Mercury

(Mercurius) Roman The god of trade and commerce and the supporter of success. Evidence of a cult to Mercury in Rome goes back to the sixth century b.c., and there is some evidence that he was a figure in early Etruscan mythology. According to Italian myth, Mercury was the father of Faunus, one of the oldest Roman gods. However, Mercury was one of the earliest Roman gods to come under the influence of Greek mythology (see Hellenization) and very little information on him survives from before the 400s b.c. As Rome grew and became prosperous, the people needed a god for the merchants and business class in their growing society. They knew of the Greeks' Hermes, who, with many other responsibilities, was the god of trade and commerce, of travelers, and of the marketplace. The Romans gave Mercury these traits and adapted for him many of the stories about Hermes. Mercury, however, was given no responsibility over fertility. Mercury was the god of travelers by land and sea and of good luck, music, astronomy, weights and measures, and trade. He was also the god of thieving. Merchants honored Mercury more than any other Romans did and celebrated a festival to him at his temple on the Aventine Hill. The word Mercury comes from the Latin word for "merchandise." Mercury, as he took on the details of the stories of the Greek Hermes, became known as the son of Maia (1) and Jupiter, whom he served as a messenger. He was also known as the father of Evander, an early king in central Italy, and of the Lares, who were lesser gods of crossroads. (See lar.) Artists portrayed Mercury wearing a broad-brimmed hat and winged sandals and carrying a purse, the symbol of profit. In astronomy, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun in the solar system. Visible to the ancients as a rapidly moving star, it received its name for the speed with which it traveled around the Sun.