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
Tomb of Orcus (especially her eye) bears the influence of Hellenistic art. Unlike the Mona Lisa, however, she is noted for her grimace or sneer. The Tomb of Orcus II (sometimes distinguished as "the" Tomb of Orcus) was constructed around 325 BC. Its entrance is guarded by paintings of "Charun" (Charon), the keeper of the underworld, and a cyclops (possibly Polyphemus or Geryon). When the tomb was originally discovered, the cyclops was mistaken for the Roman god of the underworld, Orcus (hence the tomb's name). The back wall depicts a funeral procession overseen by "Aita" (Hades), the Etruscan god of the underworld, and