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Labours of Hercules
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===Twelfth: Cerberus=== [[File:Hercules and Cerberus.jpg|thumb|Heracles and Cerberus|left]] [[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 12.jpg|thumb|Hercules and Cerberus]] The twelfth and final labour was the capture of [[Cerberus]], the multi-headed dog that was the guardian of the gates of the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]]. To prepare for his descent into the Underworld, Heracles went to [[Eleusis]] to be initiated in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. He entered the Underworld with Hermes and Athena as his guides. While in the Underworld, Heracles met [[Theseus]] and [[Pirithous]]. The two companions had been imprisoned by [[Hades]] for attempting to kidnap his wife, [[Persephone]]. One tradition tells of snakes coiling around their legs, then turning into stone. Another says that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared a feast, inviting them to sit; they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Heracles had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it (this explains the supposedly lean thighs of Athenians), but the Earth shook at his attempt to liberate Pirithous, whose desire to have the goddess for himself was so insulting he was doomed to stay behind. Heracles found Hades and asked permission to bring Cerberus to the surface, which Hades agreed to if Heracles could subdue the beast without using weapons. Heracles overpowered Cerberus with his bare hands and slung the beast over his back. He carried Cerberus out of the Underworld through a cavern entrance in the [[Peloponnese]] and brought it to Eurystheus, who again fled into his ''[[pithos]]''. Eurystheus begged Heracles to return Cerberus to the Underworld, offering in return to release him from any further labours when Cerberus disappeared back to his master.
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