Dog of Hades. Three-headed monster Cerberus, hellish protector of the underworld

And Gaea), a three-headed dog with a poisonous mixture flowing from its mouth (Theogony 310; Hyginus. Myths 151). Cerberus guarded the exit from the kingdom of the dead Hades, not allowing the dead to return to the world of the living. However, this creature of amazing strength was defeated by Hercules in one of his labors.

Cerberus had the appearance of a three-headed dog with a snake tail, snake heads on his back, as creepy as his mother. According to other descriptions, he has 50 heads, or 100 heads, and in other mythology he is depicted with a powerful human body and arms and one head of a mad dog. In one of the hands is the severed head of a bull, which killed with its breath, and in the other hand the head of a goat, which struck victims with its gaze. In works of vase painting it was sometimes depicted as double-headed.

Before his descent into the kingdom of the dead, Hercules was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, then Cora accepted him as a brother. Hercules defeated Cerberus with the help of Hermes and Athena. Cerberus vomited from the daylight, and the foam from his mouth produced the herb aconite. Hercules, when he brought out Cerberus, was crowned with the foliage of a silver poplar. Hercules, taking him out of Hades, showed him to Eurystheus, but then returned him back. It was after this feat that Eurystheus released Hercules.

Etymology

According to one version, ancient Greek Kerberos may correspond to Sanskrit सर्वरा sarvarā, epithet of one of the dogs of the god Yama, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerberos"spotted".

Another etymology is proposed by Bruce Lincoln. He brings together the name of Cerberus with the name of the guard dog Garm (Old Scandinavian Garmr), known from Scandinavian mythology, tracing both names to a Proto-Indo-European root *ger-"to growl" (possibly with suffixes -*m/*b And -*r). Brothers and sisters. Orff, twin brother, two-headed and two-tailed dog. Orff was guarding Geryon's cattle and was killed by Hercules during his abduction. Hydra (Lernaean Hydra) - a monster born of Typhon and Echidna, has a hundred snake heads, defeated by Hercules. And the Chimera, a monster with three heads: a lion, a goat and a snake, born of Echidna and Typhon. She was killed by Bellerophon.

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Notes

1. in Russian language XVIII century, the form Cerberus entered in accordance with Late Latin pronunciation; however, since the 1920s, translations from ancient Greek and classical studies have been dominated by the form Kerber
2. Myths of the peoples of the world. M., 1991-92. In 2 volumes. T.1. P.640
3. Notes by M. L. Gasparov in the book. Pindar. Bacchylides. Odes. Fragments. M., 1980. P.480
4. Hesiod. Theogony 769-774
5. Hesiod. Theogony 312
6. Horace. Odes II 13, 33
7. Notes by V. G. Borukhovich in the book. Apollodorus. Mythological library. L., 1972. P. 154; Klein L. S. Anatomy of the Iliad. St. Petersburg, 1998. P.351
8. Lycophron. Alexandra 1327
9. Diodorus Siculus. Historical library IV 25, 1; 26, 1
10. Euripides. Hercules 613-615
11. Homer. Odyssey XI 623-626, in Homer three-headedness is not mentioned, in Zhukovsky it is inaccurate
12. Ovid. Metamorphoses VII 419; First Vatican Mythographer I 57, 2
13. Theocritus. Idylls II 120; Notes by M.E. Grabar-Passek in the book. Theocritus. Moskh. Bion. Idylls and epigrams. M., 1998. P.253
14. Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological Library II 5, 12; Gigin. Myths 30
15. Pausanias. Description of Hellas II 31, 2; 35, 11
16. Strabo. Geography VIII 5, 1 (p. 363)
17. Pausanias. Description of Hellas IX 34.5
18. Xenophon. Anabasis VI 2, 2
19. Virgil. Aeneid VI 417-423
20. The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. - Oxford University Press, 2006. - P. 411. - ISBN 0199287910.
21. Lincoln Bruce. Death, war, and sacrifice: studies in ideology and practice. - Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. - P. 289. - ISBN 9780226481999.
22. Scholium to Homer. Odyssey XIX 518 // Losev A.F. Mythology of the Greeks and Romans. M., 1996. P.126
23. Theophrastus, fr.113 = Strabo. Geography X 4, 12 (p. 478)
24. Hecataeus, fr.27 Jacobi = Pausanias. Description of Hellas III 25, 5
25. Palefat. About the incredible 39
26. Heraclitus the allegorist. About the incredible 33
27. See Fulgentius. Mythologies I 6

Literature

• Kretschmar, Freda. Hundestammvater und Kerberos, Bd 1-2. - Stuttgart: Strecker und Schröder, 1938.(German)

Excerpt characterizing Cerberus

In June, the Battle of Friedland took place, in which the Pavlograd residents did not participate, and after it a truce was declared. Rostov, who deeply felt the absence of his friend, having had no news about him since his departure and worrying about the progress of his case and his wounds, took advantage of the truce and asked to go to the hospital to visit Denisov.
The hospital was located in a small Prussian town, twice devastated by Russian and French troops. Precisely because it was in the summer, when it was so nice in the field, this place, with its broken roofs and fences and its dirty streets, ragged inhabitants and drunken and sick soldiers wandering around it, presented a particularly gloomy sight.
In a stone house, in a courtyard with the remains of a dismantled fence, some broken frames and glass, there was a hospital. Several bandaged, pale and swollen soldiers walked and sat in the courtyard in the sun.
As soon as Rostov entered the door of the house, he was overwhelmed by the smell of a rotting body and a hospital. On the stairs he met a Russian military doctor with a cigar in his mouth. A Russian paramedic followed the doctor.
“I can’t burst,” said the doctor; - Come to Makar Alekseevich in the evening, I’ll be there. – The paramedic asked him something else.
- Eh! do as you please! Doesn't it matter? - The doctor saw Rostov climbing the stairs.
- Why are you here, your honor? - said the doctor. - Why are you here? Or the bullet didn’t kill you, so you want to get typhus? Here, father, is the house of lepers.
- Why? - asked Rostov.
- Typhus, father. Whoever rises will die. Only the two of us with Makeyev (he pointed to the paramedic) are chatting here. At this point, about five of our brother doctors died. “Whatever the new guy does, he’ll be ready in a week,” the doctor said with visible pleasure. “They called Prussian doctors, because our allies don’t like that.”
Rostov explained to him that he wanted to see the hussar major Denisov lying here.
- I don’t know, I don’t know, father. Just think, I have three hospitals for one person, 400 patients are too many! It’s also good, the Prussian ladies who are benefactors send us coffee and lint at two pounds a month, otherwise they would be lost. - He laughed. – 400, father; and they keep sending me new ones. After all, there are 400? A? – he turned to the paramedic.
The paramedic looked exhausted. He was apparently waiting with annoyance to see how soon the chattering doctor would leave.
“Major Denisov,” Rostov repeated; – he was wounded near Moliten.
- It seems he died. Eh, Makeev? – the doctor asked the paramedic indifferently.
The paramedic, however, did not confirm the doctor’s words.
- Why is he so long and reddish? - asked the doctor.
Rostov described Denisov's appearance.
“There was, there was one,” the doctor said as if joyfully, “this one must have died, but I can handle it, I had the lists.” Do you have it, Makeev?

Ancient Greek myths surprise with the originality of their characters. However, with Cerberus, the inhabitants of Hellas did not try to be too clever, although they endowed the animal with terrifying features. Who else will guard the approaches to the most terrible place on earth - the kingdom of the dead? Of course, a dog, albeit not an ordinary one.

Origin and image

Cerberus in ancient Greek mythology- perhaps the most terrible creature, capable of terrifying even the bravest hero and warrior. IN Latin The name of the hellhound is listed as “Kerberus”, which translated means “souls of the dead” and “devourer”. The ugly monster is the product of Typhon and Echidna.

The giant and the gigantic half-woman, half-snake gave birth to two more children, brother and sister Cerberus. An equally monstrous dog, Orff, with two heads, guarded the herd that belonged to the giant Geryon, and the Lernaean Hydra, a snake-like creature with poisonous breath, guarded the underwater entrance to the kingdom of the dead.

Cerberus, of course, also had the fate of a watchman, but compared to his brother and sister, he enjoyed the greatest respect for his bad character and excessive aggressiveness.

Appearance mythological character makes the creepy image complete. The back is crowned with three heads with evil eyes, on the back of the body there is a long snake tail, and ominous snakes are swarming on the neck and stomach. However, according to other sources, the creature is represented with fifty, or even a hundred heads. And in the Roman era, the middle head was that of a lion. Sometimes Cerberus even looks like a man with a dog's head.

The ancient Greeks depicted the mouth of Cerberus with sharp fangs. A poisonous mixture dripped from the dog's tongue white. According to legend, when Hercules pulled the monster out of the dungeon, Cerberus vomited on the ground from the sunlight. As a result, the herb aconite grew, from which Medea later prepared deadly potions.

Life's work dangerous dog became serving God faithfully. Cerberus' duty is to guard the exit from world of the dead so that not a single soul that has gone “to the next world” will be able to return back to people. And, as is known from myths, attempts to escape were not uncommon. At the same time, the dog greets new guests (necessarily deceased) cordially, wagging his tail cutely. An aggressive creature is not so hospitable to living souls, so in legends heroes try to bribe it in every possible way. For example, the one who came for his dead beloved delighted Cerberus’ ears with the sounds of the lyre and eventually put the ominous dog to sleep.

Cerberus and Hercules

The three-headed dog is strong and scary. Attempts to defeat the guard Hades were made more than once, but only a brave strongman succeeded. The story of pacifying a monster from the underworld became the hero’s 12th and final feat. The evil king Eurystheus, who wondered about destroying Hercules, asked the ancient Greek hero to bring him to the throne legendary dog.

Hades did not want to give up his faithful guard just like that - he made concessions only after the hero hit him in the shoulder with an arrow. The ruler of the underworld allowed Cerberus to be taken, but with one condition - if Hercules defeats him without weapons. The glorious warrior dressed himself in lion skins and attacked the fierce animal, trying to strangle it. Cerberus was never able to fight off uninvited guest dragon's tail and fell at his feet.

At the sight of the monster, the cowardly king Eurystheus was seized with horror, and he freed Hercules from hard work. And by the way, he ordered the dog to be returned to its place in the underworld.

In literature and cinema

Cerberus often becomes a hero literary works, and also appears on movie screens.

In ancient Greek and Roman literature, the character is found in, and. In The Divine Comedy, Cerberus is the guardian of the third circle of hell, where gluttons and gourmets suffer, destined to rot under the pouring rain and the merciless rays of the sun.

Writers sometimes use the image of a three-headed dog in an allegorical sense. in the work “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”, already in the epigraph he began to criticize the autocracy with the words: “The monster is loud, mischievous, huge, loud and barking.” The expression is mixed from two fragments of Virgil’s Aeneid, which talks about the Cyclops Polyphemus and Cerberus. Later the line became catchphrase, used to describe any negative event that has public resonance.

Modern literature also uses the image of this hellish monster. In the novel "Harry Potter and philosopher's stone“Cerberus, although scary, evokes tenderness. Huge dog with three heads raised, who named him Fluff. The dog guards the entrance to the dungeon where the philosopher's stone is kept. The hero is distinguished by one feature - he falls asleep at any sound of music. , and put the guard to sleep with the help of a flute, as in the myth of Orpheus.

Interesting movie appearance fierce dog happened in 2005. In the film Cerberus, directed by John Terleski, the characters hunt for a sword kept in lost tomb the great Hun Attila. The weapon gives the owner invulnerability and power over the whole world. However, the magical relic is jealously guarded by a monstrous dog. The film stars Greg Evigan, Garrett Sato, Bogdan Uritescu and other actors.

• Naturalist and physician Carl Linnaeus, who lived in the 18th century, gave the name of the ancient Greek monster to an amazing plant that is usually found in the lands of Africa, Australia and India. The poisonous flowering tree contains a powerful toxin that can kill humans. With the light hand of a botanist, the plant began to be called Cerbera (Cerberus).

• On the eve of the World Cup, which is scheduled for 2018, a scandal occurred. A sculpture of Cerberus created by artists Vladimir and Victoria Kirilenko was illegally installed in a Sochi city park. The monument was conceived as a symbol of the championship's talisman: a mythical dog in bronze guards the ball. A statue two meters high and weighing a ton grew in the city center, but the mayor's office ordered the dismantling of this object.

Ancient mythology. It was he who was tamed by Hercules, performing his eleventh labor.

What is Cerberus?

According to mythology, Cerberus is a dog who serves Hades in the underworld. His task is to guard the entrance to the afterlife. That's why he was nicknamed "hell dog." The surprising thing is that the dog let everything through to Hades dead souls, while affectionately greeting them, wagging his tail. But if suddenly some soul wanted to leave the afterlife, then Cerberus turned from a lap dog into a terrible monster. What could Cerberus do that everyone was afraid of him? According to legends, he devoured the soul, thereby fulfilling his purpose - not releasing the dead into the world of the living.

Based on the legends, the parents of Cerberus were Echidna and Typhon. In addition to Cerberus, they had many more children, among them the Lernaean Hydra and the Nemean Lion.

Appearance

The hellhound's appearance has been described in various ways. The classic version was formed during the Roman Empire. To the question of what Cerberus is, at that time one could hear the answer - a story about a huge three-headed dog. Sometimes the monster was described as if its middle head resembled the head of a lion.

Earlier versions were as follows:

• Cerberus was a two-headed dog that had a snake tail instead of the usual one.
• Then a new version of the answer appeared to the question of what Cerberus is. Now he turned out to be the same guardian of the Underworld, but with one head. True, the snakes that wriggled on the back, stomach and neck of the animal added to its exoticism.

Cerberus and Hercules

We all remember the punishment Hercules received from the gods of Olympus. The demigod had to perform 12 labors in the service of King Eurystheus. Let us recall that the son of Zeus received punishment for killing his family: his wife and children. This happened because of Hera, who stupefied the hero’s mind.

The feat in which Cerberus took part was the eleventh in a row. King Eurystheus of Tiryns ordered Hercules to go down to Underworld Hades and bring the hellhound to court.

Hercules went to carry out the assignment. Along the way, he freed Theseus from torment. The young man was chained to a rock for trying to kidnap Hades' wife Persephone. Theseus's assistant in this matter, Perithous, was chained next to him. But, unfortunately, the gods of Olympus decided to continue the torment of the young man. They sent a sign: the earth shook when the demigod touched Perithous's hand. Hercules realized the anger of the gods, left him and went further in search of the hellhound.

But what is Cerberus (Kerberus) in ancient world? In this version, he is described as a three-headed dog with the same snakes on his back, but at the tip of his tail there was a large dragon head. It was just such a monster that Hercules had to tame. What did Cerberus have to do for this? Defeat him in battle.

After this, the hero led him out of the kingdom of Hades and took him to the king. But Eurystheus was so frightened of the dog that he immediately ordered Hercules to return him back to the afterlife, which the son of Zeus did.

Who could resist Cerberus?

Hercules is not the only hero in mythology who was able to resist hellhound. What is Cerberus and how to deal with it, others have guessed ancient heroes. The dog was outwitted by Aeneas and Psyche by drugging him with a sleeping potion. And Orpheus was able to pass by him with the help of music, lulling the monster to sleep with the melody.

Cerberus is mentioned several times in legends. But this character is also used in modern literature and cinema. Children can get acquainted with Cerberus in animated series, for example "Pony. Friendship is a miracle." Adults can encounter it on the pages of modern books. Some authors who write books in the fantasy genre also use Cerberus to spice up the plot. As one example, take the book “Goddess of Spring” by the author Phyllis Christina Kast.

In Greek and Roman myths, a character such as Cerberus is often encountered. This three headed dog with a wriggling tail and the body of a snake. IN encyclopedic dictionary allegorical expressions and words indicate that this name means a vigilant and ferocious guard. What did Cerberus so vigilantly guard? What kind of character is this? Where did it come from in ancient mythology? Why did his name become a household name? In order to understand all this, you need to delve deeper into mythology. Ancient Greece, but into the cosmogony of this ancient civilization. That's 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” the dog Cerberus is mentioned for the first time. The sky god Uranus and the mistress of the Earth Gaia gave birth to the first supernatural creatures. They were immortal. God of Time Kronos found out that he eternal existence interrupted by his own son, so he killed all his children. However, one of them, Zeus, managed to escape. He killed his father and began to gain power, overthrowing the Uranids into Hades. There these creatures took on the appearance of monsters. Cerberus's 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 (the god of the underworld) and Gaia. So says Hesiod. According to other sources, Echidna was the daughter of Keto and Phorcys, or Styx and Peranta, or Phanet. Everyone agrees that this giant half-woman, half-snake combined beauty and cruelty.

"Wonderful" family

Cerberus is not the only son of Echidna. She also gave her husband and brother the two-headed dog Orff, the Nemean Lion, the Chimera, the Colchis Dragon, Sphinx and Ephon. This last character in 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 we can see, the beautiful snake-like Uranide 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 was well aware of myths, says to the Pharisees: “You are brood of vipers,” thereby hinting that they are the fiends of evil. However, almost the entire family was destroyed by the hero Hercules. He killed the two-headed dog Orff in order to steal Geryon's herds, which he guarded. He beheaded the Hydra and also destroyed the Chimera, who had three heads: a snake, a goat and a lioness. According to one version, Hercules killed Echidna herself.

The story of the hero and Cerberus

Hesiod is not the only author who describes Cerberus. Other poets also present him as a monster, but they disagree about more exact 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. Poisonous saliva dripped from the tongues. 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 kingdom of the dead, Hades. 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. Which is what the hero did. How? In myths there is also no consensus on this matter. According to one version, simply using your physical strength. According to another, the gods Athena and Hermes helped him in this. According to the third, the priestess gave him a cake with sleeping pills. But it was after this that he was released.

Modern meaning of the word "Cerberus"

The image of the hellish dog was so powerful that it captured the imagination of people of other civilizations. In the Middle Ages, the myth of Cerberus did not disappear, like the belief in olympian gods. This monster with three dog heads and a long tail guards the entrance to Hell in " Divine Comedy» Dante Alighieri. Humanity has not forgotten about the poisonous saliva of Cerberus. Carl Linnaeus, having discovered a genus of unusually toxic species in the tropics, named it after the mythical character Cerbera. For astronomers, Cerberus is satellite B modern world The image of a vigilant guard is also actively exaggerated. Thus, in J. Rowling’s sensational epic “Harry Potter,” the scary dog ​​named Fluff can be seen as none other than Cerberus. And finally, it must be said that this name itself has become allegorical. If they want to call someone evil chain dog, faithfully serving his master, they call him “Cerberus”.

In ancient Greek mythology, Cerberus is described as a legendary dog ​​with three heads. A monstrous dog guards the gate to Hades, the gloomy underground world of dead souls, from which no one can leave without the permission of the gods. And the living will not penetrate into the world of the dead, because the gate is guarded by the three-headed monster Cerberus, the infernal protector of the underworld.

IN ancient world Dogs were usually considered wild animals, and until they became domesticated they wandered the streets and fed on the outskirts of cities. The mythical Cerberus included not only everything terrible qualities dogs, but also represented a set of terrible creatures.

The ancient Greeks depicted Cerberus as a monstrously strong three-headed dog with lion claws. The terrible monster was depicted as a “hellish watchman” with the tail of a snake, and even a mane made from a snake ball.

The three heads of the guardian of the underworld are believed to symbolize the past, present and future, although other authors believe that they represent birth, youth and old age. A very powerful weapon of Cerberus is hidden in a look so terrible that anyone who looked into his eyes immediately turned to cold stone!

Legends say that the teeth of the three-headed monster were the sharpest blades, and its bite was deadly poisonous, like the saliva itself. If a drop of poison fell on the ground, then a wolf plant would sprout in that place.

CEBERUS'S PARENTS.

Cerberus' father was Typhon, a powerful and extremely dangerous monster in ancient Greek mythology (in addition to being a god). A giant and a giant with bright red eyes and, as they said, the lord fiery forces was so much so that even the gods of Olympus.

Echidna's eyes were black, his head and body beautiful woman, but the lower half of the body was a snake. The mother of monsters lived in a cave, where she attracted people to be devoured due to her beauty.

CERBERUS IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE DOORS OF THE HELL.

Cerberus's main mission was to guard the Greek underworld and be a faithful servant of the god Hades. His favorite place was the banks of the River Styx, which bordered the border.

Cerberus guarded the gates of Hades, preventing the dead from escaping, and also guarded the entrance from the living, not allowing entry without the permission of his master. Chained to the gates of the Acheron, another river of the Underworld, Cerberus was loyal to the dead or newly arrived spirits, but devoured all who tried to return to the world of the living, trying to pass the gates of hell.

Cerberus is cited in various mythological stories as the "guardian of hell", and there are even a couple Greek myths, in which the hero defeats the monster. First, there is Orpheus, the famous musician of Greek mythology, who sneaked into the underworld and lulled a beast to sleep with his lyre (a type of harp). Usually a vigilant and aggressive guard, Cerberus, having listened to the wondrous sound, simply fell asleep.

The hopeless and strange undertaking was crowned with success, since the music so charmed Charon (the ferryman who helps the souls of the dead cross the River Styx) that the boatman undertook to translate Orpheus, a living man. Having met Cerberus, Orpheus managed to force the three-headed monster to lie obediently on the ground, lulled by the music of his lyre, after which the man was able to easily cross the gates of Hades.

Hades and his wife Persephone agreed that Orpheus would take his beloved with the condition: when ascending to the world of the living, Eurydice would follow Orpheus, but he was strictly forbidden to look back and look at his wife.

Alas, having reached the surface, Orpheus apparently felt the delight of being reunited with his beloved, and turned to look at his beloved... she immediately became a ghost and was sent back to the kingdom of the dead, this time forever.

HERCULES DEFEATED CERBERUS.

The most famous story Cerberus has its hero Hercules, a half-god half-man. Eurytheus, king of Tirins, demanded that Hercules capture and bring Cerberus to the world of the living. But Euristeo was convinced that Hercules would fail in this impossible mission.

However, Hercules, having come to the Underworld, talked with Hades and asked: if I can defeat Cerberus without using any weapons, will you allow me to take the monster? When Hercules met Cerberus on the shores of Acheron, he began to fight the huge monster using only his bare hands.

Even being the most strong man in the world, Hercules needed all his might to conquer a strong monster. Soon the monster was exhausted from the fight with the demigod and finally surrendered to Hercules. Cerberus is one of the few creatures that survived his meeting with Hercules. Unlike other mythological characters who crossed the path of Hercules, Cerberus returned to his place of duty intact, continuing to guard the doors of the world of dead souls.

In many books ancient mythology Cerberus is found, although it differs somewhat among different authors. For example, in the hell presented by Dante, it is not the entire underworld that is shown, but the third circle of hell - this is the circle of gluttony, and Cerberus serves to personify uncontrolled appetite.

IN Scandinavian history there is also a Cerberus equivalent where Hell is guarded by a four-eyed dog named Garm. In Egypt, his incarnation was Anubis, the dog-headed god, guardian of tombs, who accompanied souls on their way to the underworld. A number of authors report that Cerberus had fifty or even a hundred heads, and in other descriptions he appears as a lion with wings, a dog and a wolf.

Throughout our culture we see a character guarding Kingdom of the Dead. Some will talk about superstitions, traditions and mythology. But there is something about this that is very confusing. The underworld and everything connected with it are described so well, as if it were a real world that one day someone actually managed to leave.