Cerberus

Cerberus is a monstrous three-headed dog who guards the gates of Tartarus to prevent the dead from leaving and the living from entering.

Overview

Cerberus is a monstrous three-headed dog who guards the gates of Tartarus to prevent the dead from leaving and the living from entering.

One of the many offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, Cerberus was found and adopted by the Olympian god Hades to serve as his "guard dog", guarding the gates of the underworld.
When Heracles was issued a series of twelve labours by Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, his final labour was to take Cerberus from Hades and bring him back to the king.
Heracles made his descent into the underworld through an entrance at Tainaron and with the help of Hermes and Athena, who guided him through Tartarus, Heracles asked Hades for Cerberus. Hades told Heracles he would allow him to take Cerberus only if he could "master Cerberus without shield or iron", and so, using his lion-skin as a shield, Heracles wrestled and squeezed Cerberus around the heads until he submitted.
While he successfully met Hades' demands, Hades still refused to give him the beast and Heracles shot the god in anger. After Persphone arrived and allowed Heracles to lead a chained Cerberus away the hero and his charge exited the underworld at the Acherusian Chersonese near Heraclea Pontica, on the Black Sea.
Upon leaving the underworld, Cerberus was dazzled by the unaccustomed daylight and spewed out a "poison-foam" which made the aconite plants growing there poisonous.
As Heracles dragged and paraded Cerberus through Greece, he showed Cerberus to Eurystheus. Soon after this, Cerberus finally managed to escape and returned to the underworld.

Cerberus is the final foe in the Halls of Hades raid.
Controlled by Ares, Cerberus is an enemy in the first stage of the Metal Pt. I: False Idols 8-player operation.

While it is possible to kill Cerberus, it is only temporary as he will eventually regenerate even after decapitation.
Cerberus has an appetite only for live meat.
While in the underworld, Heracles encountered the heroes Theseus and Pirithous, who were being held prisoner by Hades for attempting to carry off Hades' wife, Persephone. Along with bringing back Cerberus, Heracles also managed to rescue them on the return trip home.
Orpheus, son of the muse Caliope, after returning from his adventures with the Argonauts and discovering that his beloved wife, Eurydice, had died, went to Tartarus to rescue her. While he was ultimately unsuccessful, during the journey he was challenged by Cerberus, but, Orpheus mesmerized the beast with his music, and gained access to the Underworld.
In the Halls of Hades raid, Wonder Woman refers to Cerberus as "Fluffy"; making a reference to the three-headed dog from the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997).

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