We have stated before that the Romans had gods for everything — and this one is the God of Dung.

His grand Latin name may bring to mind some succulent stir fry, but ‘stercus’ is simply the Roman word for fertilizer. To avoid confusion, the name used behind his back was ‘Poopy’.

Although the thought of a god specializing in crap seems a little bizarre to modern minds, in fact he was extremely important to farmers who valued his blessed fertilizer above all things. In those days, everything was organically grown and good quality manure was essential. Far healthier than unholy chemicals and pesticides.

How did Sterculius become a God of Fertilizer? It seems a strange career choice for an eager young deity. We have only one clue: a little bird told us he may be related to the fertility woodpecker Picus.

We are full of respect for the Manure God. It’s a smelly job but someone has to do it. Please don’t let the smell put you off. Romans were keen on crop ripening and this extremely stinky deity was the epitome of ‘Ripeness is All.’ We sh*t you not.

Sterculius Facts and Figures Name: Sterculius

Pronunciation: Coming soon

Alternative names: Stercutus, Sterquilinius, Sterquilinus, Sturculinus

Gender: Male

Type: God

Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

In charge of: Manure and Muck Spreading

Area of expertise: Manure, Fertilizer, Poop, Muck-Spreading, Shit, Farming, Agriculture, Muck-Spreading

Good/Evil Rating: NEUTRAL, may not care

Popularity index: 4419

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Cite this article Here's the info you need to cite this page. Just copy the text in the box below. Saunders, Chas, and Peter J. Allen, eds. "STERCULIUS (Roman mythology)" Godchecker. Godchecker.com, Sep 09, 2018. Web. September 21, 2020.

Article last revised on September 09, 2018 by Rowan Allen.

Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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