User blog comment:GSFB/Samson vs Cerberus (Greek Myth)/@comment-8012490-20130430205854/@comment-5232784-20130501005804

Good question.

Cerberus will not be leashed: in the myth Cerberus ran back to Hades (in one telling of the story), hiding underneath his throne, when he saw Hercules coming (Herc had killed several of his brothers and sisters, such as The Nemean lion and the two headed hound called Othrus). I doubt that cerberus could run from the gate of Hades to King Hades himself if he had a leash on him (Hades would logically have lived deep within his realm, not near the gateway to his empire).

As for Folklore: Sure, such folklore is not canon, but then again Hercules himself was subject to stories that were not agreed by all as having been real (In some accounts, Hercules lived in the age of Heroes, the Heroes being a race of primordial giants that existed before the age of Iron (Modern man). Hector, who lived at this time, was possibly taller than Goliath of Gath, based on the size of his spear in comparison to those actually used by the ancient Greeks. Plus, at times when mammoth fossils were discovered, they were at times claimed to be the remains of people from this heroic age. Yet not all ancient Greeks saw this age of man as populated by absurbdly large giants: In the documentary series "Clash of the Gods", on the episode about Hercules, it states that the field at Olympia (where the olympic games, founded by Hercules, were said to take place), was said to have been paced out by Hercules himself before the field was constructed: based on measurements, it was concluded that Hercules would wear in modern times (asuming he actually existed) as size 12 and a half shoe: a giant in that time period (perhaps six and a half feet tall), but not a man the size of a mammoth!

Likewise, not all sources agree as to how many heads Cerberus had; the earlier accounts said about 50 to 100 canine heads.

And in this encounter, we are bringing to bear both Biblical and folkloric elements into the match, so that Samson can have a chance (and who is to say that the story of samson being strong enough to move two mountains with ease, though not divinely inspired, was nevertheless fact?).

Cerberus is a monster of myth and folklore: it only seems right that Samson's folkloric as well as Biblical elements should be considered.

Plus, Samson was strengthened by God almighty, not by a lesser pagan deity, so despite his Bible-based feats of strength not being on par with Hercules' in the myths, does not mean in and of itself that Samson was weaker.