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**Cerberus** was the three-headed *"Hound of Hades"* that guarded the gates of the underworld in Greek and Roman mythology.
As the last of his 12 Labors, **Hercules** was required to capture **Cerberus** without using weapons and without harming the hellhound. Hercules accomplished the task by using his impenetrable lion-skin (taken from the Nemean Lion, the first of his labors) as a shield, and wrestling Cerberus until he submitted.
This sculpture of Cerberus is by **Bernini**, and is part of the large marble sculptural group *The Rape of Proserpina*, which depicts the abduction of **Proserpina** by **Pluto**, God of the Underworld and master of **Cerberus**.
*Cerberus* (1826) by William Blake:
![](http://imgur.com/ttI1WWl.jpg)