captured Cerberus through Greece. [74] Euphorion has Heracles lead
Cerberus through Midea in Argolis, as women and children watch in fear,
[75]
 and Diodorus Siculus says of Cerberus, that Heracles "carried him away to the
amazement of all and exhibited him to men." [76] Seneca has Juno complain of
Heracles "highhandedly parading the black hound through Argive cities" [77] and
Heracles greeted by laurel-wreathed crowds, "singing" his praises. [78]
Then, according to Apollodorus, Heracles showed Cerberus to Eurystheus, as
commanded, after which he returned Cerberus to the underworld. [79] However,
according to Hesychius of Alexandria, Cerberus escaped, presumably returning
to the underworld on his own.[80]

Principal sources[edit]

Cerberus, with the gluttons in Dante's Third Circle of Hell. William Blake.

The earliest mentions of Cerberus (c. 8th – 7th century BC) occur
in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and Hesiod's Theogony.[81] Homer does not name
or describe Cerberus, but simply refers to Heracles being sent by Eurystheus to
fetch the "hound of Hades", with Hermes and Athena as his guides,[82] and, in a
possible reference to Cerberus' capture, that Heracles shot Hades with an arrow.
[83]
 According to Hesiod, Cerberus was the offspring of the
monsters Echidna and Typhon, was fifty-headed, ate raw flesh, and was the
"brazen-voiced hound of Hades",[84] who fawns on those that enter the house of
Hades, but eats those who try to leave.[85]
Stesichorus (c. 630 – 555 BC) apparently wrote a poem called Cerberus, of
which virtually nothing remains.[86] However the early-sixth-century BC-
lost Corinthian cup from Argos, which showed a single head, and snakes growing
out from many places on his body,[87] was possibly influenced by Stesichorus'
poem.[88] The mid-sixth-century BC cup from Laconia gives Cerberus three heads
and a snake tail, which eventually becomes the standard representation. [89]