Agrius and Orius

Agrius and Orius were the huge and immensely strong sons of Polyphonte by a bear. They honored 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 cut off their hands and feet, but Ares, whose descendants they were, snatched them away at the penultimate moment and, with Hermes' help, changed Polyphonte and her sons into birds.

Agrius was changed into a vulture, the bird most detested by gods and men, and gave him an utter craving for human flesh and blood. Orius became the eagle owl, a bird that presages little good to anyone when it appears.

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