Orcus The so-called Tomb of Orcus, an Etruscan site at Tarquinia, is a misnomer, resulting from its first discoverers mistaking as Orcus a hairy, bearded giant that was actually a figure of a Cyclops. The Romans sometimes conflated Orcus with other gods such as Pluto, Hades, and Dis Pater, god of the land of the dead. The name "Orcus" seems to have been given to his evil and punishing side, as the god who tormented evildoers in the afterlife. Like the name Hades (or the Norse Hel, for that matter), "Orcus" could also mean the land of the dead. Orcus was
Orc in a dark forest or garden and that might capture and eat humans, or be indifferent or even benevolent—all depending on the tale. Note that the Italian term "orco" is derived directly from the Latin Orcus, and is correctly translated into English as "ogre". In early Roman mythology, Orcus was a god of the underworld, and in medieval times, by association with death and the underworld, the term "orcus" also began to see use for other monstrous creatures and incorporated into the medieval bestiary. In particular, the Italian "orco" implies an anthropomorphic creature with bestial aspects, often demonic, suggestive of