Picus, king of Ausonia

Circe desired Picus, king of Ausonia, but he did not return her love. She drew him away from his companions by sending the phantom of a wild boar through the forest. Picus left his horse and followed the imagined prey into thick woods. When Circe approached, she told him that he would not escape her. Picus rejected her directly. He said that he belonged to another woman, Canens, and would not betray their marriage. Circe warned him that he would not return to his wife.

She turned twice towards the west and twice towards the east, touched Picus with her wand and spoke her charms. His body changed. He saw wings where his arms had been and became a woodpecker among the trees. The colours of his clothes appeared in the bird’s plumage, and little of his former shape remained. His attendants searched for him, then found Circe and demanded their king. When they tried to attack her, she scattered poisonous substances and called on the powers of night. The attendants changed into different animals. Picus’s refusal and Circe’s answer ended with both king and retinue transformed.