Cerberus, the Dog of Hades: The History of an Idea

...of serpents. However, the Greeks must have commonly assumed he had multiple heads; this is evident from the evidence found in their sculptures and vase paintings.

CERBERUS IN CLASSICAL ART

Classical art has depicted Cerberus quite extensively; his portrayal, however, is not nearly as consistent as it is in the works of the Greek and Roman poets. Statues, sarcophagi Stone coffins, often adorned with relief sculptures, and vase paintings depicting Hades, or scenes set in the underworld, represent him as a ferocious Greek shepherd dog original: "collie"; the author likely refers to the Laconian or Molossian breeds common in ancient Greece. He is often shown encircled by snakes and with a serpent for a tail, but there is no certainty regarding the number of his heads. He is frequently shown with three heads in art, just as in literature; this can be easily seen in the illustrations in Baumeister’s Monuments of Classical Antiquity original German title: "Denkmäler des Klassischen Altertums". A very well-known example is the statue in the Villa Borghese of Pluto The Roman god of the underworld, often used interchangeably with the Greek Hades sitting on his throne with the three-headed Cerberus at his side.¹ A Greek scarab original: "scarabæus"; a gemstone carved in the shape of a beetle, used as a seal or amulet depicts a pair of lovers, or a married couple, who have died—

¹ Baumeister, volume I, page 620 (figure 690).