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Agares (or Agares), also known as Agreas (or Agreas), adopts what is perhaps a rather bizarre
and certainly unique form when it comes to the likes of demons.
He is the second demon that appears in the Ars Goetia and like Bael before him,
Agares also controls legions in hell and possesses the powers to both manipulate and destroy.
Agares is a demon that not many will know of given that none of the demons from formalised
classifications have been recognised in mainstream Christianity. Yet, to occultist communities,
the demon holds some significance given that he rules 31 Legions in hell.
We see Agares mentioned by many occultist figures including Johann Weyer in his Pseudomonarchia
Daemonum, otherwise known as the False Monarchy of Demons, or by French occultist Collin de Plancy in
his Dictionnaire Infernal, or the Dictionary of Demons. But perhaps the most prominent mention
comes from a mid 17th century compilation of texts from centuries before, a book that’s been
studied by many occultists and those seeking to summon the dark beasts of the underworld.
The Lesser Key of Solomon, an anonymous entry into the literary world of demonology
is divided into five sections, though it is the first section, the Ars Goetia that interests us
the most when discussing Agares. Despite being influenced by other classifications such as Collin
de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal, which portrays 65 demons, the Ars Goetia goes a step further
in presenting 72 demons, as well as providing detailed descriptions of these creatures,
as well their powers and also explanations on how to summon them. It is with this that
we dive back into the Ars Goetia and take a look at the second entity who lurks within its pages;
the demon Agares, he who was said to be a mild old man riding a crocodile
and carrying upon his fist a sparrowhawk. Before we get started with today’s episode
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And now back to Agares…
The Ars Goetia tells us specifically of the demon Agares that, “The Second Spirit
is a Duke called Agreas or Agares. He is under the Power of the East,
and cometh up in the form of an old fair Man, riding upon a Crocodile,
carrying a Goshawk upon his fist, and yet mild in appearance. He maketh them to run
that stand still, and bringeth back runaways. He teaches all Languages or Tongues presently.
He hath power also to destroy Dignities both Spiritual and Temporal, and causeth Earthquakes.
He was of the Order of the Virtues. He hath under his government 31 Legions of Spirits.
And this is his Seal or Character which thou shalt wear as a Lamen before thee.”
With this description of Agares, we can dissect a lot of information about this demonic being.
First, we see him referred to as a Duke, which suggests his hierarchical station within the
demon world. Despite being the second demon in the Ars Goetia, he is not of the demonic monarchy,
but instead as a Duke sits just below them. Bael, the first demon who is described as a king
would then likely have some dominion over Agares, or at the very least was considered more senior.
A Duke in the middle ages for example ruled over a province or a particular territory,
but ultimately was still answerable to the king. Whilst he could be pretty pally with the king
and be viewed as the king’s peer, he did not share in the responsibilities nor honours of the king.
Indeed, there was a chasm between the king’s power and the duke’s power, but the dukes still enjoyed
some manner of political strength over the counts, earls and barons.
Whilst not specified, the demonic hierarchy would have likely been similar
with Agares demonstrating his powers over the legions beneath him.
We are then told that Agares is under the power of the east and that he appears in the form of
an old fair man, one who rides upon a crocodile and carries as Goshawk upon his fist. Here, he is
also described as being ‘mild’ in appearance. We normally expect demons to take on hideous,
beastly forms, so it’s interesting that Agares takes the form of a human-
arguably, the most monstrous beast of all. It can be suggested that the reason behind
Agares taking the form of an old man, one who is ‘mild in appearance’ is to lull his victims
into a false sense of security. Rarely would one feel threatened by an old man,
and so by taking this form, it might be said that Agares is able to infiltrate the unsuspecting
and in extreme cases even elicit sympathy or compassion given the appearance of his age.
But this idea can be shot down when you take into consideration the pets
that Agares has with him. He rides on a crocodile, of all things and on his fist sits a goshawk.
You probably wouldn’t find an old man particularly intimidating,
but when that old man rides around on a crocodile… Well, that’s a different story. The idea that
Agares could infiltrate the unsuspecting with his ‘frail old man’ look is possible,
but when you throw in the crocodile it’s certainly unlikely that even he would hope
to lure people to his cause. Some suggest that the crocodile in question is never actually in sight
and that it stays beneath the rivers, whilst another idea is that Agares as the old man
pretends to drown in said river and when someone goes to help, the crocodile devours them. In this,
Agares uses his two forms to lure the unsuspecting and then capitalises on their compassion and
murders them. Alternatively, another idea is that Agares intends to use his old man form to blend in
with humanity, but that because of how wicked he is, he is easily detected. His wickedness
is thus illustrated as a crocodile, something he cannot be without. The Goshawk is a little bit
more ambiguous and its function is a little harder to suss out. One idea is that the author’s use
of a Goshawk is a product of its time, for during the middle ages, only nobility were allowed to use
them when hunting. As Agares was of the demonic nobility, as a duke, the goshawk may have been
used in his design so as to depict the parallels between the social hierarchy and the demonic one.
The description in the Ars Goetia continues that Agares makes those who stand still, run and that
he brings back runaways. More interpretation is required in order to bring some meaning into these
words, but it might be said that Agares targets those afflicted by sloth, the seventh deadly sin.
If those who are standing still are made to run by Agares, it could be said that he inspires the
lethargic and the lazy to do his bidding and that his victims are made up of those
who are unambitious or slow of mind. Much as the devil makes work for idle thumbs,
Agares appears to make work for the idle in general. Secondarily, him ‘bringing back runaways’
could be detailing his liking for those who leave the church or who abandon the ways of their god.
‘Runways’ in this context could be in reference to those who have quite literally run away from
their beliefs and if Agares is seen to ‘bring them back’ it could be seen as him bringing
them back from their newfound godlessness and repurposing them for his own agenda.
We are also told that he teaches all languages and tongues presently, which showcases not only his
ability as a teacher, but also his knowledge of both the earthly world and the spiritual one. By
knowing every language, he is able to communicate with any person and by knowing all tongues, he is
able to communicate with any demon - or arguably, any creature. It is perhaps with this skill that
he is able to coerce the goshawk into accompanying him and the crocodile into being his mount.
But perhaps more paramount is his ability to talk to humans and the tantalisting gift of language.
It is because of his mastery over language that one might want to summon Agares at all,
and whilst it would come with the risk of facing his hunting bird or his dreadful crocodile,
it would also come with the prize of a new language - perhaps, all the languages.
Now you might say that a demon teaching you languages isn’t really a terrible thing,
but those of the faithful will no doubt bring up the biblical story in Genesis 11,
where God confused man’s languages and scattered them across the world. He does this
so as to prevent mankind from building the Tower of Babel to reach the heavens,
which is generally considered a metaphor for God preventing mankind from ever reaching his level.
The consensus here is that man is not meant to reach the heavens until God has decided
and man is not meant to be like God, but instead is meant to live in reverence of him.
God sought to ensure this by scrambling man’s language and causing the communication divide
that would see the men and women abandon the tower and go their own ways.
Now, if Agares was about promising total mastery of language, then this would be
in direct defiance of God’s intentions, for man would then have no limits to their communication
and could very well find a common purpose to unite against God. In terms of biblical context,
if Agares had shown himself to the original workers of the Tower of Babel,
he could have given them their language back and the work on the tower would have likely continued.
The description continues that Agares has the power to destroy the Dignities,
both the spiritual and the temporal and that he has the ability to cause earthquakes.
These are perhaps the scariest abilities he possesses, and certainly the most damaging.
Besides the obvious earthquakes, his power to destroy the ‘Dignities’ is quite profound.
If ‘Dignities’ are taken to mean people of high rank or position,
it would imply that Agares can destroy those who fit these roles. In a temporal sense,
this would equate to the leaders of the world, the pope, the priests and clergymen - people
who many look to for guidance and wisdom. With his power to destroy these dignities, Agares can send
a ripple effect unto the faithful by eliminating their principals and plunging them into despair.
Yet, this becomes even more dark when you consider that Agares has the power to destroy dignities
of the spiritual kind - those who one might say are the angels. With this notion,
the power of Agares is really put into perspective and it might lead one to consider that his hunting
hawk and ominous crocodile are used for more than just fearsome imagery and decoration.
The text also tells us that Agares was of the ‘Order of the Virtues’,
which is hard to reconcile. On the one hand, this might be a nod by the original author to the Ordo
Virtutum, or the ‘Order of the Virtues’ by 12th century nun Hildegard von Bingen,
a play that involves a soul’s struggle in its deciding between 17 ‘virtues’ that seek to bring
the soul to God and the devil, who seeks to seduce the soul. With this idea, there’s a suggestion
that Agares was once a being of the light - one of the 17 virtues, if you will - and that he served
on the side of God. But beyond this, there isn’t much linking the two texts and unfortunately,
this idea is not expanded on in this passage. However, by suggesting that Agares was of the
Order of the Virtues, it does imply that he was once virtuous and maybe even righteous,
perhaps shedding some light on why he appears as an old man. Perhaps in this, he was once young
and good but over the years, he transgressed and aged into the being that now served beneath Bael.
With this, we are told that he has under his command 31 legions of spirits and that if one
would want to summon him, they would have to wear his seal or character upon themselves as a lamen.
A Lamen is believed to be a sort of magical pendant or breast plate that is worn around
the neck and or upper body, with the intention of covering one’s heart. Whilst its function does
vary, occultists were believed to have used such an item to focus magical energy. In this instance,
it would be used to focus said energy into summoning Agares. Infamous occultist of the
early 20th century, Aleister Crowley, spoke of the Lamen as being a coat of arms that enabled powers
of those who wore it. With that being said, it could be argued based on the words from the Goetia
that the Lamen was a requirement when it came to summoning spirits, let alone conversing with them,
for to do so without such a magically infused item would not be possible.
Johann Weyer in his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and Colin de Plancy in his Dictionnaire Infernal,
both appear to be unanimous in their account of Agares. But whilst Weyer’s account seems to
line up almost exactly with the account in the Ars Goetia, de Plancy offers a few more
insights in his own classification. He tells us of Agares, “Grand duke of the eastern part of hell.
He is shown as a lord drawn by wires riding on the back of a crocodile, a sparrowhawk at his
fist. He makes deserters return to the charge on the side that he protects and puts the enemy to
flight. He dignifies them, teaches all languages and makes dance the earth spirits. The chief of
the demons is of the order of the virtues; he has under his laws thirty one legions.”
As we can see, de Plancy refers to Agares here not just as a duke, but as a Grand Duke, and that
his area of dominion is specifically the eastern parts of hell. He also tells us that ‘deserters’,
perhaps those who have deserted the church, deserted a noble cause or demonstrated some form
of cowardice in general are brought back by him to charge against that which they once stood with.
This is most likely in reference to apostates, for after having renounced their religion may choose
to totally rebel against it and enjoy the comforts that may have otherwise been denied of them.
Whilst I think we can all agree this is an individualistic choice,
de Plancy appears here to suggest that this is the choice of Agares
and that a person doesn’t just simply choose to defect from their religion,
but instead is coerced by Agares and later used to attack it. What’s more, de Plancy confirms
the account in the Ars Goetia that Agares teaches languages, but that he also appears to have some
influence over the spirits of the earth - being able to make them dance and respond to his will.
But Agares is one of the more lesser known demons, much as we’ll find is the case for many of the
demons found in the Lesser Key of Solomon. Many of the ideas in this episode are simply that - ideas,
for it is impossible to know the true origin of many of these demons that are featured in various
classifications. Whilst the authors of these classifications appear to be mostly uniform in
their details, it’s debatable as to whether even they knew where these demons had come from, what
the extent of their powers were and whether or not they really did permeate a space in this world.
With that being said, let me know your thoughts in the comments below and as always,
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Until next time!