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If by now Hercules managed to accomplish all
eleven labors and return back to Tyrins alive, Eurystheus was sure that on his twelfth and
final labor he will finally be killed, because he was sending him to enter the underworld,
the kingdom of the dead, Hades, who's god was Pluto, and bring the hellhound Cerberus up
to the land of the living from the infernal kingdom.
Cerberus had teeth of a razor's sharpness, three heads, a venomous snake for a tail and
for good measure another swarm of snakes growing out of his back. Cerberus was standing
guard to the gate of the kingdom, Hades, and he would not prevent anyone to enter the
realm of the dead, but he will tear into pieces anyone who dare to exit.
Before performing this Labor Hercules went to Eleusis to be initiated.
There were two ways to get to the Underworld. The first and simplest was to die. The other
way was only open to gods or heroes, who could proceed with caution to Hades' realm via
certain natural chasms and caves. The most popular of these seems have been Taenarum in
Laconia.
The first barrier to the deads' journey beyond the grave was the most famous river of
Hades, the Styx. Here the newly dead congregated as insubstantial shades, mere wraiths of
their former selves, awaiting passage in the ferryboat of Charon the Boatman. Charon
wouldn't take anyone across unless they met two conditions. Firstly, they had to pay a
bribe in the form of a coin under the corpse's natural grouchiness. And secondly, they had
to be dead. Hercules met neither condition, a circumstance which aggravated Charon's
natural grouchiness and caused him to glower more fiercely than usual.
The surviving families did their best to provide for these wraiths, sending them off to
the Underworld with a bribe for Charon the Boatman, to induce him to ferry them across the
Styx to the kingdom of the dead. Here they would live on forever in soulless company -
unless, that is, they had been guilty of some egregious sin, in which case they might be
punished for eternity by the ruler of the Underworld. The only worse fate, perhaps, might
be to lack the toll for Charon and be condemned to wander in lonely desolation on the near
bank of the river Styx until the end of time.
Hercules wander into the kingdom among the souls of the dead of many he knew. One of those
was the hero's Meleagrus who just died. Meleagrus asked a favor from our hero, to marry
his sister the beautiful Deianira who was left alone up in the world of the living.
Hercules gave his word to the hero that he will do so. In Hades he also saw Theseus, who
was not supposed to be there yet, and he rescued him.
Our hero then proceeded to the throne of the god of Hades, Pluto. Next to him was his
queen the daughter of goddess Demetra, Persephone, who asked him of the reason that he
descanted to the kingdom of the dead. Hercules explained to the goddess the reason of his
present.
Pluto, got angry because a mortal dared uninvited to enter his kingdom, but Persephone,
that she also was a daughter of Zeus, did not want any harm to come to our hero, so she
pleaded Pluto to grand his permission to Hercules to capture Cerberus. Pluto agreed
provided he mastered him without any weapons and to returned him back as soon as his labor
is completed.
The next and greater challenge was Cerberus himself. When Hercules closed and began to
grapple with the hound, the snakes lashed at him from the rear, while Cerberus's multiple
canines lunged for a purchase on the hero's throat. Fortunately, Hercules was wearing his
trusty lion's skin, which had the magic property of being impenetrable by anything short
of one of Zeus's thunderbolts. After a titanic struggle, Hercules got Cerberus by the
throat and choked the dog into submission. |
