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Underworld ยท Greece

Cerberus

The many-headed hound guarding the gates of the Greek underworld.

Legend File

Cerberus prevents the dead from leaving and the living from entering casually. He is not evil so much as absolute: a boundary with teeth. Heracles capturing him becomes one of the great heroic labors because it requires entering death's domain and returning with proof that even the underworld can be confronted.

Source Framing

Greek underworld myth around Cerberus/Kerberos as Hades' watchdog, including Heracles' underworld labor and variant head counts in ancient sources.

Archival-style illustration of Cerberus guarding an underworld threshold with hound heads and stone gate studies.
Source reference Cerberus reference plate Greek underworld myth around Cerberus/Kerberos as Hades' watchdog, including Heracles' underworld labor and variant head counts in ancient sources. Codex art session / Myth Atlas