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The Twelfth Labor: Cerberus   Finally Hercules reached his twelfth labor. This was by far the most dangerous one because Hercules had to go down into the Underworld and retrieve its guardian, Cerberus. This seemed to be an impossible task because it was believed that no living person could get in and out of the Underworld. At the time, it was believed when someone died, his or her spirit lived in the world below for eternity. Hades and his wife, Persephone, ruled the Underworld or Pluto, as it is sometimes called.   Cerberus was a vicious dog-like beast with three heads and a serpent for a tail that guarded the entrance to Hades and kept the living from entering.

Like Geryon, Cerberus had monsters for parents. His mother was Echinda who was half-woman, half-serpent and his father was Typhon who was a fire breathing giant who was covered with dragons and serpents. Typhon was so fierce and dangerous that even the gods were afraid of him. This horrible monster also had two other children, the Hydra and Othros, the two-headed hound of Geryon.

Hercules knew that the trip to the Underworld was going to be dangerous, so he decided to prepare himself beforehand. No living soul had returned from the underword before. So Hercules went to Eleusis to find the priest Eumolpus who had begun the Eleusinian Mysteries. These mysteries were religious rites that celebrated Demeter and her daughter Persephone. It was believed that whoever learned the secrets of the mysteries would find happiness in the Underworld.

As soon as Hercules went through the training, he was initiated into the mysteries. He then went to a place called Taenarum in Laconia. In Taenarum there was a deep cave that was the entrance to the Underworld. Hercules encountered several monsters and ghosts onthe way through the Underworld but finally found Pluto and asked him for Cerberus. Pluto told Hercules that he could take Cerberus only if he could overpower the animal with nothing more than his own strength.

So, Hercules left with no weapons and went to find the beast.