Cerberus

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For the Persona, see Cerberus (Persona). For the Atma Avatar, see Cerberus (Atma).

Cerberus is a Demon in the Megami Tensei franchise.

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Origin

In ancient Greek folklore, Cerberus is the multi-headed dog of Hades who guards the exit of the Underworld, preventing the dead from leaving. The number of heads vary between some accounts, but Cerberus is commonly described and depicted as having three heads.

Design

Despite being described as multi-headed in folklore, almost every depiction of Cerberus in the Megami Tensei franchise has just one head, beginning with Akemi Nakajima's Cerberus in Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei. The author of Digital Devil Story, Aya Nishitani, gave his reasoning by explaining that multiple heads gives readers the impression of multiple wills and stating that Nakajima's Cerberus has just one will in serving him, thereby having only one head.[1]

In its Shin Megami Tensei design onward, Cerberus still remains with only one head and was purposefully designed to resemble a lion.[citation needed]

Gameplay

For complete gameplay information, see Gameplay:Cerberus.

Compendium

Compendium Entries
Shin Megami Tensei
(A-Mode DDS) 		Origin: Greece - The guard dog of the gates of Tartarus. It has three heads and a snake's tail, and is the son of Echidna and Typhon, god of storms. It viciously attacks both the living who near the gates, and the dead who try to escape.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne The feared guard dog of hades in Greek mythology. His parents were the giants Typhon and Echidna. He is the brother of Orthrus.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey The guardian hound of Hades in Greek mythology. It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail.

It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Shin Megami Tensei IV The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore. It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail.

It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore. It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail.

It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Shin Megami Tensei V The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore.

It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail. It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters. It is also the older brother of Orthrus.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore.

It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail. It was born from Typhon, the Giant of Wind, and Echidna, the Mother of Monsters. It is also the older brother of Orthrus.

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine The Hound of Hell in Greek Mythology. Its name means "demon of the pit." It is known as the loyal servant of Hades, the king of the underworld. Cerberus was born from the union of the half-serpent Echidna and the storm giant Typhon.The two-headed beast Orthros is his brother.Cerberus appears as a three-headed dog with snakes all over his body and a dragon's tail. The three heads are said to represent the past, the present, and times yet to come. Cerberus guards the gates of the underworld, the realm of the dead, welcoming souls of the dead from the outside world, but ferociously attacking all those who attempt to leave. It was traditional in ancient Greece to place a copper coin and a honeycake in coffins. This was so that the departed souls could pay Charon, the boatman of the river Styx,to ferry them across the river, and feed Cerberus, who favored sweets.
Liberation Dx2 A large three-headed beast from Greek mythology, guard dog of the gateway to the underworld and often depicted with a snake for a tail. Born to the giant of wind Typhon and the snake Echidna, its brother is Orthrus.

Dimensional Alt: A large three-headed beast from Greek mythology, guard dog of the gateway to the underworld and often depicted with a snake for a tail. Born to the giant of wind Typhon and the snake Echidna, its brother is Orthrus. A freak accident at the Summoning Portal caused these demons with a different appearence to appear.

Soul Hackers
(3DS) 		The guardian hound of Hades in Greek mythology. It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail.
It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Reappearing in Devil Summoner form. The guardian hound of Hades in Greek mythology. It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail. It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Soul Hackers 2 The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore. It traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail. It was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters, and is also the older brother of Orthrus.
Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army The guardian hound of Hades in Greek mythology. Traditionally, it has three heads and a snake's tail.

It is the offspring of Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon The guardian hound of Hades in Greek mythology. Traditionally, it has three heads and a snake's tail.

It is the offspring of Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin Guard dog of Hades in Greek lore. Has three heads and a snake tail.
Persona 4 The guardian hound of Tartarus in Greek myth. It is the offspring of Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters. Orthrus is its older brother.
Persona 5 The guardian hound who prevents anyone from entering or exiting the underworld in Greek lore. It was born from Typhon and Echidna, and is the older brother of Orthrus.
Persona 5 Strikers The guardian hound who prevents anyone from entering or exiting the underworld in Greek lore. It was born from Typhon and Echidna, and is the older brother of Orthrus.
Devil Children Black Book and Red Book 魔界のゲートを　守る門番で　昔からメシア　たちのパートナー　としてもかつやく　してきたデビル
Translation: The guardian of the gates of Makai, and a Devil who has played an active role as the Messiah's partner for ages.
Devil Children White Book マカイのゲートを　まもるもんばんで　むかしからメシア　たちのパートナー　としてもかつやく　してきたデビル
Translation: The guardian of the gates of Makai, and a Devil who has played an active role as the Messiah's partner for ages.
Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book Loyal to its master, this fierce wolf-demon guards the gates of Dem.
Devil Children Fire Book and Ice Book 魔界の門を　守る　オオカミのデビル　とても　強くて　キョウボウだけど　主人には　とても　チュウジツである
Translation: A wolf Devil who guards the gates of Makai. It is very strong and violent, but very loyal to its master.
Devil Survivor: Overclocked The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore. Traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail.

He was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters. He is also Orthrus' older brother.

Devil Survivor 2 The guardian hound of Hades in Greek lore. Traditionally has three heads and a snake's tail.

He was born from Typhon, the giant of wind, and Echidna, the mother of monsters. He is also Orthrus' older brother.

Game Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei

Main article: Pascal § Shin Megami Tensei 2

Shin Megami Tensei II

When Hawk recieves an invitation to go meet Madam at her mansion in Valhalla, he is introduced to a Cerberus that serves her. Madam assigns her to assist Hawk in locating Hanada, and after their mission, she mentions that she has grown fond of Hawk and hopes to meet him again.

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

Later, after Valhalla is swallowed by Abaddon, Cerberus appears to Aleph, having just barely escaped the district with her life. She expresses regret that she had been unable to save Madam, as it happened too fast for her to react properly. She then joins Aleph's party, having nowhere else to go.

Visionaries

Cerberus is featured in one Visionary cutscene in the Game Boy Advance and iOS versions of the game.

In "Golden Appleseed", Cerberus is revealed to actually be Pascal, the Hero's pet dog-turned demon from Shin Megami Tensei. She is howling when Madam stumbles upon her, recognizing her as one of the Hero's demons. Cerberus reveals that while she was away from his side, he had died in an accident. Unable to handle the grief, she sits in a spot near where he had passed, waiting for the day he will return, but knowing full well that such a day will never come. Madam is intrigued by the beast, and asks her to be her friend, and a similarly intrigued Cerberus agrees to the proposal, settling on trying to move on with her life. She reintroduces herself, and says that she is at Madam's service.

End of spoilers.

Shin Megami Tensei if...

In Karukozaka High School, the Protagonist can find a broken floppy disk that can be given to Katsuhiko Sato, who tries to fix it. Once the protagonist reaches level 20, they can return to the school to find a panicked Sato running away from an angry Cerberus, who was trapped inside the floppy disk. The Cerberus orders the protagonist to move out of its way, an order they can either refuse or obey. If they refuse, they enter a battle against it. If the protagonist obliges, it instead goes to another room in the school, but will attack the protagonist when they follow it. Once defeated, the Cerberus will submit to them and join their party.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nine

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Last Bible Special

Cerberus does not appear as a Beast, but can appear as a temporary party member summoned by the skills Elohim and El Elohim.

Majin Tensei

After clearing stage 27, a Cerberus will approach the Protagonist and join him on his journey, saying that he had been waiting for him.

Novel Appearances

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

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Digital Devil Story 2: Mato no Senshi

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Anime Appearances

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

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Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language Name Meaning
English NexDemiKids Light Version and Dark Version
Japanese ケルベロス Keruberosu Kerberos
冥府の番犬Persona 5 Royal (Shadow) Meifu no Banken Guard Dog of the Underworld
Simplified Chinese 刻耳柏洛斯 Kè'ěrbóluòsī Kerberos
冥府的看门狗Persona 5 Royal (Shadow) Míngfǔ de Kānméngǒu Guard Dog of the Underworld
Traditional Chinese 克魯貝洛斯 Kèlǔbèiluòsī Kerberos
冥府的看門狗Persona 5 Royal (Shadow) Míngfǔ de Kānméngǒu Guard Dog of the Underworld
French Cerbère Cerberus
Cerbère d'HadèsPersona 5 Royal (Shadow) Cerberus of Hades
German Zerberus Cerberus
Wachhund des HadesPersona 5 Royal (Shadow) Guard Dog of Hades
Italian Cerbero Cerberus
Mastino dell'AdePersona 5 Royal (Shadow) Mastiff of Hades
Korean 케르베로스 Kereuberoseu Kerberos
저승의 파수견把守犬Persona 5 Royal (Shadow) Jeoseung-ui Pasugyeon Guard Dog of the Netherworld
Polish Cerber Cerberus
Brazilian Portuguese Cérbero Cerberus
Russian Цербер Tserber Cerberus
Spanish Cerbero Cerberus
Perro guardián de HadesPersona 5 Royal (Shadow) Guard Dog of Hades
Turkish Kerberos

Gallery

Videos

Cerberus's Daily Demon Showcase for Shin Megami Tensei V
Cerberus's Daily Demon Showcase for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Cerberus's Daily Demon Future Prediction with Ringo for Soul Hackers 2

References

  1. ↑ "As in Greek mythology, having multiple heads gives readers the image of multiple wills. As Nakajima's loyal demon, he has only one will. That is why I set him up as having only one head." @ayanakajima3, Tweet reply by Aya Nishitani. Published October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023. Twitter.
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