Picus

[L., a woodpecker.]
(Zoöl.) A genus of woodpeckers, including some of the common American and European species.

For more information on Picus, visit Britannica.com.

Pīcus (‘woodpecker’), Italian god of agriculture, sometimes described as a son of Saturn and as the first king of Italy, possessed of prophetic powers and usually taking the form of Mars' sacred bird, the woodpecker. This bird was of great importance in augury; omens were drawn from the sight of it and from its note. It was said that it helped to feed Romulus and Remus. There was a story that Picus was turned into a woodpecker by Circē (‘hawk’), whose love he had spurned. Virgil makes him the father of Faunus and grandfather of Latinus.

For other uses, see Picus (disambiguation).

In Roman mythology, Picus was the first king of Latium. He was known for his skill at augury and horsemanship. The witch Circe turned him into a woodpecker for scorning her love. Picus' wife was Canens, a nymph who killed herself after his transformation. They had one son, Faunus.

According to grammarian Servius, Picus's love for Pomona was itself scorned. He is featured in one of the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Virgil says that he was the son of Saturnus and the grandfather of Latinus, the king of the Laurentines whom Aeneas and his Trojans fought upon reaching Italy.

Sources

• Ovid Metamorphoses 14.320-434
• Virgil Aeneid 7.45-49, 170-191
• Servius on Aeneid 7.190
• Diodorus Siculus 6, frag. 5

This article relating to an Ancient Roman myth or legend is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)