Digital Maps of the Ancient World

Cerberus

Cerberus wasn’t your average guard dog. This monstrous creature, often depicted with three ferocious heads, served as Hades’ loyal gatekeeper. He patrolled the underworld, ensuring the dead never escaped their eternal fate.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1024px-Herakles_Kerberos_Eurystheus_Louvre_E701.jpg
Heracles presenting Cerberus to a frightened Eurystheus hiding in a giant pot. Caeretan hydria, c. 530 BC. The Louvre.

Parents: Echidna and Typhon

n one of his most renowned labors, Heracles, the mighty demigod, descended into the Underworld to capture Cerberus, the three-headed guardian hound of Hades. This wasn’t a feat of strength alone. Legend whispers of Persephone’s intervention, allowing Heracles to bypass brute force and ultimately overpower the beast, dragging it back to the realm of the living as proof of his daring.