Agares

Names and Variants

• Agares

• Agueres (French demonological tradition)

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Historic Attestation

Agares first appears in extant sources in the early modern demonological corpus, with no securely identifiable pre-medieval antecedent.

Johannes Weyer, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1563), §2, records Agares as a high-ranking duke under the power of the East, providing the earliest stable description of his attributes and functions. Later grimoires reproduce this description with minimal variation.

The Lemegeton (Ars Goetia), dependent upon Weyer, preserves and expands this profile, fixing Agares as the second spirit in the Goetic hierarchy.

The Dictionnaire Infernal (19th century) reflects this established tradition without introducing independent historical material, translating and systematizing earlier demonological claims.

No appearance of the name Agares has been identified in:

• Biblical texts

• Patristic literature

• Jewish demonological traditions

• The Greek Magical Papyri

• Late antique amuletic or magical corpora

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Primary Texts

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (§2)

Agares, the first duke under the power of the East, appears benevolent in the form of an aged man, riding upon a crocodile and carrying a hawk in his hand. He teaches all kinds of languages most excellently; he causes those who flee to return and makes those who remain flee; he removes offices and dignities, and causes the spirits of the earth to dance; and he is of the order of the Virtues, having under his power thirty-one legions.

— Johannes Weyer, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1563)

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Lemegeton (Ars Goetia), Spirit II

The second spirit is a Duke called Agares. He is under the power of the East and appears in the form of a fair old man, riding upon a crocodile, very mildly, carrying a goshawk upon his fist. He makes those who stand still run, and fetches back the runaways. He can teach all languages or tongues presently. He has power also to destroy dignities, both supernatural and temporal, and to cause earthquakes. He was of the order of Virtues, and has under his government thirty-one legions.

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Dictionnaire Infernal

Agueres, grand duke of the eastern part of hell. He appears in the form of a lord mounted on a crocodile, with a sparrowhawk upon his fist. He causes fugitives to return to the charge on the appointed day, teaches all languages, and makes the spirits of the earth dance. This duke commands thirty-one legions.

— Collin de Plancy, Dictionnaire Infernal

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Placement within Systems

• Rank: Duke

• Direction: East

• Order: Virtues

• Command: Thirty-one legions

Agares’ authority is administrative rather than cosmological, emphasizing regulation, displacement, and reversal of social order.

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Usage

Agares is attested exclusively within grimoire-based ritual systems derived from Weyer and the Ars Goetia.

In the Lemegeton, his seal is required for appearance and obedience, indicating his role as a spirit invoked through symbolic authority rather than cultic worship.

No independent ritual traditions, temple practices, or amuletic usage associated with Agares are known outside the grimoire corpus.

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Later Polemical Treatment

Later demonological reference works preserve Agares without significant reinterpretation, presenting him as an established infernal official rather than a theological threat or rival deity.

Unlike figures such as Abraxas or Adramelech, Agares is not associated with heretical movements, popular devotion, or material magical artifacts. His status remains confined to learned demonological taxonomy.

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Notes

Agares represents a class of spirits whose authority emerges within the demonological system itself, rather than through inheritance from ancient religion or folk practice. His consistency across sources reflects the internal coherence of early modern demonological synthesis rather than historical depth.