Cerberus

Cerberus was born from the union of two of the most terrible monsters in mythology: Typhon — the father of all monsters, a giant whose head touched the stars — and Echidna, the immortal half-woman half-serpent who lived in an underground cave. From this monstrous couple were born the most fearsome creatures of antiquity: the Lernaean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Chimera, and Cerberus himself.

Cerberus is generally described as a dog with three heads, although Hesiod attributes fifty to him. His tail is that of a serpent or dragon, and snakes coil around his neck and legs. Each head looks simultaneously in different directions, allowing him to monitor all passages at once. His mission is absolute: to let the souls of the dead enter and prevent anyone — living or dead — from escaping.

Cerberus guards the threshold of the Underworld on the banks of the Styx — the river of divine oaths that souls cross with Charon. He welcomes the dead by wagging his tail like a docile dog, but proves merciless against anyone who tries to leave. Those who attempt to flee are devoured on the spot. The deceased who wished to pass safely had to offer him a honeycake made with myrtle wax, placed in their tomb along with their obol for Charon.

Yet several heroes managed to trick or tame the monster. Orpheus lulled him to sleep with his irresistible lyre song to retrieve Eurydice. Aeneas, guided by the Cumaean Sibyl, threw him a cake prepared with poppy and honey. As for Psyche, seeking a flask of beauty for Aphrodite, she also used this stratagem.

The capture of Cerberus constituted the twelfth and final labor of Heracles, ordered by King Eurystheus. Heracles descended alive into the Underworld — with the blessing of Hermes and Athena — and asked Hades himself for permission to take the dog, on condition of using no weapon. The god of the dead agreed. Heracles seized Cerberus with his bare hands, subdued him despite the bites of his serpent-tail, and brought him to the surface. At the sight of the monster, Eurystheus fled in terror into a jar. Heracles then returned Cerberus to the Underworld.

In the Hades Saga, the Cerberus armor is worn by the silver knight Dante — whose name directly evokes Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, where Cerberus guards the third circle of Hell. This choice is no accident: Kurumada superimposed the Greek mythological figure and the Italian medieval reference.

Saint Seiya's Cerberus symbolically guards the gates of Hades' realm, faithful to his original role. The Hades Saga is entirely structured around the myth of the Greek Underworld: the spectres bear the names of the creatures that inhabited this kingdom — guardians, judges and executors of the fate of souls.