Post by scottanderson on Sept 11, 2017 7:40:47 GMT -5
Like a few of the D&D mainstay gods, Orcus comes from our real world. He was probably the god of the underworld from the Etruscan religion, and then adopted into the Roman pantheon. While the Greek pantheon that the Romans appropriated became standard in the cities, the old religion hung on for much longer in the countryside. There was no cult of Orcus in the cities. But Orcus remained venerated and feared by the country folk and eventually made his way into regular Roman pantheist religious doctrine.
Orcus was the god of the undead, but his main job in the pantheon was to punish oathbreakers. Oaths have until modern times always had a religious and cultural component to them. The Romans would swear upon the Jupiter Stone, a meteorite housed in Rome near the Senate. Actual Senators and the Emperor would touch the stone when swearing their oaths. Should they break them, Orcus would come and get revenge.
As time went on, Orcus became synonymous with Hel, Hades, Pluto, and the Devil. His name became the name of the underworld and eventually the name of the tortuous overlord of damned souls. From his relationship to the underworld, the name became synonymous with underworld monsters: the undead, demons, devils, and the dark monsters which dwell in the shadows. Orcus is a phonate of Orc, of course, but also of Ogre. In European folklore, the orc and the ogre are the same kind of creature.
The Orcus cult survives today in the various "wild man" festivals in the Western world. They were initially derived from his rural festivals which were garish and debauched. So the next time you see Glastonbury or Burning Man on TV, remember the Etruscans whose cave paintings inspired them some 2400 years ago and the God of the Underworld which inspires us in our table games every day.
Orcus was the god of the undead, but his main job in the pantheon was to punish oathbreakers. Oaths have until modern times always had a religious and cultural component to them. The Romans would swear upon the Jupiter Stone, a meteorite housed in Rome near the Senate. Actual Senators and the Emperor would touch the stone when swearing their oaths. Should they break them, Orcus would come and get revenge.
As time went on, Orcus became synonymous with Hel, Hades, Pluto, and the Devil. His name became the name of the underworld and eventually the name of the tortuous overlord of damned souls. From his relationship to the underworld, the name became synonymous with underworld monsters: the undead, demons, devils, and the dark monsters which dwell in the shadows. Orcus is a phonate of Orc, of course, but also of Ogre. In European folklore, the orc and the ogre are the same kind of creature.
The Orcus cult survives today in the various "wild man" festivals in the Western world. They were initially derived from his rural festivals which were garish and debauched. So the next time you see Glastonbury or Burning Man on TV, remember the Etruscans whose cave paintings inspired them some 2400 years ago and the God of the Underworld which inspires us in our table games every day.
