Metamorphoses Book Notes Summary

King Picus was the young ruler of Latium, and his heart belonged to his wife, Canens. Circe saw the king hunting one day and desired his love. She created the illusion of a boar running into the thick woods, and he followed the mirage. Then she made the sky dark and presented herself to him.

He turned her down because he loved Canens, and Circe turned him into a woodpecker. His wife searched everywhere for him, but finally exhausted, she sat down and wept until she disappeared.

After a year on Circe's island, Macareus said that Ulysses and his men left. Macareus stayed at Caieta because he feared the journey home.