Cerberus
In Greek mythology, Cerberus (in Greek Κέρβερος Kérberos, "demon of the pit"), also known as Can Cerbero or Cancerbero, was the dog of the god Hades; a monster with three heads in the most common tradition, called Veltesta (left head), Tretesta (central head) and Drittesta (right head); or fifty heads according to Hesiod, with a serpent instead of a tail.
The monstrous dog was the son of Echidna and Typhon, and guarded the gate to the kingdom of Hades (the Greek underworld) and ensured that the dead did not come out and the living could not enter.
Heracles captures Cerberus and brings him out of the underworld
The last of Heracles' twelve labors was to capture Cerberus. He first traveled to Eleusis to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries and thus learn how to get in and out of Hades alive. He was able to initiate into them after being purified by killing the centaurs. Then, he found the entrance to the underworld in Tenaros. He was accompanied by Athena and Hermes. Thanks to Hermes's insistence and his own fierce appearance, Charon took him in his boat across the Acheron.
While in the underworld, Heracles freed Theseus, but the earth trembled when he tried to free Pirithous, so he had to leave him behind. Both had been imprisoned for when they tried to kidnap Persephone. He had magically attached them to stone thrones, so that their skins were attached to them. This magic was so strong that when Heracles pulled Theseus free, part of Theseus's hips stuck to the rock, causing would explain why the Athenians had remarkably thin hips.
Some versions say that, to take Cerberus away, Heracles simply asks the god Hades for permission, and he agrees on the condition that Heracles does not harm the dog. But in other versions, Heracles shoots an arrow at Hades. After this, in some versions Heracles fights the dog and drags it out of Hades, passing through the Acherusia cave. In others, Heracles treats the fierce dog with kindness, and the latter, being treated thus for the first time, meekly accompanies him outside.
Theories about its origin
The constellation Pisces was not always associated with the two fish, as the original star fish was Piscis Austrinus. It was also believed that they were two people, united (which in some stories were transformed into fish, which ended up evolving into simple fish). Both would be united under the ecliptic, the area that was believed to represent the underworld. The ecliptic, the transit of the sun, cuts this link. One of them is practically outside (the westernmost) and the other seems to remain attached to the ecliptic and head downwards (the easternmost). However, part of the former is still attached.
The fact that the person Heracles managed to free from his trap in the underworld is Theseus indicates the knowledge that the myths about him connect him with the queen of the Amazons, and that therefore they must appear in the following story as a companion of Heracles. This emphasis on continuity is possibly related to the fact that the constellation that the following story represents also appears partially above Pisces.
Under Pisces is the constellation of the Whale, a creature that is normally considered a sea monster or precisely a whale. However, it is equally possible to see it as two closed doors with their posts and a group of three stars behind the center of both. Since they look towards the ecliptic and are very close to it, these gates would be those of the underworld, which would be under the ecliptic. The guardian of the gates of Hades was traditionally Cerberus, who had three heads, an association that requires the use of the three main (although comparatively faint) stars of the modern constellation of Fornax as tails.
Since Cerberus was considered a permanent fixture of Hades, little could happen to him that would harm him. With no other constellations in this region, little more story could be given to it than to do something non-permanent, like move it to the other side of the gates.
Alternatively, an earlier version might not have included the story of Theseus being imprisoned, which might have been a later reworking of the constellations' role in the story. In such a case, the branch of Pisces not escaping the ecliptic might have been meant to represent Cerberus' consequent ascent (but still bound, and thus having to return at the end).
Losses
Cerberus was defeated several times:
- Heracles' last test was to capture Cerbero. There are several versions of this capture that are detailed above.
- Orpheus used his music to calm him down and sleep him.
- Hermes managed to sleep using Lete River water.
- In Roman mythology, Eneas numbed him using drug honey cakes.
- In a later Roman history, Psique also slept in the same way as Eneas.
Archaeology
In October 2013, a team of Italian archaeologists led by Francesco D'Adria found a 1.5-meter-tall statue of Cerberus in the ruins of ancient Hierapolis in Turkey. This finding has confirmed the hypothesis that a cave found in 2012 was Plutonium, an "access door to the Underworld" as described by Strabo.
Genus of snakes
In 1829, the French naturalist Georges Cuvier gave the name Cerberus to a genus of Asian snake.
Genus of plants
In 1753, the Swiss naturalist Carlos Linnaeus gave the name Cerbera to a genus of apocynaceous plant native to tropical Asia, Australia, Madagascar, the Seychelles, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Subsequent references
- Cerbero appears in The divine comedy of Dante Alighieri, in Song VI of the Hell (third circle).
- Characters with the name Cerbero or derivatives appear in animes as Saint Seiya, One Piece, Eyeshield 21, Card Captor Sakura, Naruto, Beyblade or Digimon Frontier.
- It also appears in video games like Person 3, Dante's Inferno, Devil May Cry 3, Devil May Cry 5, King's Bounty: The Legend, Final Fantasy VIII, God of War II, God of War: Betrayal, Beyblade and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and Hades (videogame)
- A character who acquired the name of Cerbero was Tyrone, a rap singer, also called Canserbero.
- Cerbero-based characters appear in numerous novels, films and songs, for example in Harry Potter and Philosopher Stone from J. K. Rowling.
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