Cerberus in Greek mythology. The three-headed monster Cerberus, the infernal protector of the underworld. In literature, art and science

Cerberus- a terrible monster, inspiring horror with one of its appearance. A powerful, strong, bestial body with three dog heads, frightening with a terrible grin of sharp fangs. A poisonous liquid flows from their mouths. On the back of the monster, instead of wool, venomous snakes writhe, ready at any moment to mortally sting. And to top it off - on the tail is the head of a monstrous dragon.

Cerberus owes its birth to a pair of some of the most disgusting creatures in history: Tephon (who had a hundred dragon heads, part of a human torso and writhing rings of snake bodies instead of legs) and a half-woman, half-snake Echidna. Cerberus had brothers and sisters as creepy as he was: Orc - a dog with two heads and tails, the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra and. But it was the three-headed monster that was one of the mother's favorite cubs. From an early age, a parent tempered her child in an unbearably blazing flame of a fire-breathing volcano, which was supposed to bring eternal life.

For the ancient Greeks, the name Kerberos has always been associated with the word danger. Meeting him initially meant grief and death. After all, it was this monster who was entrusted with the mission of protecting the entrance to the realm of eternal oblivion, the territory of the dead. It was not in vain that Hades set just such a killer beast to meet the dead. When new arrivals appeared, the dog could joyfully wag his ugly tail, welcoming the new souls of the unfortunate. But up to a certain point, no one managed to get out of the eternal darkness. A terrible dog ruthlessly tore to shreds those who dared to make an escape.

Some sources say that even the new inhabitants of the kingdom Cerberus sought to bite when they met. In order to somehow appease the impregnable guard, it was customary to put a honey delicacy - gingerbread - into the coffin of the deceased.

By the way, in his Aeneid, Virgil mentions how Sibylla lulled Cerberus to sleep, feeding him the same sweet treat, after soaking him with hypnotic herbs, which put the animal to sleep and allowed Aeneas to enter the forbidden zone for the living.

In mythology, few cases are known when it was possible to break through such a powerful guard of a giant dog. Orpheus is described as one of the daredevils, who madly wanted to bring his beloved Eurydice back to life. Only thanks to his sweet-voiced singing, the young man managed to put the guard to sleep and pass the barrier. Unfortunately, it was not possible to break the girl out of the captivity of Hades, but Orpheus was one of the few who successfully managed to leave the kingdom of the dead.

Another mythical hero who visited the afterlife is the famous Hercules. He promised King Eurystheus that he would bring Cerberus to him. The great son of Zeus managed to persuade Hades to release the dog with him into the wild. To do this, Hercules needed to deal with the evil guard with his bare hands, without using any weapons. The fight was not for life, but to death: the head of the dragon, located on the tail of Cerberus, mercilessly bit the attacker, the snakes tried to sting with death-bearing stings. Hercules had to apply all his remarkable strength in order to win. He did not release his hands, closed around the dog's neck, until the dog fell at his feet in exhaustion.

Once on the surface of the earth and caught in the sun's rays, the animal raged and raged, growling and writhing. Saliva dripped onto the ground from its jaws, gaping in a terrible growl. A poisonous herb called aconite grew in these places. Despite everything, the winner kept his promise and delivered Cerberus to the eyes of King Eurystheus. He was in indescribable horror at the sight of the three-headed monster and ordered the monster to be sent back to the dark kingdom.

Cerberus, also known as "Hound of Hades", is many-headed dog, which guards the gates of the underworld.

Although it devours anyone who tries to pass by, there is more to this creature than monstrous appearance and terrible activity.

Physical Description

As you might expect from a dog that guards the gates to the underworld, Cerberus is terrible monster. It has the body of a dog with shaggy bronze or black fur, but it ends with some normality of this monster.

At Cerberus there are several heads. Usually there are three, although some writers describe as many as a hundred with "eyes that flash fire" and three tongues in each of the mouths. Most argue that all these heads look like a dog.

Cerberus Tail slowly turns into a snake with a poisonous head at the end, from whose body others grow.

Some writers claim that these snakes form a mane around the head, while others describe the reptiles growing from the monster's spine or dangling all over the body like matted fur.

Personality

Despite his nightmarish appearance and position at the gates of the underworld, Cerberus is not a demonic being.

First of all, this mighty the dog was faithful. She was deeply devoted to her master named Hades.

Therefore, when he decided to make Cerberus one of the guardians of his kingdom, the monster also became devoted to his duties. The dog does two things: he does not allow living souls to enter the underworld, and the dead to leave it.

Anyone who tried to break those rules and slip past Cerberus was sure to be torn apart. Meanwhile, it is worth remembering that it was his duty given by the owner, not the accidental killing of innocent victims.

Cerberus able to be loving and affectionate and also loyal. The Greek writers portrayed him as "crouching" for the new souls that arrived in the underworld, greeting them with excited love.

The dog also had special relationship with Persephone, which was allowed to freely enter the underworld.

Legends of Cerberus

Adoption

Although Cerberus spent most of his life under the care of Hades, he was actually born at Typhon and Echidna.

Typhon was the deadliest monster in Greek mythology, being a huge dragon with a hundred heads and even more wings.

He spread fear and distress wherever he went, making even Olympic gods. Echidna was a half woman, half snake known as "mother of all monsters". She lived in a cave where only beloved Typhon.

Together Typhon and Echidna spawned the most feared monsters in Greece, among which Lernaean Hydra, Sphinx, Nemean Lion, Chimera and of course Cerberus .

Zeus allowed all these monsters to live, claiming that he saved himself by allowing the creatures to serve. challenges for Greek heroes. In fact, he was probably just afraid of provoking Typhon's wrath.

Most of these monsters were allowed to exist freely, but Zeus saw special potential in Cerberus. He took a young puppy and gave it to Hades to be raised as the guardian of the underworld.

Meeting with Orpheus

Hades was an excellent guardian, but was not invincible.

Orpheus became the first mortal who defeated Cerberus. He was revered in his kingdom for his amazing musical talents. His performance could make even the waters and rocks dance.

That's why when Orpheus fell in love into a beautiful nymph named Eurydice, he had no problem conquering her. However, Tragedy struck on their wedding day..

Eurydice has undergone attacked by satyrs, and then fell into the viper's nest, where got a fatal bite s, after which her spirit went to the underworld.

When Orpheus found his beautiful bride dead and cold in the viper's nest, he played on his lyre melodies so sad that all the nymphs and gods wept. They advised Orpheus to go to the underworld and try to soften Hades' heart. with your music.

But before Orpheus could reach Hades, he had to pass Cerberus.

He got as close as he could to the mighty dog ​​that was sitting in its usual place guarding the gate to the underworld. Then, still hiding, Orpheus began to play a gentle lullaby.

His magic did not fail. Music made the dog so sleepy that she lay down and, in the end, began to snore.

Then the path of Orpheus to Hades became free. He entered to the underworld, knelt before Hades and Persephone and played his music.

The gods wept and agreed to let Eurydice return to him, but on condition that Orpheus would not look at her until until they return to the land of the living.

Then, with a joyful heart, he ran back to the entrance to the underworld, but not long before he returned to the world of the living, Orpheus looked over his shoulder to make sure Eurydice follows him. Instantly she became a ghost again and hid in the underworld.

In Greek and ancient Roman myths, such a character as Cerberus is often found. This is a three-headed dog with a wriggling tail and a snake body. The encyclopedic dictionary of allegorical expressions and words indicates that this name means a vigilant and ferocious guardian. Why was Cerberus so vigilantly guarded? What is this character? Where did he come from in ancient mythology? Why did his name become a household name? In order to understand all this, one needs to delve not only into the mythology of Ancient Greece, but into the cosmogony of this ancient civilization. Which is what we will do in this article.

Origin of uranides

You can learn about genesis from the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. By the way, in his work "Theogony" for the first time the dog Cerberus is mentioned. The sky god Uranus and the mistress of the Earth Gaia gave birth to the first supernatural beings. They were immortal. The God of Time Kronos learned that his own son would interrupt his eternal existence, so he killed all his children. However, one of them, Zeus, managed to escape. He killed his father and began to gain power by overthrowing the Uranids in Hades. There, these creatures took on the appearance of monsters. Cerberus' mother, Echidna, was a beautiful-faced maiden with the body of a snake. She lured travelers and killed them. And the father of Cerberus was Typhon, the brother of Echidna. Both parents, in turn, were the children of Tartarus (god of the underworld) and Gaia. So says Hesiod. According to other sources, Echidna was the daughter of Keto and Phorky, either Styx and Perant, or Phanet. Everyone agrees that this giant half-woman, half-snake combined charm and cruelty.

"Beautiful" family

Cerberus is not the only son of Echidna. She also gave her husband and at the same time her brother the two-headed dog Orff, the Nemean lion, the Chimera, the Colchis Dragon, Sphing and Efon. This last character of the myths of Ancient Greece was an eagle in the service of Zeus, it was he who pecked the liver of the titan Prometheus. As you can see, the beautiful snake-like Uranida was a real mother-heroine. But all her children were monsters driven into the underworld. Therefore, Jesus Christ, who lived in the Hellenistic period and is well aware of the myths, says to the Pharisees: “You are the offspring of vipers,” thereby hinting that they are the offspring of evil. However, almost the entire family was destroyed by the hero Hercules. He killed the two-headed dog Orff in order to steal the herds of Gerion, which he guarded. He beheaded the Hydra, and also killed the Chimera, which had three heads: snakes, goats and lionesses. According to one version, Hercules killed Echidna herself.

The Story of a Hero and Cerberus

Hesiod is not the only author who describes Cerberus. Other poets also represent him as a monster, but disagree about more accurate signs. According to some sources, the dog had three heads, but of different ages. He had a long lizard tail, and snake heads grew along his back. Tongues dripped poisonous saliva. According to other sources, Cerberus is a hundred-headed monster. They take turns sleeping. One of the heads is always awake. But other myths depict this monster as a man with the face of a ferocious dog. What was Cerberus guarding? Gate to the realm of the dead, Hades. Inside, the entrance was open to everyone, but no one was allowed to go back. King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring the guard of the underworld to him. What the hero did. How? In myths, there is also no consensus on this matter. According to one version, simply using their physical strength. According to another, the gods Athena and Hermes helped him in this. According to the third - the priestess gave him a lozenge with sleeping pills. But it was after this that he was released.

The modern meaning of the word "Cerberus"

The image of the hellish dog was so strong that it captured the imagination of people from other civilizations. In the Middle Ages, the myth of Cerberus did not disappear, as did the belief in the Olympian gods. This monster with three dog heads and a long tail guards the entrance to Hell in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Humanity has not forgotten about the poisonous saliva of Cerberus. Carl Linnaeus, having discovered the genus unusually toxic in the tropics, named it after the mythical character Cerbera. For astronomers, Cerberus is a satellite. In the modern world, the image of a vigilant guardian is also actively exaggerated. So, in the sensational epic of J. Rowling "Harry Potter" in a terrible dog named Fluff, none other than Cerberus is guessed. And finally, it must be said that this name itself has become allegorical. If someone wants to be called an evil chain dog, faithfully serving his master, then they say about him "Cerberus".

Cerberus is a mythological guardian who guards the entrance to the realm of the dead. God Hades completely dominates him. His mother was Echidna, and he himself is a three-headed dog. Serpents are wrapped around his neck, which, swirling, hiss menacingly. Instead of a tail, Cerberus has a huge snake - terrible and very poisonous. This three-headed dog vigilantly ensures that no one gets out of Hades - the kingdom of the dead.

Hercules was to blame for the fact that once Cerberus was on the surface of the earth. For him, it was so painful that bloody foam escaped from the mouth, which was absorbed into the soil with a hiss. From the drops of this foam, the poisonous herb aconite grew. Medea's witchcraft potion, which kills all living things, includes aconite. Cerberus people have an evil disposition. They are irascible and bloodthirsty. It is better not to anger the Cerberus-Man, otherwise you can pay with your head. Even if the Cerberus tries to restrain their rage, for them it does not go in vain: they fall into depression and stress. Cerberus can be saved only if he realizes his essence and is imbued with true kindness to others.

The myth of Cerberus

In Greek mythology, a monstrous dog guarding the entrance to the gloomy, horror-filled underworld of Hades. More precisely, Cerberus made sure that no one came out of there, because there is no return from the realm of the dead. Cerberus was depicted with three heads, poisonous snakes wriggled on his back instead of wool, the head of a dragon with a huge mouth ended in a tail. The ferocious guardian was sedated by Apollo's son, the legendary singer Orpheus, when he tried to bring back his dead wife Eurydice. Alas, Orpheus failed to bring his beloved from the realm of the dead. He turned around to see if she was following him, and in doing so, he violated the condition. Eurydice remained forever in the domain of Hades.

According to ancient texts, Cerberus welcomes those who enter hell with his tail and tears to pieces those who try to escape. In a later legend, he bites the new arrivals; to appease him, a honey gingerbread was placed in the coffin of the deceased. In Dante, Cerberus torments the souls of the dead.

Pulling Cerberus into daylight was one of the last feats of Hercules. For a long time, at Cape Tenar, in the south of the Peloponnese, they showed a cave, claiming that here Hercules, on the instructions of King Eurystheus, descended into the kingdom of Hades in order to bring Cerberus out of there. Appearing before the throne of Hades, Hercules respectfully asked the underground god to allow him to take the dog to Mycenae. No matter how severe and gloomy Pluto was, he could not refuse the son of the great Zeus. He set only one condition: Hercules must tame Cerberus without weapons.

Hercules searched for a three-headed dog for a long time in the underworld, and finally found him on the banks of the Acheron River. Hercules grabbed Cerberus with his mighty hands and began to choke him. The dog howled menacingly, trying to escape, the dragon's head on the tail bit the hero, the snakes writhed and stung, but Hercules only squeezed his hands tighter. Finally, the half-strangled dog Aida fell at the feet of the hero. Hercules took Cerberus to the walls of Mycenae. Eurystheus was horrified at one glance at the terrible dog and ordered him to be sent back to Hades as soon as possible.

The name of the vicious dog in the Latin pronunciation "Cerberus" has become a household word to refer to an overly harsh, incorruptible watchman.

It is not uncommon for mythological creatures to be so highly developed and popular that many perceive them as quite real beings. Such is Cerberus, one of the most fearsome monsters that man's fantasy has ever spawned.

He is distinguished by a special bloodthirstiness, as well as aggressiveness in the process of completing the task assigned to him by the gods. Its other name is Kerberos, and in Latin it is assigned term eater. He is presented as one of the many offspring of the union of Echidna and Typhon, perhaps the most terrifying of his brethren.

If you compare it with the Lernian Hydra or the Nemean Lion, it is not difficult to see that Cerberus is superior in strength to both of them combined. He is faithful to Hades until his death, and also performs the most important task - he kills everyone who tries to penetrate into afterworld.

What did Cerberus look like?

This creature was a terrifying wolfhound, which was distinguished by the presence of three heads at once with mouths studded with fangs. Some sources even indicate that this dog had five heads, but the story with three-headed monster.

Cerberus' neck is littered with snakes that are constantly writhing and hissing. It is distinguished by a very long tail, the tip of which has a snake's head instead of a pom-pom. The fur of this mythical creature is also filled with snakes that protect it, leaving almost no vulnerable spot on the body.

Huge paws are capable of tearing almost any opponent. Cerberus, as the legends that have come down to us depict him, is distinguished by a very evil and even scary look, capable of terrify anyone and cause primal fear.

The mouths of Cerberus are constantly ready to bite, and foam flows down the fangs, which is especially poisonous. According to one of the legends, during the stay of Cerberus on the surface of the planet, the poison covered a small piece of land on which the herb aconite began to grow, which was subsequently used by Medea to create her poison.

Other sources indicate that Cerberus was able to turn into a man who had only one dog's head on his shoulders. His hand in this image was occupied by a severed bull's head, the stench of which made it possible to defeat enemies, crept very close. In the other hand, the creature held the head of a goat, the look of the dead eyes of which killed enemies on the spot.

Not infrequently, Cerberus is depicted as an ordinary dog, similar to a modern sheepdog. She still guards the passage to the underworld, but instead of attacking, she simply meets travelers and warns them against a deadly journey. But if such a dog was kind to the living, then the dead could not receive mercy from him.

He fell with his formidable power on anyone who tries to leave the realm of the dead without the permission of his master. He easily turns into a terrifying monster that literally devours anyone who tries to break into the realm of the living, violating the established laws of the universe. After all, everyone in ancient times knew that leave the realm of the dead Impossible if already in it.

Cerberus was given the task of ensuring that the balance between the kingdom of Hades and Zeus was maintained at a fragile parity. Such a requirement was established by the lord of the dead himself, when he and his brothers shared the kingdoms inherited after the overthrown by them of the Titans.

The monster remained undefeated, as it possessed supernatural strength and ferocity. He is also given a special ability create fear in the hearts those who bravely challenge him. However, some heroes made attempts to overthrow the tyranny of Cerberus, and some of them managed to fight the monster quite effectively.

The first among the host of heroes stood out Hercules, who in Italy was called Hercules. He managed to defeat this terrible opponent due to the fact that he was the son of a god. Bringing Cerberus to one of the Greek kings was a task that was included in the canonical number of his great feats.

After the king saw that Hercules was really capable of such a feat, the monster was brought back, and for his exploits the hero was awarded a wreath of silver poplar. It was at this moment that aconite appeared on earth, born from the foam of a monster.

Orpheus was also able to defeat Cerberus, who managed to play such a magnificent melody in front of him that she lulled the vigilance of the animal. Psyche got the monster drunk special decoction, thanks to which he falls asleep. Despite these isolated cases, Cerberus always remained the most terrible monster in the memory of the ancient Greeks, so meeting him meant instant and terrible death.