Cerberus: The Lord Of Hades In Greek Mythology

There are many mythical creatures in Greek mythology. Cerberus was chosen by Hades from all the monsters that existed. Cerberus is the most important existence in the underworld. If there was no Cerberus, there would be complete chaos. There would be living in the land of the dead. He is the link from the mortal world to the underworld. None thought that Cerberus could be defeated, although Hercules wrestled that myth to the ground with the twelfth labour that Hera assigned. Cerberus, or the “Hound of Hades”, is the guardian of the gates of the underworld. He prevents the dead from leaving, and keeps the living out. Cerberus has 3 heads, a serpent for a tail, claws of a lion, and snakes that bulge out of various parts of his body.

She put Hercules in a confused and angry state of mind, which made Hercules kill his wife and kids. When Hercules awoke from the state of mind that he had been struggling with, he could not believe what he had done. Apollo answered Hercules’s prayers by giving him 12 tasks he had to complete, in punishment of the murders. The tasks were so difficult that they seemed impossible for any partial-mortal to complete. In the 12th year, and completing all of the previous 11 tasks, he had to face Cerberus. He was to capture Cerberus, and bring him back to Eurystheus. He found Pluto, and asked the god if he could have Cerberus. Pluto told Hercules that he could take Cerberus, if he could master him with nothing but his “brute strength” (Wikipedia, Perseustufts).

This did not shake Hercules. He is determined to accomplish the twelve labours that was given to him by Eurystheus. He found Cerberus near the gates of Acheron, one of the five rivers of the Underworld. He threw his arms around all three heads of Cerberus, and did not back down even when the serpent in the tail of Cerberus bit him. Cerberus was forced to submit to Hercules. Hercules was victorious. He was relieved of the mistakes he had made