Cerberus was one of the offspring of Typhoeus and Echidna. It was a three headed dog with a snake tail and snake heads proturding from its back. He guarded the entrance to the underworld, allowing the dead to enter but never to leave. One of the few living mortals who got past Cerberus was Orpheus who charmed it to sleep with his song during his attempt to rescue Eurydice from death. Fetching Cerberus from the underworld and displaying him to King Eurystheus was the last labor of Hercules.
Click here to return to the picture gallery.