Agrius and Oreius (mythology)

For other uses, see Agrius.

For other uses, see Oreius (mythology).

In Greek mythology, Agrius or Agrios (/ˈæɡriəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἄγριος means 'wild, savage') and Oreios, also Oreius, Orius or Oreus, (Ὀρείου, Ὄρειον or Ὄρειος means ‘of the mountain’) were the twin sons of Polyphonte, daughter of Hipponous, and a bear as well as them being the great-grandsons of Ares.

Mythology

Polyphonte was punished by Aphrodite for the former did not worship her, instead becoming a devotee of the virgin goddess Artemis. The goddess of love made her to couple with a bear causing Artemis to have the animals of the forest attack her. Polyphonte fled back to her father and gave birth to twin savage bear-like children named Agrius and Orius.

'She [i.e Polyphonte] brought forth two children, Agrius and Orius, huge and of immense strength. They honoured neither god nor man but scorned them all. If they met a stranger, they would haul him home to eat. Zeus loathed them and sent Hermes to punish them in whatever way he chose. Hermes decided to chop off their hands and feet. But Ares, since the family of Polyphonte descended from him, snatched her sons from this fate. With the help of Hermes, he changed them into birds. Polyphonte became a small owl whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind. Orius became an eagle owl, a bird that presages little good to anyone when it appears. Agrius was changed into a vulture, the bird most detested by gods and men. These gods gave him an utter craving for human flesh and blood. Their female servant was changed into a woodpecker. As she was changing her shape she prayed to the gods not to become a bird evil for mankind. Hermes and Ares heard her prayer because she had by necessity done what her masters had ordered. This is a bird of good omen for someone going hunting or to feasts.'

In popular culture

• The TV series Class of the Titans featured a variant of Agrius and Orieus who were depicted as Gigantes working for Cronus. Agrius was a light-blue tusked Gigantes with the lower of a Kermode bear and Orieus was a light-blue Gigantes with the upper body of a Kermode bear.
• In Rick Riordan's novel The Sea of Monsters, Agrius and Orieus act as henchmen to the main antagonist Luke Castellan. In the final battle, they are killed by Blackjack the pegasus and a centaur respectively. In the film adaptation they were replaced by a manticore.

References

Further reading

• Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths, Harmondsworth, London, England, Penguin Books, 1960. ISBN 978-0143106715
• Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition. Penguin Books Limited. 2017. ISBN 978-0-241-98338-6, 024198338X