Description
Cerberus, or Karberos, is depicted as a large black dog with multiple heads. Hesiod and Homer describe him as impossibly large. Hesiod describes him with 50 heads, snakes in his mane and down his back, culminating in a serpent’s tail. Pindar describes Cerberus with 100 heads. Later ancient Greeks describe the hound of Hades with only three heads, snakes growing down his back, and a venomous serpent’s tail.
He is a child of Echidna, the mother of monsters, and Typhon, a Titan. He has no known offspring.
Home/Habitat
Cerberus is the guard of the gates to Hades in the Underworld. When spirits arrive, they must pass past Cerberus to enter. Cerberus guards the gates both ways- he prevents the living from entering the Underworld before their time. He also prevents the spirits of the dead from escaping and returning to the land of the living. He is mainly successful, except for in the cases of Hercules, Orpheus, Aeneas, and Odysseus.
Cerberus in Myth
Cerberus, as the “Hound of Hades”, featured in most myths involving mortals and the underworld. Hercules, as the last of his twelve labors, had to present Cerberus to King Eurystheus. Hades allowed him to make the attempt, but Hercules could not use any weapons. Hercules managed to wrestle the dog into submission and presented him to King Eurystheus, who hid in terror and demanded that the dog be returned.
Orpheus was able to lull Cerberus into sleep with his music, on his quest to rescue Eurydice.
Odysseus managed to completely avoid Cerberus by using a different entrance to the Underworld. Rather than use the main “River Styx” entrance, Circe has him use a different river to enter.
Aeneas drugged Cerberus with honey cakes, drugging the dog into a stupor long enough to sneak into the underworld.