Cerberus
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The most dangerous labor of all was the twelfth and
final one. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to the
Underworld and kidnap the beast called Cerberus.
The ancient Greeks believed that after a person died,
his or her spirit went to the world below and dwelled
for eternity in the depths of the earth. The Underworld
was the kingdom of Hades, also called Pluto, and his
wife, Persephone. Depending on how a person lived
his or her life, they might or might not experience
never-ending punishment in Hades. All souls, whether
good or bad, were destined for the kingdom of Hades.
Cerberus was a vicious beast that guarded the
entrance to Hades and kept the living from entering
the world of the dead. According to Apollodorus,
Cerberus was a strange mixture of creatures: he had
three heads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent for a
tail, and heads of snakes all over his back. Hesiod,
though, says that Cerberus had fifty heads and
devoured raw flesh.
Cerberus’ parents were the monster Echinda
(half-woman, half-serpent) and Typhon (a
fire-breathing giant covered with dragons and
serpents). Even the gods of Olympus were afraid of
Typhon.
Among the children attributed to this awful couple
were Orthus (or Othros), the Hydra of Lerna, and the
Chimaera. Orthus was a two-headed hound which
guarded the cattle of Geryon. With the Chimaera,
Orthus fathered the Nemean Lion and the Sphinx. The
Chimaera was a three-headed fire-breathing monster,
part lion, part snake, and part goat. Hercules seemed
to have a lot of experience dealing with this family:
he killed Orthus, when he stole the cattle of Geryon,
and strangled the Nemean Lion. Compared to these
unfortunate family members, Cerberus was actually
rather lucky.
Before making the trip to the Underworld, Hercules
decided that he should take some extra precautions.
This was, after all, a journey from which no mortal
had ever returned. Hercules knew that once in the
kingdom of Hades, he might not be allowed to leave
and rejoin the living. The hero went to Eleusis and
saw Eumolpus, a priest who began what were known
as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The mysteries were
sacred religious rites which celebrated the myth of
Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The ancients
believed that those who learned the secrets of the
mysteries would have happiness in the Underworld.
After the hero met a few conditions of membership,
Eumolpus initiated Hercules into the mysteries.
Hercules went to a place called Taenarum in Laconia.
Through a deep, rocky cave, Hercules made his way
down to the Underworld. He encountered monsters,
heroes, and ghosts as he made his way through Hades.
He even engaged in a wrestling contest! Then, finally,
he found Pluto and asked the god for Cerberus. The
lord of the Underworld replied that Hercules could
indeed take Cerberus with him, but only if he
overpowered the beast with nothing more than his
own brute strength.
A weaponless Hercules set off to find Cerberus. Near
the gates of Acheron, one of the five rivers of the
Underworld, Hercules encountered Cerberus.
Undaunted, the hero threw his strong arms around the
beast, perhaps grasping all three heads at once, and
wrestled Cerberus into submission. The dragon in the
tail of the fierce flesh-eating guard dog bit Hercules,
but that did not stop him. Cerberus had to submit to
the force of the hero, and Hercules brought Cerberus
to Eurystheus. Unlike other monsters that crossed the
path of the legendary hero, Cerberus was returned
safely to Hades, where he resumed guarding the
gateway to the Underworld. Presumably, Hercules
inflicted no lasting damage on Cerberus, except, of
course, the wound to his pride!