Cerberus: The Twelve Labors Of Hercules

Cerberus, a fierce but stoic guardian of the underworld whose three heads represent the history and fate of souls in hell, has a serpent’s tail and snake heads adorned across its back. Also known as the hound of Hades, Cerberus first appears in Greek mythology between 60 and 20 BCE. Described by Maro (19 BC), the main responsibility Hades gives Cerberus involves guarding the gate between the earth and hell, keeping dead souls in the underworld and the living ones in the overworld. Through stories such as the Twelve Labors of Hercules, Cerberus represents the Shadow portion of a person’s identity. Hercules’ battle with the three headed hound illustrates the fight between an individual and the struggles and conflicts from their past, present,

The son of Zeus with an unknown mother descended from a long line of demigods with high expectations for success in his life. Zeus fathered Hercules with an unknown woman while cheating on his wife Hera. As explained by Huber (2009) Hera tried many times to kill Hercules after his birth, but after many unsuccessful attempts, she cursed Hercules in adulthood, causing Hercules to unconsciously kill his wife and children in a fit of madness. After breaking free of the curse, Hercules realized what had happened and prayed to the gods, asking what he could do to atone for his sins. The gods responded by instructing him to complete tasks for his cousin, King Eurystheus. Eurystheus initially assigned him ten tasks to complete, but after Hercules completed them, Eurystheus accused him of cheating by completing two tasks with assistance which was specifically disallowed. As a punishment, Hercules was ordered to complete two more tasks, the last of which was to capture Cerberus and bring him to Eurystheus. After completing the eleventh task, Hercules ventured to the underworld where he asked Hades’ permission to bring Cerberus to the overworld to complete his tasks. Hades told Hercules that if he could conquer the hound with his strength alone and no weapons, he could take Cerberus to the overworld and deliver him to Eurystheus. Hercules fought Cerberus,

While progressing through his twelve labors, the demigod never falters in his belief that he will succeed. His commitment to avenging his children and wife allows him to be optimistic no matter what task he faces. Hercules always believes he will succeed while completing his labors, and optimism allows him to defeat Cerberus’s third head. Hercules manages to avoid the difficult parts of his future by not worrying about what might happen should he fail. Instead, he decides to succeed at all costs and has confidence in his abilities, allowing him to look past the negatives of his future and vanquish