science

Picus

Picus is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Picus rather than just read about it. In short: Picus was a figure in Roman mythology, the first king of Latium. He was the son of Saturn, also known as Stercutus.

Key takeaways

Picus belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Picus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Picus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Picus was a figure in Roman mythology, the first king of Latium. He was the son of 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. He was known for his skill at augury and horsemanship.

Mythology According to 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 nymphs and naiads. 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, 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 Servius, Picus's love for 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. 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. Italic people believed Picus was the son of the god of war Mars and attributed his avine transformation to his skills at interpreting bird omens. One of the functions he performed was to lead the dedication 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

References Ovid Metamorphoses 14.320-620 Virgil Aeneid 7.45-49, 170-191 Servius on Aeneid 7.190 Diodorus Siculus 6, frag. 5

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Picus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Picus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Picus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Picus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Picus

In research: Picus appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Picus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Picus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Characters in the Aeneid, Fortune gods, Kings in Roman mythology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Picus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Picus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Picus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Picus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Picus in simple terms?

Picus was a figure in Roman mythology, the first king of Latium. He was the son of Saturn, also known as Stercutus.

Why does Picus matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Picus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Picus.