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Roman

Orcus

God of the Underworld · God of the Dead · Punisher of Broken Oaths

01Identity

Orcus in Roman tradition

In some accounts, Orcus finished off those who were dying. He was a Roman god of death and oaths. He was said to be the son of Ares and Eris. Some versions cast him as an angel-like being who brought the dying to their end.

Later accounts reduced him to a black, hairy, ogre-like spirit of the forest. Some sources equate Orcus with Dis Pater. In certain versions, the name refers to his realm in the underworld rather than to the deity himself. He belongs to the world of the dead and to the order of oaths. No separate myth presents Orcus as its main figure.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Orcus?

    Orcus is a Roman deity associated with the underworld, the dead, broken oaths and perjury, divine punishment, death and the afterlife.
    Source

    Source

    • Dictionary of Mythology
    • Greek and Roman Necromancy
    • Greek religion
    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • The Oxford Companion to World Mythology
    • The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

  • What is Orcus the god of?

    the underworld, the dead, broken oaths and perjury, divine punishment, death and the afterlife
    Source

    Source

    • Dictionary of Mythology
    • Greek and Roman Necromancy
    • Greek religion
    • Greek Myths & Tales

  • What family links are recorded for Orcus?

    Spouse: Nox, 1 child.
02Family

Orcus’s family, at a glance

Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.

Orcus

with Nox

Fraus
03The names

The names Orcus answers to

Dis Pater

Roman underworld god, often conflated with Orcus

SourceThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology

Pluto

Roman god of wealth and the underworld, often identified with Orcus

SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

Punisher of Broken Oaths

Avenger of perjury and violated oaths

SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

04Who it is

Orcus, and where the myths place it

Appears in

The myths across MythSource where Orcus features, each on that figure’s page.

The film

The Underdrawing video on Orcus embeds here once it publishes.