Orpheus and Cerberus

The story of Orpheus only involves Cerberus in a small part but as he is

present, this story should be told when we think about the might

hellhound who guards Hade’s kingdom.

Orpheus was married to Eurydice, who he loved beyond measure.

Orpheus was a musician and on their wedding day, he played beautiful

music for his bride as she danced in a meadow. Life was beautiful until

Aristaeus, known the Greek tales as the keeper of bees, pursued

Eurydice across a field. As she fled from him, she stepped on a viper

and died.

Orpheus was distraught, and although the death was seen to be an

accident when Aristaeus returned to his hives, his bees had become sick

and began to die. This was believed to be punishment for Eurydice’s

death from Eurydice’s sisters, the Auloniad nymphs.

In his distress, Orpheus stopped playing his joyful music and instead he

played and sang songs of mourning for his bride. Seeing his pain, and

moved to tears by his music, the nymphs and deities told him that he

should travel to the Underworld and retrieve Eurydice from Hades, which

Orpheus decided was a good idea.

When he arrived at the gates of the Underworld, he had to face

Cerberus. Although Cerberus is able to grant access to the living into the

Underworld, they cannot leave. He was not going to allow Orpheus in

but when Orpheus played music so beautiful, Cerberus was charmed

and allowed Orpheus to pass. The music Orpheus played tamed

Cerberus so that he was almost unrecognisable as the hellhound!

In some versions of this tale, Orpheus played music so beautiful that

even the hard hearts of Hades and Persephone were so moved that

they allowed Eurydice to return to the world of the living with her beloved

husband.

This came, however, with a condition. On the way out of the Underworld,

Orpheus must walk in front of his wife and under no circumstances must

be turn around and look back. He must not look back until they were

safely back in the world of the living.

Although he was overjoyed that his wife was able to leave the

Underworld, he did not trust Hades to keep his word. As he walked out

of the gateway to the Underworld, he turned to look at this wife. Eurydice

was not yet safely out of the Underworld and so, because the conditions

had been broken, she was pulled back inside.

Orpheus was reunited with his beloved when he died at the hands of the

Maenads, who were the female follows of Dionysus on his orders. When

he died, his soul travelled to the Underworld and there he was reunited

with his beloved Eurydice.