Mercury

Mercury is a significant god in Roman religion and mythology. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery, and thieves; he also serves as the underworld guide for souls.

In Roman mythology, he was either the son of Maia, one of Atlas' seven daughters, and Jupiter, or the son of Caelus and Dies. He appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms in his earlier forms; both gods share traits with the Greek god Hermes. He is frequently shown with the caduceus in his left hand. Like his Greek counterpart Hermes, he was given a magic wand by Apollo, which later transformed into the caduceus, the staff with intertwined snakes.

His cult was also influenced by Etruscan religion, which bore comparable traits to Turms. Mercury had the same appearance as Hermes from the start, wearing winged shoes (talaria) and a winged cap (petasos) and carrying the caduceus, a herald's stick with two entwined snakes that was Apollo's gift to Hermes. He was frequently followed by a rooster, herald of the new day, a ram or goat, which symbolized fertility, and a tortoise, which referred to Mercury's supposed construction of the lyre from a tortoise shell.

He, like Hermes, was a deity of messengers, eloquence, and commerce, notably the grain trade. He was both the patron of travelers and the deity of stealing. Mercury was also regarded as a god of prosperity and commercial success, notably in Gaul, where he was supposed to be especially revered. He was also the Romans' psychopomp, like Hermes, escorting recently deceased souls to the afterlife. Furthermore, Ovid claimed that Mercury transported Morpheus' dreams from the valley of Somnus to sleeping mortals.

Mercury was one of the most popular Roman gods, according to archeological evidence from Pompeii. The god of commerce was represented on two early Roman Republic bronze coins, the Sextans and the Semuncia.