Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Picus.
The gallery
Circe Turning King Picus into a Woodpecker
Teodor Lubieniecki, c. 1680–1700
Lubieniecki paints Ovid's Latian king mid-metamorphosis: Circe's wand raised, feathers already sprouting on Picus's arms. National Museum in Warsaw.
Picus and Circe
Luca Giordano, c. 1670–1680
Giordano's Neapolitan oil stages Circe's rejected courtship of Picus — the woodpecker-king before the spell that will punish his fidelity to Canens.
Circe Changing Picus into a Bird
Antonio Tempesta (after), 1606
A Metamorphoses plate from the Metropolitan Museum series: Circe's companions drive Picus as wings break from his body. Print culture for the Latin woodpecker-king.
Circe Changes Picus into a Woodpecker
Unknown (Dutch, after Ovid), c. 1600–1650
A Rijksmuseum Metamorphoses print shows Circe's circle watching Picus take flight — the king of Latium becoming the bird that still bears his name in Roman augury.