Hades and Cerberus
Have you ever heard the story of the boy who was left to his own devices? A boy with a loud family always at war with each other? A boy who simply wanted peace and quiet and could not find it in the confines of a mountain populated with Gods? And what does a boy like that, who does not like his own kind, do for company? On one of his walks away from the mountain, he passes through a village. And he finds a little puppy abandoned on the street. Very much like him, the dog does not fit in. It has three heads and, fearing it is cursed by the Gods, no one wants it. So the boy picks up the puppy. Holds it close to his chest. All three of the puppy’s heads whine and nestle closer to him. He wraps the dog inside his clothes and brings it to his mountain home to raise it as his own. Calls it Cerberus and blesses it with immortality, and, like any good story which involves two beings finding family and understanding in each other, the two became inseparable. And now the boy was the king of the Underworld and the dog, who always loved his boy more than anything in the world, guarded his home.
Meeting Cerberus
At the end of the day
even the biggest of dogs
are just that.
Dogs.
And watching this massive beast
suddenly turn into
the most docile
and friendly of giants
was enough
to melt any heart.
Mine was no exception.
A Difference
Hades, his hand on Cerberus’ middle head,
smiled at his monster dog,
then turned to me and his smile faded.
‘You should not be here.’
I could tell he was trying to be harsh with me,
his tone strict,
but I suppose it was difficult
when the big dog rolled over submissively,
his behaviour puppy-like.
Hades glared at me and said,
‘I think it’s time for you to go back home.’
I swallowed hard and turned
and in that moment
Cerberus whined again
and I heard, ‘Hekate, wait.’
