cAcus

cAcus (1) Greek A halfhuman lesser god, a maneating ogre, the son of Hephaestus. cAcus (2) Roman First an early god of the people of Etruria, perhaps a household god of the hearth, or a Penate. In his earliest representations, Cacus was a beautiful young man, a shepherd, and singer with the gift of seeing into the future. His image survives on an early Etruscan mirror made of bronze. Over time and in various stories, Cacus was also the villain in the Roman story of Hercules' adventures with the cattle of Geryon. Two important Roman poets portray Cacus differently as they tell the story of Cacus's theft of the cattle as Hercules rested near a river. According to Livy, Cacus, a local shepherd, was a strong, fierce man. According to Virgil, Cacus was a dangerous, evil monster who ate humans and littered his cave with their skulls and bones. In both versions, Hercules kills Cacus while rescuing the cattle. The traditional site of this conflict became Rome's famous cattle market, the forum Boarium. In another story, Cacus was the slave of King Evander. Cacus stole the sheep of a Greek colonist.