Mythology, Religion & Legend — Power Ranking TOP 100
I wrote a book ranking the most powerful gods, monsters, and heroes from world mythology, religion, and legend! The ranking is heavily influenced by my own perspective, but every placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a satisfying read.
In this post, I’d like to introduce some of the characters featured in the ranking. There are many more beyond the ones mentioned here, so if you’re interested in mythology, religion, or legend, I think you’ll enjoy it!
Rank 96: Cerberus (Greek Mythology)
Overview
Cerberus is one of the most universally recognized monsters in world mythology and appears in countless works of fiction including games and anime.
Cerberus is the watchdog of the underworld in Greek mythology, serving as a divine beast under the command of the underworld king Hades.
In modern depictions, the iconic image is that of a massive dog with three heads, a dragon’s tail, and a mane of snakes. In the original mythological texts, however, it is described as a fierce dog with fifty heads and a voice of bronze.
Cerberus is also a child of Typhon and Echidna, and its siblings include the Hydra, the Chimera, and Orthrus.
Cerberus’ most famous appearance is in the final of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, in which the hero must bring Cerberus up from the underworld to the surface.
When Hercules went to ask the underworld king Hades for permission, Hades said, “You may take it as long as you don’t harm it.” Unable to use weapons against a being with near-divine power, Hercules wrestled Cerberus into submission with his bare hands and dragged it back to the surface.
The drool that dripped from Cerberus when it was brought above ground is said to have given birth to the poisonous plant aconite, which suggests Cerberus possessed toxic abilities.
Why This Ranking
Cerberus is unquestionably one of the powerful monsters of Greek mythology. The enormously important role it plays as guardian of the underworld makes it clear that it was treated as a divine beast with near-divine status.
Its drool giving birth to aconite further suggests it possessed potent venom, making it an opponent that even ordinary gods would likely struggle to defeat.
That said, the fact that “Hercules captured it barehanded without much apparent difficulty” is a significant factor that inevitably makes it rank considerably below Hercules.
Hercules struggled enormously with opponents like the Nemean Lion and the Hydra even with weapons, yet with Cerberus the myth describes him capturing it without much apparent difficulty at all — which weighs heavily.
Additionally, the bard Orpheus charmed Cerberus with music alone and walked past it freely, which raises some rather serious questions about its effectiveness as a guard dog.
Taking all of this into account, it seems to have roughly the strength of an ordinary god, but a war-god-tier being would have no problem defeating it — which is where I placed it in the ranking.
