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{{Short description|Greek and Roman mythological figure}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Luca Giordano - Picus and Circe.jpg|thumb|right|255px|<div style="text-align: center;"> Picus </div>]]

'''Picus''' was a figure in [[Roman mythology]], the first king of [[Latium]]. He was the son of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]], also known as Stercutus. He was the founder of the first Latin tribe and settlement, [[Laurentum]], located a few miles to the Southeast of the site of the later city of Rome.<ref>Aug. C. D.: "exortum est regnum Laurentum ubi Saturni filius Picus regnum primus accepit". Servius Ad Aen. 7, 678: "...ut ecce Laurentum a Pico factum est, ut Laurentis regia Pici...".</ref> He was known for his skill at [[augur]]y and horsemanship.

== Mythology ==
According to [[Festus (historian)|Festus]] he got his name as a consequence of the fact that he used to rely on a [[woodpecker]] for the purpose of divination. Picus was also described to be quite handsome, sought after by [[nymph]]s and [[naiad]]s. The witch [[Circe]] attempted to seduce him with her charms and herbs while he was on a hunting trip, but he savagely rejected her. She turned him into a woodpecker for scorning her love. When his comrades accused Circe of her crime and demanded Picus' release, she turned them too into a variety of beasts. Picus' wife (to whom he was wholly devoted) was [[Canens (mythology)|Canens]], a nymph. After Picus' transformation she wandered madly through the forest for 6 days until finally she lay down on the bank of the [[Tiber]] and died. They had one son, [[Faunus]].

According to grammarian [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], Picus's love for [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]] was itself scorned. But in another place he states she consented to marriage, but Circe transformed Picus into a woodpecker and her into a ''pica'', a kind of bird, probably a magpie or an owl.<ref>Servius Ad Aen. 7, 190: "Fabula autem talis est. Picus amavit Pomona, pomorum dea, et eius volentis est sortita coniugium. Postea Circe, cum eum amaret et sperneretur, irata eum in avem, picum Martium, convertit: nam altera est pica...".</ref> He is featured in one of the ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' of [[Ovid]]. [[Virgil]] says that he was the son of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturnus]] and the grandfather of [[Latinus]], the king of the Laurentines whom [[Aeneas]] and his [[Troy|Trojans]] fought upon reaching Italy.

Italic people believed Picus was the son of the god of war [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] and attributed his avine transformation to his skills at interpreting bird omens.

One of the functions he performed was to lead the deduction of colonies (made up of younger generation folk) with his flight, which traditionally took place in spring and was performed according to a religious ritual known as [[ver sacrum]]. The people of the [[Picentes]] derived their name from the memory of this ritual.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* [[Ovid]] ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 14.320-620
* [[Virgil]] ''[[Aeneid]]'' 7.45-49, 170-191
* [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] on ''Aeneid'' 7.190
* [[Diodorus Siculus]] 6, frag. 5

== Further reading ==
{{EB1911 poster|Picus}}

{{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kings in Roman mythology]]
[[Category:Characters in the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Fortune gods]]
[[Category:Roman gods]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses into birds in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Woodpeckers]]