Apollodorus’ Cerberus has three dog-heads, a serpent for a tail, and the heads of many snakes on his back. According to Apollodorus, Heracles’ twelfth and final labor was to bring back Cerberus from Hades.
Is Cerberus a dog or wolf?
Cerberus rationalized
In his account Cerberus was not a dog at all, but rather simply a large venomous snake, which lived on Tainaron. The serpent was called the “hound of Hades” only because anyone bitten by it died immediately, and it was this snake that Heracles brought to Eurystheus.
Did Hades have a dog?
CERBERUS, THE DOG OF HADES. name but also the genealogy of Kerberos. Of Typhaon and Echidna he was born, the irresistible and ineffable flesh-devourer, the vora cious, brazen-voiced, fifty-headed dog of hell.
Is Cerberus a boy or girl?
Cerberus was the offspring of Echidna, a hybrid half-woman and half-serpent, and Typhon, a gigantic monster even the Greek gods feared.
Was Cerberus evil?
Cerberus was a working dog
Although he was nominally a “hellhound,” Cerberus was not evil; he was a working dog. His job, once he was gifted to Hades, the god of the ancient Greek underworld, was to prevent any living being from entering the realm of the dead, and to keep the dead from escaping.
Who was the god of dogs?
Mythological Origin & Family
Originally Gula was a Sumerian deity known as Bau, goddess of dogs. As dogs became associated with healing, Bau transformed into a healing deity.