Myths of ancient Greece Cerberus. Who is Cerberus in Greek mythology and what did he guard? Who could resist Cerberus

Cerberus (Κέρβερος), in Greek mythology, a dog, the guardian of Hades (Hes. Theog. 769 774), a monster with three heads, a body studded with snake heads, and a snake tail. K. offspring of Echidna and Typhus. Along with the Lernean hydra and the Nemean lion, he ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

Cerberus Dictionary of Russian synonyms. kerber n., number of synonyms: 2 fictional creature (334) ... Synonym dictionary

KERBER, see Cerberus... Modern Encyclopedia

See Cerberus... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Kerberos- KERBER, see Cerberus. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Leonid Lvovich Kerber (June 3 (17), 1903, St. Petersburg 1993, Moscow) is a major specialist in the field of aviation equipment. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Deputy General Designer. Contents 1 Biography 2 Famous works 3 ... ... Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, a dog guarding the gates of the underworld. Usually Kerberos was depicted with three heads and a snake tail; according to Hesiod, he had fifty heads. One of the exploits of Hercules was to deliver Cerberus from Hades ... ... Collier Encyclopedia

Kerberos- (grch. Kerberos) 1. mit. in the mitology: three-headed heap from the opashka of the serpent, something could have climbed into the underground world 2. kerber fig. strict goalkeeper stern chuvar Macedonian dictionary

KERBER- (Cerberus) A monstrous dog, the offspring of an echidna, guarding the exit from Hades. Hesiod rewards her with fifty heads, but in classical art and literature she only has three. Hercules managed to get him out of Hades by doing one of his twelve... Dictionary-reference book on Ancient Greece and Rome, on mythology

Books

• Polymer processing technology. Physical and chemical processes. Textbook for universities, Kerber M.L.. V study guide the most important physical and chemical processes associated with the processing of various polymers are disclosed. The processes of heat transfer, deformation in a wide range…

Ancient Greek myths surprise with the originality of the characters. However, with Cerberus, the inhabitants of Hellas did not become particularly wise, although they endowed the animal with frightening 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 quite an ordinary one.

Origin and image

Cerberus in ancient Greek mythology is perhaps the most terrible creature that can terrify even the most brave hero and warrior. IN Latin the name of the hellish dog is listed as "Kerberus", which means "souls of the dead" and "devourer". The ugly monster is the offspring of Typhon and Echidna.

The giant and the gigantic half-woman half-snake gave birth to two more children, a brother and sister Cerberus. No less monstrous dog Orf with two heads guarded the herd that belonged to the giant Geryon, and the Lernean Hydra, a snake-like creature with poisonous breath, guarded the underwater entrance to the kingdom of the dead.

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

The appearance of the mythological character makes the creepy image complete. The back is crowned with three heads with evil eyes, a long snake tail flaunts on the back of the body, ominous snakes teem 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 a lion's head. 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 of white color flowed from the tongue of the dog. 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 was the service of faith and truth to God. The duty of Cerberus is to guard the exit from the world of the dead, so that not a single soul that has gone "to the next world" can return to people. And, as is known from the myths, attempts to escape were not uncommon. At the same time, the dog greets new guests (necessarily deceased) cordially, wagging its tail cutely. An aggressive creature is not so hospitable to living souls, therefore, in the legends, the heroes try to bribe it in every possible way. For example, who came for a dead lover, delighted the ears of Cerberus with the sounds of a lyre and eventually put the sinister dog to sleep.

Cerberus and Hercules

The three-headed dog is strong and fearsome. Attempts to defeat the guard of Hades were made more than once, but only a brave strong man managed to do this. The story of the pacification of the monster from the underworld was the 12th, final feat of the hero. The evil king Eurystheus, who wondered to destroy Hercules, asked the ancient Greek hero to bring the legendary dog ​​to the throne.

Hades just didn’t want to give up his faithful guard - he made concessions only after the hero hit his shoulder with an arrow. The ruler of the underworld allowed Cerberus to be taken away, but on one condition - if Hercules defeats him without weapons. A glorious warrior dressed in lion skins and attacked a fierce animal, trying to strangle it. Cerberus did not manage to fight off the intruder with a dragon's tail and fell at his feet.

At the sight of the monster, the cowardly king Eurystheus was horrified, 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 the hero of 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, who are destined to rot in the pouring rain and the ruthless 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 oblo, mischievous, huge, staring and barking.” The expression is mixed from two fragments of Virgil's Aeneid, which speaks of the Cyclops Polyphemus and Cerberus. Later, the line turned into a catchphrase used to describe any negative event that has a public resonance.

Modern literature also uses the image of this infernal monster. In the novel "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", Cerberus, although scary, is tender. A huge dog with three heads is bred, who named him Fluffy. 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.

An interesting appearance in the movie of a fierce dog happened in 2005. In the film "Cerberus" directed by John Terlesky, the heroes hunt for a sword kept in the lost tomb of 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 starred Greg Evigan, Garrett Sato, Bogdan Uritescu and other actors.

• The 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 on the lands of Africa, Australia and India. The poisonous flowering tree contains a powerful toxin that can kill a person. 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, there was a scandal. In the city park of Sochi, a sculpture of Cerberus, created by artists Vladimir and Victoria Kirilenko, was illegally installed. The monument was conceived as a symbol of the championship amulet: a mythical dog in bronze guards the ball. A sculpture two meters high and weighing a ton grew in the center of the city, but the mayor's office ordered this object to be dismantled.

Cerberus- a terrible monster, inspiring horror with one of its appearance. A powerful, strong, bestial body with three dog heads, frightening with a terrible grin of sharp fangs. A poisonous liquid flows from their mouths. On the back of the monster, instead of wool, venomous snakes writhe, ready at any moment to mortally sting. And to top it off - on the tail is the head of a monstrous dragon.

Cerberus owes its birth to a pair of some of the most disgusting creatures in history: Tephon (who had a hundred dragon heads, part of a human torso and writhing rings of snake bodies instead of legs) and a half-woman, half-snake Echidna. Cerberus had brothers and sisters as creepy as he was: Orc - a dog with two heads and tails, the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra and. But it was the three-headed monster that was one of the mother's favorite cubs. From an early age, a parent tempered her child in an unbearably blazing flame of a fire-breathing volcano, which was supposed to bring eternal life.

For the ancient Greeks, the name Kerberos has always been associated with the word danger. Meeting him initially meant grief and death. After all, it was this monster who was entrusted with the mission of protecting the entrance to the realm of eternal oblivion, the territory of the dead. It was not in vain that Hades set just such a killer beast to meet the dead. When new arrivals appeared, the dog could joyfully wag his ugly tail, welcoming the new souls of the unfortunate. But up to a certain point, no one managed to get out of the eternal darkness. A terrible dog ruthlessly tore to shreds those who dared to make an escape.

Some sources say that even the new inhabitants of the kingdom Cerberus sought to bite when they met. In order to somehow appease the impregnable guard, it was customary to put a honey delicacy - gingerbread - into the coffin of the deceased.

By the way, in his Aeneid, Virgil mentions how Sibylla lulled Cerberus to sleep, feeding him the same sweet treat, after soaking him with hypnotic herbs, which put the animal to sleep and allowed Aeneas to enter the forbidden zone for the living.

In mythology, few cases are known when it was possible to break through such a powerful guard of a giant dog. Orpheus is described as one of the daredevils, who madly wanted to bring his beloved Eurydice back to life. Only thanks to his sweet-voiced singing, the young man managed to put the guard to sleep and pass the barrier. Unfortunately, it was not possible to break the girl out of the captivity of Hades, but Orpheus was one of the few who successfully managed to leave the kingdom of the dead.

Another mythical hero who visited the afterlife is the famous Hercules. He promised King Eurystheus that he would bring Cerberus to him. The great son of Zeus managed to persuade Hades to release the dog with him into the wild. To do this, Hercules needed to deal with the evil guard with his bare hands, without using any weapons. The fight was not for life, but to death: the head of the dragon, located on the tail of Cerberus, mercilessly bit the attacker, the snakes tried to sting bringing death stings. Hercules had to apply all his remarkable strength in order to win. He did not release his hands, closed around the dog's neck, until the dog fell at his feet in exhaustion.

Once on the surface of the earth and hit by Sun rays, the animal raged and raged, snarling and writhing. Saliva dripped onto the ground from its jaws, gaping in a terrible growl. A poisonous herb called aconite grew in these places. Despite everything, the winner kept his promise and delivered Cerberus to the eyes of King Eurystheus. He was in indescribable horror at the sight of the three-headed monster and ordered the monster to be sent back to the dark kingdom.

It is not uncommon for mythological creatures to be so highly developed and popular that many perceive them as quite real beings. Such is Cerberus, one of the most fearsome monsters that man's fantasy has ever spawned.

He is distinguished by a special bloodthirstiness, as well as aggressiveness in the process of completing the task assigned to him by the gods. Its other name is Kerberos, and in Latin it is assigned term eater. He is presented as one of the many offspring of the union of Echidna and Typhon, perhaps the most terrifying of his brethren.

If you compare it with the Lernian Hydra or the Nemean Lion, it is not difficult to see that Cerberus is superior in strength to both of them combined. He is faithful to Hades until his death, and also performs the most important task - he kills everyone who tries to penetrate into afterworld.

What did Cerberus look like?

This creature was a terrifying wolfhound, which was distinguished by the presence of three heads at once with mouths studded with fangs. Some sources even indicate that this dog had five heads, but the story with three-headed monster.

Cerberus' neck is littered with snakes that are constantly writhing and hissing. It is distinguished by a very long tail, the tip of which has a snake's head instead of a pom-pom. The fur of this mythical creature is also filled with snakes that protect it, leaving almost no vulnerable spot on the body.

Huge paws are capable of tearing almost any opponent. Cerberus, as the legends that have come down to us depict him, is distinguished by a very evil and even scary look, capable of terrify anyone and cause primal fear.

The mouths of Cerberus are constantly ready to bite, and foam flows down the fangs, which is especially poisonous. According to one of the legends, during the stay of Cerberus on the surface of the planet, the poison covered a small piece of land on which the herb aconite began to grow, which was subsequently used by Medea to create her poison.

Other sources indicate that Cerberus was able to turn into a man who had only one dog's head on his shoulders. His hand in this image was occupied by a severed bull's head, the stench of which made it possible to defeat enemies, crept very close. In the other hand, the creature held the head of a goat, the look of the dead eyes of which killed enemies on the spot.

Not infrequently, Cerberus is depicted as an ordinary dog, similar to a modern sheepdog. She still guards the passage to the underworld, but instead of attacking, she simply meets travelers and warns them against a deadly journey. But if such a dog was kind to the living, then the dead could not receive mercy from him.

He fell with his formidable power on anyone who tries to leave the realm of the dead without the permission of his master. He easily turns into a terrifying monster that literally devours anyone who tries to break into the realm of the living, violating the established laws of the universe. After all, everyone in ancient times knew that leave the realm of the dead Impossible if already in it.

Cerberus was given the task of ensuring that the balance between the kingdom of Hades and Zeus was maintained at a fragile parity. Such a requirement was established by the lord of the dead himself, when he and his brothers shared the kingdoms inherited after the overthrown by them of the Titans.

The monster remained undefeated, as it possessed supernatural strength and ferocity. He is also given a special ability create fear in the hearts those who bravely challenge him. However, some heroes made attempts to overthrow the tyranny of Cerberus, and some of them managed to fight the monster quite effectively.

The first among the host of heroes stood out Hercules, who in Italy was called Hercules. He managed to defeat this terrible opponent due to the fact that he was the son of a god. Bringing Cerberus to one of the Greek kings was a task that was included in the canonical number of his great feats.

After the king saw that Hercules was really capable of such a feat, the monster was brought back, and for his exploits the hero was awarded a wreath of silver poplar. It is at this moment that aconite appears on earth, born from the foam of a monster.

Orpheus was also able to defeat Cerberus, who managed to play such a magnificent melody in front of him that she lulled the vigilance of the animal. Psyche got the monster drunk special decoction, thanks to which he falls asleep. Despite these isolated cases, Cerberus always remained the most terrible monster in the memory of the ancient Greeks, so meeting him meant instant and terrible death.

In Greek mythology, Cerberus or, as it was also called, Kerberos, is a terrible creature that guarded the entrance to the other world of Hades. Cerberus did not let the dead into the world of the living from the realm and vice versa. He devoured those who tried to escape from the underworld.

Cerberus was a three-headed dog with a dragon's head at the end of a snake's tail. The wool on his back was replaced by poisonous snakes. Instead of saliva, poison flowed from his mouth.