Historiae Romanorum
Cerberus
One
of the monsters spawned by Echidna and
Typhaon. According to
Hesiod, Cerberus is a dog with fifty heads,
which belonged to Hades. Later authors, such as Apollodorus,
portray Cerberus as having three heads.
As Hades' dog, it was Cerberus' duty to prevent the living from entering the land of the dead. Only a few mortals ever managed to get by this fearsome dog. Heracles' twelfth and final labor was to bring Cerberus up from the land of the dead. Hades allowed him to do so, provided that Heracles use no weapons. Heracles agreed, and succeeded in wrestling Cerberus into submission and bringing him to Eurystheus, then understandably Heracles brought Cerberus back down again.
Source(s):
-
Hesiod. Theogeny.
-
Apollodorus. Bibliotece.