CERBERUS

...when new guests arrive, but he is always hostile to those who would depart. Honey cakes are provided for those who are about to go to Hades—the "sop to Cerberus" A "sop" is a piece of bread or food soaked in liquid; this refers to the ancient practice of pacifying a threat with a bribe or distraction.. This dog, who is left nameless and undescribed in the works of Homer, is mentioned simply as the "dog of Hades." Herakles original: "Herakles"; commonly known by the Roman name Hercules snatched him from the horrible house of Hades as the last and greatest test of his strength.¹

Hesiod was the first, followed by Stesichorus, to reveal his name as Cerberus original: "Kerberos". Stesichorus appears to have composed an entire poem about the dog. Hesiod² mentions not only the name but also the lineage original: "genealogy" of Cerberus. He was born of Typhaon original: "Typhaon"; usually referred to as Typhon, a monstrous giant and Echidna A half-woman, half-snake creature; he was the irresistible and indescribable original: "ineffable" flesh-devourer: the greedy, brazen-voiced meaning a voice as loud and resonant as brass, fifty-headed dog of hell.

Plato refers to the composite meaning made of many different parts nature of Cerberus in the Republic.³ It was not until the time of Apollodorus in the second century BC that the now-familiar description appeared: Cerberus is now described as having three dog heads, a dragon's tail, and a back covered with the heads [of snakes...]

¹ Iliad viii. 368; Odyssey xi. 623.
² Theogony, 311 and following; compare also 769 and following.
³ Republic, 588 C.