What do Cerberus tattoos mean and what are they like?

Cerberus is a very interesting and mysterious image that is popular with many people. Most often, a tattoo depicting this creature is applied by men. We will describe below what such a tattoo means and what varieties it has.

Cerberus is a fictional creature that is often found in the myths of Greece and Rome. It is a giant dog with three heads, from whose mouths poison splashes, a body that is dotted with snakes, and a tail, depicted in the form of a poisonous snake. According to one version, this creature is the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. But there is also a legend that his parents were the goddess Gaia and Tartarus, who personified the abyss.

This mythical creature represents the image of a guard who guards the exit from the kingdom of Hades (the kingdom of the dead). This fictional creature, according to myths, is distinguished by its disposition: it is fierce, strong, powerful and at the same time quite aggressive. It is believed that it is precisely this that prevents the return of the dead to the world of the living, and does not allow the living to just visit the world of the dead.

Defeating the hellhound is not so easy, since it has tremendous power and strength. Only certain sounds of the lyre could lull his vigilance.

According to Greek myths, only the legendary hero, who is the son of the god of thunder himself, Zeus, could defeat him. It was Hercules. There are two versions of the ending of this myth. So, according to one of them, the brave Hercules killed a terrible creature.If you believe another version, then he simply brought the dog out of Hell on a chain, demonstrated it to the necessary person and returned it back without any serious injuries.

The image of this animal is interpreted in different ways. For many, it is shrouded in mysticism and some mystery because of those very myths. Yet Cerberus is the epitome of loyalty and dedication. There is also a more interesting interpretation of this image. So, it is believed that Cerberus personifies the all-consuming time in all its three aspects: past, future and present. This creature is believed to signify time balance.

Generally, Cerberus tattoo has a pretty big meaning. The drawing symbolizes a kind of challenge to the whole world, perseverance, willpower, tough character, harsh disposition, courage, willingness to fight and defend oneself, one's ideals. As a rule, such an image is applied by men who have a tough disposition, are prone to aggression and cruelty. They seem to be in constant expectation of danger, they tend to resolve conflicts and disputes by force, such people rarely agree to peace negotiations. On women, wearable designs of this kind can be seen extremely rarely. For them, this image has the same meaning as for men.

There are several types of Cerberus tattoos. Pictures may differ from each other.

A hellhound tattoo can be done in a variety of styles: old school, traditional, neo traditional, biomechanics and others. Drawings in such style solutions, as a rule, are made in color. At the same time, special attention is paid to the eyes of the dog: they are usually depicted in red or orange. The dog's coat is black or bluish-black. Usually, such tattoos are bright, spectacular and catchy as a result, due to which they attract a large amount of attention from outsiders.

In general, for such a tattoo, the experience of the master, his talent, and the level of skill are of great importance. If he manages to correctly beat this image and successfully present it, then it will look good and profitable on the body even in styles such as, for example, watercolor or trash polka.

Cerberus looks quite interesting as an independent image. He does not always need additional elements, because such a body drawing itself has a huge semantic load, demonstrating the strength, power, aggression and danger emanating from the owner of the tattoo.

However, additional compositional elements for such drawings also take place. So, often on tattoos depict a three-headed dog with a collar, chained in powerful chains. This symbolizes the victory over vices, control of internal aggression and cruelty. When it comes to defeating vices, then their name is written on small tablets that hang from dog collars.

There is also a variant of the composition, in which there is a man holding a leash on three chains. Often, Hercules appears in the image of this person. He is usually depicted with a bare torso, and he himself looks strong and courageous. Such a drawing on the human body symbolizes a strong will, victory over inner fears, base desires and human weaknesses. Hercules personifies a person who has a strong will and noble thoughts.

Drawings depicting a wounded hellish dog carry a similar meaning. Knives or sharp arrows may be stuck in his body. The body of the Cerberus in such drawings can be depicted with bare bones, which makes the image more effective. If the hellish dog is not chained, but released, then it symbolizes the element, which not everyone will be able to keep and pacify.As a rule, Cerberus in such pictures looks very frightening. Most often, he is depicted with an evil grin and poisonous saliva dripping from his mouth.

Of particular importance for a tattoo is such a plot element as snakes. According to legends, they braided the torso of a hellhound, and one of them was his tail. Therefore, snakes in such a body pattern would be very appropriate. They symbolize cunning, resourcefulness, flexibility, the ability to get out of any difficult situations. For this reason, their presence will only broaden the meaning of the image.

Slightly less popular are stylized images of a hellhound.

The location of the picture does not affect the meaning of the tattoo in any way. The place on the body is chosen based on the preferences of the person himself, as well as the features of the image, its style, detail and scale. So, small drawings are usually placed on the arm or on the leg.

For large images, which are often characterized by a three-dimensional plot, a place with a larger area is required: most commonly the back, chest, or forearm. Note that when the tattoo is placed on the forearm, the pain from the drawing process will not be felt so much. In other cases, it all depends on the characteristics of the human body and its pain threshold.

There are many variations of the Cerberus tattoo. Drawings can be made in different styles. The color scheme and plot will also be different. We will demonstrate some of the sketches of such tattoos below.