Topic summary
Orcus

Orcus was a god of the underworld in Roman mythology. As with Hades, the name of the god was also used for the underworld itself. His origins are disputed: some scholars regard him as a native Roman underworld deity, others as derived from Etruscan or Greek tradition, his name being borrowed from the near-homophoneHorkos (Ancient Greek: ὅρκος, "oath"), the son of Eris who punished broken oaths, an association that led ancient scholars to describe Orcus himself as a punisher of perjurers. In time his figure merged with those of Dis Pater and Pluto.