Cerʹberus

A grim, watchful keeper, house-porter, guardian, etc. Cerberus, according to Roman mythology, is the three-headed dog that keeps the entrance of the infernal regions. Herculës dragged the monster to earth, and then let him go again. (See Sop.)

⁂ Orpheus (2 syl.) lulled Cerberus to sleep with his lyre; and the Sibyl who conducted Ænēas through the Inferno, also threw the dog into a profound sleep with a cake seasoned with poppies and honey.

The origin of the fable of Cerberus is from the custom of the ancient Egyptians of guarding graves with dogs.

⁂ The exquisite cameo by Dioscorĭdês, in the possession of the King of Prussia, and the painting of Hercules and Cerberus, in the Farnésé Gallery of Rome, are of world-wide renown.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

Cerʹberus

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