In
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
, Sterquilinus — also called Stercutus and Sterculius — was a god of
odor. He may have been equivalent to
Picumnus. The ''Larousse Encyclopaedia of Mythology'' gives the name as Stercutius, a pseudonym of
Saturn, under which the latter used to supervise the manuring of the fields.
The name Sterquilinus comes from the Latin ''stercus'' meaning "fertilizer" or "manure". His name was altered to avoid confusion.
Early Romans were an agrarian civilization and, functionally, most of their original pantheon of gods — as against the later ones they adapted to Greek stereotypes — were of a rural nature with figures such as
Pomona,
Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
,
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
,
Dea Dia
Dea Dia (Latin: "Goddess of Daylight", or "Bright Goddess") was a goddess of fertility and growth in ancient Roman religion. She was sometimes identified with Ceres, and sometimes with her Greek equivalent Demeter.
She was worshiped during ...
; so it was apt to have a god supervising the basics of organic fertilization. Sterquilinus essentially taught the use of manure in agricultural processes. He was not the sole deity of feces on its own; as in, sewage.
Modern writers later elaborated upon and exaggerated the significance of Sterquilinus/Sterculius and other "earthy" deities of antiquity, sometimes with moralistic disapproval. One editor of ''An Encyclopædia of Plants'', published in 1836, related that
Sterculius was the god of the privy, from ''stercus'', excrement. It has been well observed by a French author, that the Romans, in the madness of paganism, finished by deifying the most immodest objects and the most disgusting actions. They had the gods Sterculius, Crepitus
Crepitus is "a grating sound or sensation produced by friction between bone and cartilage or the fractured parts of a bone".
Various types of crepitus that can be heard in joint pathologies are:
*Bone crepitus: This can be heard when two fragme ...
, Priapus; and the goddesses Caca, Pertunda, &c, &c.[ Loudon, John Claudius (1836), editor]
''An Encyclopædia of Plants''
London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, pg 815. This quote is from a section on the plant genus ''Sterculia
''Sterculia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae: subfamily Sterculioideae (previously placed in the now obsolete Sterculiaceae). Members of the genus are colloquially known as tropical chestnuts. ''Sterculia'' ma ...
''.
Popular culture references
Sterculius was featured in "
Peace, Love and Understanding" (1992), the second
pilot episode of ''
Beavis and Butt-Head'', where his spirit rose from a
port-a-potty crushed by a
monster truck
A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...
; he is correctly identified by
Butt-Head.
Namesakes
:''The following terms and names are derived from Sterculius:''
*
Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus ''Sterculia''. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae.
A ...
, a family of flowering plants
**
Sterculioideae, a subfamily of the family
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
*** ''
Sterculia
''Sterculia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae: subfamily Sterculioideae (previously placed in the now obsolete Sterculiaceae). Members of the genus are colloquially known as tropical chestnuts. ''Sterculia'' ma ...
'', a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae (a reference to unpleasant aroma)
*
Stercorariidae, the
skua
The skuas are a group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus ''Stercorarius'', the only genus in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas, the long-tailed skua, the Arctic skua, and the pomarine skua are called ...
family of sea birds (the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was once thought to be excrement)
**
Stercorarius a genus in the family Stercorariidae
* "Stercoreus" group of the fungus genus ''
Cyathus'', including
''C. stercoreus'' (the splash-cup bird's nest, or dung-loving bird's nest)
* ''
Strongyloides stercoralis
''Strongyloides stercoralis'' is a human pathogenic parasitism, parasitic nematode, roundworm causing the disease strongyloidiasis. Its common name in the US is threadworm. In the UK and Australia, however, the term ''threadworm'' can also refe ...
'', a nematode parasite living in the small intestines of humans
* ''
Penestola stercoralis
''Penestola stercoralis'' is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Heinrich Benno Möschler in 1881. It is found in Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , ...
'', a moth in the family
Crambidae
The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...
*
Stercoral ulcer
Stercoral ulcer is an ulcer of the colon due to pressure and irritation resulting from severe, prolonged constipation due to a large bowel obstruction, damage to the autonomic nervous system, or stercoral colitis. It is most commonly located in t ...
, sometimes leading to
stercoral perforation
* Typhlitis stercoralis,
typhlitis
Neutropenic enterocolitis is inflammation of the cecum (part of the large intestine) that may be associated with infection. It is particularly associated with neutropenia, a low level of neutrophil granulocytes (the most common form of white blood ...
resulting from retention of feces in the
caecum
The cecum or caecum is a pouch within the peritoneum that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix, to which it is joined). The wo ...
* Stercoraceous vomiting, or
fecal vomiting
*
Stercorin, or coprostanol, a compound frequently used as a biomarker for the presence of human feces in the environment
*
Stercorite
Stercorite is the mineral form of microcosmic salt. The name comes from the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Ti ...
, a mineral originally discovered in
guano
*
Stercolith, a
fecolith
A fecalith is a stone made of feces. It is a hardening of feces into lumps of varying size and may occur anywhere in the intestinal tract but is typically found in the colon. It is also called appendicolith when it occurs in the appendix and is ...
*
Stercoranism, the doctrine that consecrated elements of the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
become feces after ingestion
* Stercorary, a place, properly secured from the weather, for containing feces
* Stercoration, an obsolete English term for manuring with dung
* Stercoricolous, a term for organisms inhabiting deposits of excrement
*
Sterculic acid
Sterculic acid is a cyclopropene fatty acid. It is found in various plants of the genus '' Sterculia'', including being the main component of ''Sterculia foetida'' seed oil.
Biosynthesis
The biosynthesis of sterculic acid begins with the cyclop ...
, the
cyclopropene fatty acid 8-(2-octylcyclopropenyl) octanoic acid, found in some tropical vegetable oils
* Strocoulious - an approximately 23 year old( as of 2020) Red Eared Slider turtle that lives in Halifax Nova Scotia.
References
{{Reflist
Agricultural gods
Beavis and Butt-Head
Roman gods
Feces