A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

PICTOR. PICUS. 365
Polybius (iii. 9. ~ 4) that he had a seat in the who was consul B. c. 151, and is said by Cicero to
senate, and consequently lie must have filled the have been well skilled in law, literature, and antioffice of quaestor; but we possess no other parti- quity (Brrut. 21). He appears to be the same as
culars respecting his life. The year of his death the Fabius Pictor who wrote a work De Jure Ponis uncertain; for the C. Fabius Pictor whose death tiJicio, in several books, which is quoted by Nonius
Livy speaks of (xlv. 44) in B. c. 167, is a different (s. vv. Picumnnus and Polubrumz). We also have
person from the historian [see No. 5]. One might quotations from this work in Gellius (i. 12, x. 15)
conjecture, from his not obtaining any of the higher and Macrobius (Sat. iii. 2). This Ser. Fabius
dignities of the state, that he died soon after his probably wrote Annals likewise in the Latin lanreturn from Delphi; but, as Polybius (iii. 9) speaks guage, since Cicero (de Orat. ii. 12) speaks of a
of him as one of the historians of the second Puanic Latin annalist, Pictor, whom he places after Cato,
war, he can hardly have died so soon; and it is but before Piso; which corresponds with the time
probable that his literary habits rendered him dis- at which Ser. Pictor lived, but could not be
inclined to engage in the active services required of applicable to Q. Pictor, who lived in the time of the
the Roman magistrates at that time. second Punic War. Now as we know that Q.
The history of Fabius Pictor probably began Pictor wrote his history in Greek, it is probable,
with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy, and. came down as has been already remarked under No. 4, that
to his own time. The earlier events were related the passages referring to a Latin history of Fabius
with brevity; but that portion of the history of Pictor relate to this Ser. Pictor. (Krause, Ibid.
which he was a contemporary, was given with p. 132, &c.)
much greater minuteness (Dionys. i. 6). We do The annexed coin was struck by some member
not know the number of books into which the work of this family, but it cannot be assigned with cerwas divided, nor how far it came down. It con- tainty to any of the persons above mentioned.
tained al accounlt of the battle of the lake Trasi- It bears on the obverse a head of Pallas, and on
mene (Liv. xxii. 7); and Polybius, as we have the reverse a figure of Rome,'seated, with the
already remllarked, speaks of hiln as one of the his- legend of N. FABI N. PICTOR. On the shield we
torians of the second Punic War. We have the find QVIRIN., which probably indicates that the
express testimony of Dionysius (I. c.) that the work person who struck it was Flamen Quirinalis.
of Fabius was written in Greek; but it has been
supposed from Cicero (de Oral. ii. 12, (le Leg. i. 2),
Gellius (v. 4, x. 15), Quintilial (i. 6. ~ 12), and /
Nonius (s. v. I-'icausnins), that it must have been
written in Latin also. This, however, is very im- I
probable; and as we know there were two Latin S
writers of the name of Fabius, namely, Ser. Fabius "
Pictor, anid Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianns, it is
more likely that the passages above quoted refer to COIN OF N. FABIUS PICTOR.
one of these, and not to Quintus. [See below,
No. 6.] PICUMNUS and PILUMNUS, were reThe work of Q. Fabius Pictor was one of great garded as two brothers, and as tile beneficent gods
value, and is frequently referred to by Livy, Poly- of matrimony in the rustic religion of the ancient
bins, and Dionysius. Polybius (i. 14, iii. 9), indeed, Romans. A couch was prepared for them in the
charges Fabius with great partiality towards the house in which there was a newly-born child.
Romans; and as he wrote for the Greeks, he was Pilumnus was believed to ward off all the sufferprobably anxious to make his countrymen appear ings from childhood from the infant with Ihis
in the best light. The work seems to have con- pilulm, with which he taught to pound the grain;
tained a very accurate account of the constitutional and Picumnus, who, under the name of Sterquichanges at Rome; Niebulr attributes the excellence linius, was believed to have discovered the use of
of Dion Cassius in this department of his history manure for the fields, conferred uponl the infant
to his having closely followed the statements of strength and prosperity, whence both were also
Fabius (1Hist. of Ronze, vol. ii. note 367). In his looked upon as the gods of good deeds, and were
account of the early Roman legends Fabius is said identified with Castor and Pollux. (Serv. ccd Aen.
to have adopted the views of Diocles of Peparethus ix. 4, x. 76; August. De Civ. Dei. vi. 9, xviii. 15;
[DIocLES, literary, No. 5]. (Mijller, De Q. Fabio Ov. Mlet. xiv. 321, &c.; Virg. Aen. vii. 189). When
Pictore, Altorf, 1690; Whiste, De Fabio Pictore Danae landed in Italy, Picumnus is said to have
ceterisqle Ftabiis Historicis, Hafniae, 1832; Vossius, built with her the town of Ardea, and to have
De Hist. Lat. p. 12; Krause, Vitae et Fragm. Hist. become by her the father of Dasunus. [L. S.]
Rom. p. 38, &c.; Niebuhr, Lectures on Roman Issis- PICUS (Ii7os), a Latin prophetic divinity, is
tory, vol. i. p 27, ed. Sclhmitz.) described as a son of Saturnus or Sterculus, as the
5. Q. FABIvs PICTOR, probably son of No. 4, husband of Canens, and the father of Faunus
was praetor a. C. 189. The lot gave him Sardinia (Ov. Met. xiv. 320, 338, Fast. iii. 291; Virg.
as his province, but as he had been consecrated Aen. vii. 48; Serv. ad Aesn. x. 76). Iln some traflamen Quirinalis in the preceding year, the pontifex ditions he was called the first king of Italy (Tzetz.
maximus, P. Licinius, compelled him to remain in ad Lye. 1232). He was a famous soothsayer and
Rome. Fabius was so enraged at losing his pro- augur, and, as he made use in these things of a
vince that he attempted to abdicate, but the senate picus (a wood-pecker), he himself also was called
compelled him to retain his office, and assigned to Picus. Ile was represented in a rude and primitive
him the jurisdiction inter peregrinos. He died B. c. manner as a wooden pillar with a wood-pecker on
167. (Liv. xxxvii. 47, 50, 51, xlv. 44.) the top of it, but afterwards as a young man with
6. SER. FABIUS PICTOR, probably a son of No. a wood-pecker on his head (Dionys. i. 14; Ov.
5, was a contemporary of A. Postumius Albinus, lfet. xiv. 314; Virg. Aen. vii. 187). The whole