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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Cerberus’ Bark


Having recently wondered in public about the sister of Pegasus, one of Brigitte’s comments yesterday, referencing the ancient three-headed hell-hound, Cerberus, made me wonder how a creature like that might have barked. Would the Guardian of the Underworld greet its visitors with a simultaneous “Woof,” “Woof,” “Woof” issuing from three hellish jaws? Or would any of the heads just give it a pass (as shown in the illustration I’m including)? Got to thinking, further, that the hell dog would probably have language, and, after acquiring recognition from the Romans, might have barked in Latin thus: “Servus,” “Servus,” “Servus.”

4 comments:

  1. Wow, how strange. I hate to admit it, as it exposes my lack of knowledge about mythology but the first thing that comes to my mind when I see the term "Cerberus" is Cerberus Capital Management, the big private equity firm. One has to wonder about why a private equity group would pick such a name! I must assume it was intentional and not a case of ignorance about the origins of that name. Strange.

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  2. If you look up Cerberus Capital Management on Wikipedia, Monique, you will discover that it WAS named after the three-headed dog! The company's founder later regretted that, but now the name is a well-known brand. And knowledge of mythology is sort of fading...

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  3. Interesting. Still, what a funny name to chose for a new company! I guess being aggressive and having 360° of peripheral vision may be what they were aiming to convey...

    When it comes to the fading knowledge of mythology, well I guess that depends on how you define mythology, no? There is plenty of knowledge and belief about some mythologies these days, just not the old Greek version.

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  4. You're right, of course, Monique. When Brigitte and I went to school, we were taught the Greek myths in school. Everybody knew them, and therefore you'd find lots of references to them in ordinary writings of all kinds.

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