| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,753,281,261 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Cerberus |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.04 sec. |
|
Cerberus (sûr`bərəs), in Greek mythology, many-headed dog with a mane and a tail of snakes; offspring of Typhon and Echidna. He guarded the entrance of Hades. One of the 12 labors of Hercules was to capture him. CerberusIn Greek mythology, the monstrous watchdog of the underworld. He was usually said to have three heads, though Hesiod says he had 50. Heads of snakes grew from his back, and he had a serpent's tail. He devoured anyone who tried to escape Hades's kingdom, and he refused entrance to living humans, though Orpheus gained passage by charming him with music. One of the labours of Heracles was to bring Cerberus up to the land of the living; after succeeding, he returned the creature to Hades. Cerberus Greek myth a dog, usually represented as having three heads, that guarded the entrance to Hades Cerberus three-headed beast guarding gates of hell. [Classical Myth.: Zimmerman, 55–56] See : Dogs Cerberus three-headed dog, guards gate to Hades. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 55] See : Guardianship Cerberus three-headed watchdog of Hades. [Gk. Myth.: Avery, 270] See : Monsters How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
|---|---|---|
The porter in his lodge answers exactly to Cerberus in his den, and, like him, must be appeased by a sop before access can be gained to his master. And the anaemic Cerberus sized me up with so insolent an eye that I reached over and took him out of his chair. And while the three-headed Cerberus was fawning so lovingly on King Pluto, there was the dragon tail wagging against its will, and looking as cross and ill-natured as you can imagine, on its own separate account. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|