A Sop to Cerberus mb-code 2324879 South view of the Tower

South view of the Tower of London with figures on horseback

Lord Russell lifts the lid on the meat dish

Judith Webb

View of no 60 Fleet Street

Barry Fantoni

A Sop to Cerberus mb-code 2324879 South view of the Tower'A Sop to Cerberus', 1872. This cartoon shows Louis Adolphe Thiers, the first president of the Third Republic, and Leon Gambetta, the deputy for Marseilles. Here they are threatened by Cerberus, which, in Greek mythology, was the three headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades. The heads represent Legitimist, Imperial and Orleanist, which groups, with the Red Republicans, were warring continually and causing France's administration great problems.