Greek Gods

According to Greek Mythology, Cerberus was a giant three headed dog with the tail of a snake and with snake heads coming out of it’s back. Cerberus was the guard to the entrance of the Underworld ( also known as Hades). Some versions of this creature said it has the tail of a dragon. Cerberus would allow all spirits to enter Hades but would not allow them to leave so there were very few heroes who ever escaped his guard. The poet and musician known as Orpheus charmed him with his lyre while trying to rescue Eurydice from death. The Greek hero we know as Hercules captured the beast and took it to the surface of the earth for a short while to show him to King Eurystheus as a request from the king. This was one of twelve tasks that Hercules had to do for the king. This was his last labor he had to do for the king. According to Roman mythology, there was a beautiful maiden named Psyche and also the Trojan prince Aeneas were able to pass through Hades by giving Cerberus with a honey cake. In some pictures Cerberus is shown with a mane of snake heads on his back and fifty heads where one head should be.

Cerberus was the offspring of Typhoeus and Echidna. Echidna was a female creature which was half nymph and half speckled snake. Typhoeus was a fire breathing dragon with a hundred heads and they never stopped moving and never rested. Cerberus was related the brother of Chimaera and the Hydra. Chimaera was a creature with three heads. One was the head of a goat, one was the head of a lion, and the other head was that of a snake. The front part of the body was that of a lion, the other part of the body was that of a goat, and the tail was that of a snake. The Hydra had the body of a serpent and had (depending on which source you get your information from) anywhere from five to one hundred heads. This is also one of the tasks that Hercules had to conquer. The creature was destroying the Lake Lerna area and would devour herds of cattle or kill many townspeople. Hercules, along with the help of his nephew Iolaus destroyed the Hydra.

Cerberus and his relatives were just a few of the many Greek creatures or monsters which were believed to have existed in the Ancient Greek era. Not all of the creatures or giants known were bad, some of them were guards or servants to some of the gods or goddesses.