Who killed Cerberus?
No one killed Cerberus in Greek mythology. However, the three-headed guard dog of Hades was captured by Heracles for his Twelfth Labor.[1] Alternatively, there was a suitor of Penelope (the wife of Odysseus) by the name of Cerberus who was killed by Odysseus upon his return to Ithaca, but there’s no indication they were the same character.
What is Cerberus?
Cerberus is a multi-headed guard dog of the Greek Underworld. He is most commonly depicted with three heads. He is among several Greek creatures one could find in the Underworld.
Where does Cerberus live?
Cerberus lives in the Underworld as a loyal hound of Hades.
When was Cerberus released?
The Greek mythical beast Cerberus was never released from the Underworld. However, there was a popular Fortnite skin titled “Cerberus” that was released in March 2024.
Why does Cerberus exist?
Cerberus exists to stop souls from leaving the Underworld and to stop the living from entering. Thus, he plays a vital role in maintaining the balance between the realms of the living and of the dead.
How did Cerberus come to be?
Cerberus is one of the monstrous offspring of Typhon and Echidna. He first entered the written record in the 8th century BCE as “the hound of Hades.”
Origins and Family of Cerberus
Cerberus was first acknowledged in the Greek mythological narrative in the eighth century BCE, in Homer’s Iliad. Though he is described as simply “the hound of Hades,” adjacent works, such as Hesiod’s Theogony, explain that Cerberus was one of the monstrous offspring of Typhon and Echidna.[2]
Thus, his siblings reportedly include the guardian of Geryon’s cattle, the two-headed canine Orthrus, the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera, the sea monster Scylla, the 100-headed dragon Ladon, the Gorgons (including the Gorgon Medusa), and the Nemean Lion.
Within the family tree of the Greek gods, Cerberus was most closely related to the primordial deities of the sea Phorcys and Ceto through his mother, Echidna. Depending on his father Typhon’s origin, Cerberus could also be immediately descended from Gaia and Tartarus (or Hera).
Role in Greek Mythology
Cerberus’s role in Greek mythology was to guard the gates of the Underworld. He was responsible for stopping the spirits of the dead from leaving the Underworld and for preventing the living from entering. Accordingly, Cerberus was vital in maintaining the natural balance between life and death via his stalwart efforts to separate the realms of the living and the dead.
Several sources note Cerberus’s loyalty to Hades, the king of the Underworld. After all, Hades had given Cerberus his position after he took dominion over the Underworld following the Titanomachy and the division of power amongst the Olympians. The two are frequently described as having mutual respect for one another in myth and contemporary interpretations.
Cerberus was also loyal to Persephone, the queen of the Underworld and the goddess of spring. Persephone would annually cross the entrance to Hades, Cerberus’s post, on her way to the realm of the living to bring about spring.
Physical Appearance, Powers, and Symbolism
Cerberus has been described as having three heads, a serpentine tail, and a lion-like body. As is the case with many other Greek mythological creatures, Cerberus has quite the appearance.
The number of his heads varies from source to source, with Pindar stating he had one hundred heads; to Hesiod, he had fifty; however, the popular consensus is that Cerberus had three heads. In one rare sixth-century BCE depiction, Cerberus had a single head and appeared as a normal dog.
Cerberus having multiple heads supports his role in the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. They allow him to see in all directions, making him the ultimate sentinel. Other unique features attributed to Cerberus—such as a mane of snakes and a triple-forked tongue—emphasize his vicious nature.
His many heads emphasized his role as a guardian of the Underworld. Snakes, which emerge from his body as a frightening mane, have acted as symbols of the Earth, the Underworld, and chthonic deities since time immemorial.
Cerberus can be counted among other canines associated with the Underworld in the ancient folklore of comparative cultures.[3] Dogs were—and are—seen as loyal and fierce creatures. In myths, they frequently acted as psychopomps or guardians of the deceased. Dogs’ association with the afterlife can be found in Egyptian mythology, Norse mythology, Germanic mythology, Mesoamerican mythology, and Han Dynasty Chinese culture.
The meaning behind Cerberus’s role and appearance was carefully crafted by the ancient Greeks to convey particular symbolism. Cerberus represents the passage between life and death and, through his relationship with Hades, symbolizes loyalty. He was a dog because, to put it simply, they were fierce and loyal.
Myths Featuring Cerberus
Cerberus appears in a handful of myths detailing various heroes’ journeys to the Underworld. In each of these tales, Cerberus acts as a roadblock between the hero and their final destination.
Heracles and the Twelfth Labor
Heracles captured Cerberus for his Twelfth Labor, assigned to him by his rival, King Eurystheus. It is safe to say that Eurystheus didn’t care to see the hellhound himself (who would, honestly?), but he saw it as the most impossible task ever. It was his final hoorah in trying to stump the demigod.
Heracles was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries to prepare for his journey to the Underworld. The cult venerated the goddesses Demeter and Persephone (identified as Kore), with an emphasis on the myth of Persephone’s kidnapping by Hades. The Eleusinian Mysteries focused on mortality, death, and rebirth—things likely at the forefront of Heracles’s mind when preparing for his treacherous journey.
Once initiated, Heracles went on his twelfth and final Labor. Just how Heracles obtained Cerberus remains a hot topic, but the most popular explanation is that he merely asked Hades to borrow him. According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, Hades was content to let Cerberus accompany Heracles out of the Underworld if the hero could master him without his weapons. Heracles was totally game and wrangled Cerberus into submission with nothing but his famous lion’s pelt.[4]
After Cerberus was presented to King Eurystheus, Heracles returned him to the Underworld unharmed.
Orpheus’s Journey
The heroic bard Orpheus encountered Cerberus when he traveled to the Underworld to rescue his wife, Eurydice. Since Orpheus had to pass Cerberus to reach the Underworld, he had to get creative. He knew that were he to fight, he would lose. So, Orpheus did what Orpheus does best: he sang. The melody Orpheus performed for Cerberus lulled the monstrous guard dog to sleep, which gave him ample time to sneak past.
While Orpheus couldn’t successfully help Eurydice escape the Underworld in the end, he was celebrated as one of the few living beings to cross paths with Cerberus and survive. His bold venture into Hell and his return were celebrated in Orphism, a mystery cult that sought to interrupt the cycle of life and death.
Orpheus’s journey to the Underworld is explored through a contemporary lens in the musical Hadestown. In the song “Wait for Me,” the character of Hermes narrates the trials Orpheus would face while attempting to descend into the hellish Hadestown. One such challenge references Cerberus:
River Styx is high and wide
Cinder bricks and razor wire
Walls of iron and concrete
Hound dogs howling ’round the gate
Those dogs’ll lay down and play dead
If you got the bones, if you got the bread
But if all you got is your own two legs
Just be glad you got ’em.
Aeneas and Cerberus
Cerberus appears in Roman mythology in Virgil’s Aeneid. The Aeneid tells the tumultuous story of refugees after the Trojan War being led by the Trojan prince Aeneas, a demigod son of Aphrodite. Within the Aeneid, Aeneas needs to descend into the Underworld to receive a prophetic vision from his deceased father, Anchises. Aeneas approaches the gates of the Underworld with the Cumaean Sibyl, a seeress priestess of Apollo at the colony of Cumae.
Thankfully for Aeneas, Sibyl has a clever way around Cerberus. She presents the guardian with a honeyed herb loaf infused with “drowsy essence.” Once the well-fed canine lies down for a nap, Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl could sneak past.
Depictions in Ancient Art and Literature
In ancient Greek art and literature, Cerberus is depicted as a large, vicious dog with multiple heads. He would often have a mane of writhing snakes.
Cerberus has been reimagined many times in Greco-Roman literature, most of which inspired ancient art. To the Latin authors Virgil and Ovid, Cerberus was a three-headed monstrosity covered in snakes with a serpent for a tail. The Greek poet Pindar famously claimed that Cerberus had one hundred heads. Meanwhile, much more is left up to the imagination of earlier Greek authors Homer and Hesiod, who refer to him only by his role: “the hound of Hades.”
Ancient artwork didn’t capture Cerberus’s ascribed “one hundred heads” by Pindar, but most art did give him at least three. There is a record of a lost Corinthian cup that depicts Cerberus with one head and a handful of pottery on which he has two.
Most surviving art of Cerberus shows his role in Heracles’s Twelfth Labor; he is either being tamed by the hero or shown off to Eurystheus.
Cerberus in Modern Culture
From books to movies to video games, passing Cerberus has been a constant requirement for entry into the Underworld—or an Underworld adjacent. Contemporary media loves using the imagery of the old dog and what he represents as a challenge a protagonist must encounter.
For example, Dante’s Divine Comedy had Cerberus reside in the third circle of Hell as that realm’s endlessly hungry tormentor; much remains the case with the action-adventure video game Dante’s Inferno.
In the Harry Potter franchise, there is no Cerberus, but there is a three-headed dog named Fluffy who guards the trap door that leads to the Philosopher’s Stone. There’s also no Hades, but there is a pretty menacing Dark Lord. The titular character, Harry Potter, and his friends have to figure out a way to pass Fluffy. They discover that—like the Cerberus of myth—Fluffy is downright weak to a good song.
Cerberus also appears in the God of War video game series—of course. However, in God of War, Cerberus is a classification of beasts encountered across a handful of the games. There are also several types of Cerberus, all of which are threatening.
Naturally, almost any and all media regarding the myth of Heracles has a reference to Cerberus. The guard dog is featured in Disney’s Hercules and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1999). He also has his own horror flick, Cerberus (2005), a Sci-Fi Original.
Wrapping Up the Tale of Cerberus
Cerberus, the steadfast guard dog of the Underworld, was tasked with preventing the dead from escaping and stopping the living from entering. In mythology, art, and literature, Cerberus embodies the fear of the unknown (representing death and what comes after) and the literal security he represents.
Throughout various myths, Cerberus’s role and portrayal have evolved, but his existence remains an essential part of ancient stories. After all, he was the ancient Greeks’ interpretation of the boundary between life and death.
As a creature of power and unwavering loyalty, Cerberus remains a frightening representation of the borders between worlds.
References
- Perseus Digital Library. n.d. “Hercules’ Twelfth Labor: Cerberus.” Perseus Digital Library. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/cerberus.html.
- Crane, Gregory R., ed. 1914. “Hesiod, Theogony.” Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D304.
- TalkDeath. 2022. “Dogs in the Afterlife: Ancient History, Myths and Religious Beliefs.” TalkDeath. https://talkdeath.com/dogs-afterlife-ancient-history-myths-and-religious-beliefs/.
- Frazer, James George, trans. 1921. “Apollodorus, Library.” N.p.: Harvard University Press. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D12.