Orcus

12 questions · Mythology

In Roman mythology, Orcus is both a name for the underworld and for a god of death who watches over the oaths of humans and punishes oath-breakers. From his name the “orcs” of fantasy literature later developed. As a god of death, Orcus resembles the Greek Hades and the Roman Pluto and embodies the dark, punishing side of the afterlife. His name lives on in the Italian orco, the ogre of fairy tales, to this day. In Roman thought, the underworld was a realm to be feared and respected in equal measure. The Etruscans bequeathed Rome its images of the afterlife: on tomb frescoes in Tarquinia, Orcus appears as a wild, bearded giant and even the name probably comes from Etruscan. In vulgar Latin, “going down to Orcus” became a fixed phrase for dying and ruin; German feuilletons use it to this day. Besides Orcus, Rome knew the “rich father” Dis Pater as lord of the deep, and the Manes, the good spirits of the dead, to whom thousands of gravestones are dedicated with the formula “D. M.”: Dis Manibus. Rituals belonged to it too: at the May festival of the Lemuria, the head of the household drove out the restless spirits at midnight, barefoot, with black beans, and the dead were given a coin as ferry fare: Charon collected in Rome as well. Longest of all, though, Orcus lives on in stories: as “orco”, the ogre of Italian fairy tales, which became the French “ogre”, and finally Tolkien's orcs.

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6 of 12 questions with answers

What does Orcus denote?

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The underworld and a god of death

The name stands for both at once.

💡 Did you know? He resembles the Greek Hades.

What does the god Orcus especially punish?

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Oath-breaking

He watches over the oaths of humans.

💡 Did you know? Whoever broke an oath feared his revenge.

Which fantasy creatures derive their name from Orcus?

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The orcs

By roundabout ways the name reached fantasy.

💡 Did you know? Tolkien made orcs world-famous.

To which mythology does Orcus belong?

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Roman mythology

He embodies the punishing side of death.

💡 Did you know? Related to the god Pluto.

How did the Etruscans depict Orcus on tomb frescoes?

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As a bearded giant

Murals in Tarquinia show him wild and shaggy.

💡 Did you know? The Etruscans helped shape Rome's afterlife imagery.

Which Italian fairy-tale creature bears Orcus' name?

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The orco

The man-eating ogre of Romance fairy tales.

💡 Did you know? From “orco” also came the French “ogre”.

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