Cerberus
The twelfth and final labour of Heracles: descending to the Underworld and bringing back Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog, without weapons.
The Meaning of Cerberus
He wrestled a three-headed dog at the gates of Hell — bare-handed, because Hades told him no weapons. The final labour sent Heracles to the Underworld itself. He was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries first (to learn how to navigate the dead). Hades agreed to let him take Cerberus on one condition: he must overpower the beast without weapons. Heracles seized Cerberus by the throat and squeezed until the creature submitted. He dragged it to Mycenae, where Eurystheus dove into his bronze jar in terror. Heracles then returned Cerberus to Hades. The labour is a katabasis — a descent to the land of the dead — and marks Heracles as the only hero to walk in and out of Hades by force.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Eurystheus hid in a bronze jar when Heracles brought Cerberus to Mycenae — the scene was a favorite of vase painters.
Explore Further
Cattle of Geryon
💭 conceptlabour
The tenth labour of Heracles: stealing the red cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon from the island of Erytheia at the western edge of the world.
Augean Stables
💭 conceptlabour
The fifth labour of Heracles: cleaning the stables of King Augeas, which held 3,000 cattle and had not been cleaned in thirty years.
Cretan Bull
💭 conceptlabour
The seventh labour of Heracles: capturing the monstrous bull of Crete, either the one Poseidon sent or the father of the Minotaur.
Girdle of Hippolyta
💭 conceptlabour
The ninth labour of Heracles: obtaining the war belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyta, a gift from her father Ares.
Apples of the Hesperides
💭 conceptlabour
The eleventh labour of Heracles: obtaining the golden apples from the garden at the edge of the world, guarded by the dragon Ladon.
The Twelve Labours
💭 conceptHeroism, endurance, redemption
Twelve impossible tasks imposed on Heracles by King Eurystheus as penance for killing his own family in a madness sent by Hera.
Twelve Labours of Heracles
💭 conceptNarrative
The twelve impossible tasks imposed upon Heracles as penance for killing his family in a divine madness
Stymphalian Birds
💭 conceptlabour
The sixth labour of Heracles: driving away man-eating birds with bronze beaks from Lake Stymphalos in Arcadia.
Herculean
💭 conceptLanguage and effort
An English adjective meaning requiring enormous strength or effort, derived from Hercules, the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles who performed twelve seemingly impossible labours
Fall of Troy
💭 conceptNarrative
The final destruction of the city of Troy through the stratagem of the wooden horse after ten years of siege
Heracles
🗡 heroThe twelve labours
Heracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labours as penance for killing his family in a madness sent by Hera — the most famous cycle of heroic tasks in mythology.
Herculean Task
💭 conceptExtreme difficulty, superhuman effort
A task requiring enormous strength or effort, from the twelve labours imposed on Heracles by King Eurystheus.