Editing Sterquilinus

{{Short description|God of odor in Roman mythology}}
{{Redirect|Stercutus|the genus of annelids|Stercutus (annelid)}}

In [[Roman mythology]], '''Sterquilinus''' — also called '''Stercutus''' and '''Sterculius'''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DSkBAAAAQAAJ&dq=Sterculius&pg=PA727 Entry, "Sterculius, Stercutius, or Sterquilinus"], In: Smith, William (1858), ''A Classical Dictionary of Biography, Mythology and Geography'', 4th revised edition; London: [[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]], pg 725.</ref> — was a god of [[odor]].<ref>Carter, W. Hodding (2006), [https://books.google.com/books?id=wOaqkxplV_AC&dq=Sterculius&pg=PA143 ''Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization'']; [[Simon and Schuster]], pg 143.</ref> He may have been equivalent to [[Picumnus (mythology)|Picumnus]]. The ''Larousse Encyclopaedia of Mythology'' gives the name as Stercutius, a pseudonym of [[Saturn (mythology)|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/roman-mythology.php?deity=STERCULIUS|title = STERCULIUS - the Roman God of Manure (Roman mythology)}}</ref>

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 (mythology)|Pomona]], [[Ceres (Roman mythology)|Ceres]], [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]], [[Dea Dia]]; 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 <blockquote>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 (mythology)|Crepitus]], [[Priapus]]; and the goddesses [[Latin profanity#Cacāre: to defecate|Caca]], [[List of Roman birth and childhood deities#Conception and pregnancy|Pertunda]], &c, &c.<ref>[[John Claudius Loudon|Loudon, John Claudius]] (1836), editor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7vJ1GZJof0gC&dq=%22Sterculius+Crepitus%22&pg=PA815 ''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]]''.</ref></blockquote>

==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]]; he is correctly identified by [[Butt-Head]].

==Namesakes==
:''The following terms and names are derived from Sterculius:''
* [[Sterculiaceae]], a family of flowering plants
** [[Sterculioideae]], a subfamily of the family [[Malvaceae]]
*** ''[[Sterculia]]'',  a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae (a reference to unpleasant aroma)
* [[Stercorariidae]], the [[skua]] 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 [[Cyathus stercoreus|''C. stercoreus'' (the splash-cup bird's nest, or dung-loving bird's nest)]]
* ''[[Strongyloides stercoralis]]'', a nematode parasite living in the small intestines of humans 
* ''[[Penestola stercoralis]]'', a moth in the family [[Crambidae]]
* [[Stercoral ulcer]], sometimes leading to [[stercoral perforation]]
* Typhlitis stercoralis, [[typhlitis]] resulting from retention of feces in the [[caecum]]
* Stercoraceous vomiting, or [[fecal vomiting]]
* [[Stercorin|Stercorin, or coprostanol]], a compound frequently used as a biomarker for the presence of human feces in the environment
* [[Stercorite]], a mineral originally discovered in [[guano]]
* [[Stercolith]], a [[fecolith]]
* [[Stercoranism]], the doctrine that consecrated elements of the [[Eucharist]] 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]], 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.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Agricultural gods]]
[[Category:Beavis and Butt-Head]]
[[Category:Roman gods]]
[[Category:Feces]]