Cerberus

“Cerberus. The Great Worm. As a dog who craves barking, then grows quiet as he snaps up his food, so are the foul faces of the demon Cerberus, who thunders over these souls.” — Virgil

Cerberus was the three-headed hellhound who guarded the third circle of Hell, Gluttony.

Overview[]

Found at the entrance to the third circle, it was the fourth boss fought in Dante's Inferno. Dante fought Cerberus in order to continue through the circle of Gluttony and defeated it by decapitating it's first two heads with the scythe and using his cross to make the middle head explode after being eaten. Defeating Cerberus earned the player the "The Great Worm" achievement/trophy.

Appearance[]

When dormant, Cerberus has the form of a giant grey skinned and decapitated human torso with a rudimentary face upon its upper back. When Dante approaches however, the flesh of its exposed threat peels off to reveal its true form of a monstrous three headed worm creature; each one sporting large human like mouths, rotted teeth, and three pairs of smaller mouths ringed around each head like eyes.

Powers & Abilities[]

As a guardian of Gluttony, Cerberus is able to consume an indefinite amount of matter, be it filth or souls. Because of its many mouths it can feed on more of its meals and then burp out the souls to fire at Dante. He can stretch out to bite with efficient damage.

Movie[]

Cerberus appears in the animated film much as he does in the game, but he is more active, marching across Gluttony and eating souls. In order to pass through Gluttony, Dante allows himself to be swallowed, where he then makes his way through the monster's bowels, eventually destroying the beast's heart causing him to spew out a large amount of blood.

Dante's Journal[]

Cerberus as it appears in the poem.

In Greek mythology, Cerberus was an actual three-headed guard dog of The Underworld; the domain of the Greek god Hades. The child of the monster Typhon and Echidna, Cerberus allowed souls to pass without incident, but would block the way if the living tried to enter, or the dead to leave. Cerberus could be overcome however; he can be bribed with cakes, put to sleep with song or drugged food, or even (in the case of the hero Heracles) subdued and carried off by force.
The structure of the battle with Cerberus (the monster trapped in a corner, rarely moving from its place and killing heads one at a time), is similar to the battle with Cerberus in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, and the many Cerberus hounds in the God of War games. Both games are similar in theme and gameplay to Dante's Inferno.
In "The Inferno", Dante places Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of Hell. With his three mouths, Dante saw Cerberus as a beast that was synonymous with the sin of Gluttony. Virgil gets past Cerberus by throwing mud in his three mouths, temporarily choking him.
In "The Inferno", Cerberus is rather described as "The Great Worm" this is the possible reason why Cerberus seems to appear as a three headed Tape worm in the game.