PICUS

in Roman mythology, ancient Roman woodpecker sacred to the god Mars. It was widely worshipped in ancient Italy and developed into a minor god. Picus was an agricultural deity associated particularly with the fertilization of the soil with manure. The woodpecker was also an important bird in augury. Later rationalizations made Picus an early king of Italy. The Roman poet Virgil, for instance, made him son of Saturn, father of Faunus, and grandfather of Latinus. His bride, Circe, for reasons of unrequited love, changed him into a woodpecker. As son of Saturn he later came to be identified with Zeus. His earliest representations were as a wooden pillar mounted with the image of a woodpecker. In more sophisticated form, Picus is a youth carved of marble with a woodpecker on his head. In zoology, Picus is a genus of woodpecker (q.v.).