Roman god Mercury of Speed and Commerce
The Roman god Mercury is an important god in Roman mythology and one of Jupiter’s most well-liked offspring.
The Roman god Mercury was known for being cunning and shrewd and often found pulling pranks, especially on his brother Apollo the god of the Sun and Music.
Well-liked for his fun, playful personality he was known to be very trustworthy and the most clever of all the gods.
Mercury (or sometimes also called Mercurius) got his name from the Latin word “merx” whose meaning is merchandise, or possibly “merces”, whose meaning is wages.
It is said Mercury, the Roman god is the son of Maia and Jupiter. He shares many similarities to the Greek god Hermes.
A Mercury god Statue
What was Mercury the god of?
The Roman god Mercury was the god of many things. He was usually identified with the wages, the commerce, the travels, the luck, the eloquence and trickeries, and thieves.
Mercury was depicted as the god of speed and the god of commerce and messages.
Apart from these attributes, the Roman god Mercury was also considered a guide of the souls that were moving to the underworld.
His symbols include a ram, winged hat and sandals, a rooster, and a caduceus, which was a short staff entwined with two snakes held in his left hand.
The ram, one of the Mercury Roman god Symbols
As a matter of fact, Mercury god of speed was one of the 12 Di Consentes at the heart of the Roman Pantheon consisting of 6 gods and 6 goddesses. These were: Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Apollo, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, and Vesta.
History of Mercury god of commerce and speed and his myths
The Roman god Mercury did not enter into roman mythology until a little later (around the 4th century BC) for this reason he seems to lack an origin story.
The argument between Apollo and Mercury the god of speed
One night, while his mother Maia went to sleep, the Roman god Mercury sped to Arcadia to steal cattle from his brother Apollo, making the cattle walk backward to hide their trail.
He then returned before his mother woke. When Maia woke she saw the Roman god Mercury wrapped in a blanket as she had left him with Apollo accusing him of stealing his cattle. Eventually, Jupiter told Maia he had seen Mercury steal Apollo’s cattle and ordered that they be returned.
During the argument between Apollo and Mercury, Apollo noticed a strange-looking stringed instrument, a lyre fashioned from one of the cow’s intestines.
As Mercury god of commerce played the beautiful instrument Apollo became interested and exchanged Mercury with his cattle for the lyre. He then went on to become a master of the instrument and one of the world’s greatest musicians.
A picture of the Roman god Mercury
Mercury was considered an important god in ancient Rome due to his interaction with mortals.
He was a messenger between gods and mortals particularly for merchants. For this reason, there is a festival on May 15th called Mercuralia in which merchants of trade and commerce sprinkle water on their heads and businesses with water taken from a well in Porta Capena.
A temple was built and dedicated to Mercury in 495 BC that sits on Aventine Hill in Rome.
Roman god Mercury helping Ceres in the search of her daughter
There are many myths about Mercury being helpful to the other Gods.
One such myth is when he helped the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres in the search for Proserpina. Ceres’s daughter Proserpina was taken by Pluto to the underworld as he had fallen in love with her.
Heartbroken, Ceres called on Mercury’s help to find Proserpina as the Roman god Mercury was able to freely cross into the underworld.
Unfortunately, Proserpina had eaten pomegranate seeds whilst in the underworld and so it was ordered that she would have to split her time between the two worlds and would be escorted by Mercury god of speed and commerce to cross between the two.
Of course, Mercury assisted Proserpina with her crossing whenever was needed of him.
Mercury god Powers
The Roman god Mercury’s main power is speed, including being able to fly much quicker than any of the other Gods.
His speed is especially necessary as he is a messenger for the gods both between gods and between gods and mortals. As mentioned earlier he is also able to pass with ease into the underworld this is because he also delivers messages to the underworld.
His other powers are his powers of trickery and the ability to deceive and cheat people out of their belongings.
Roman god Mercury symbology and its meaning
As mentioned early, the Roman god Mercury is associated with several symbols. Let’s look at these in further detail:
Mercury god symbol: Winged Hat and Sandals
The winged hat and the sandals were used to show the speed of flight of the Roman God.
Mercury god symbol: the Rooster
This is the symbol of a new day as brought by Mercury being the messenger of the Gods
The rooster, one of the Mercury god symbol
Mercury god symbol: the Caduceus
This is the symbol of commerce and negotiation. As mentioned previously this is the staff the Roman god Mercury is depicted carrying in his left hand with 2 snakes entwined around it and sometimes surmounted by wings.
The god Mercury facts
Mercury is said to have fallen in love with Larunda, a nymph who had told Jupiter’s wife of his affair.
Because of this, Jupiter cut out Larunda’s tongue and ordered Mercury to take her to the underworld. The Roman god Mercury fell in love and made love to Larunda.
On the way there, she gave birth to his two children known as The Lares. The Lares or invisible house Gods were believed to observe, protect and influence all that happens around them. Larunda had to live in the woods to prevent Jupiter from finding her.
His mother Maia is one of The Pleiades or the seven daughters of Atlas and Titan, she embodied growth. His father Jupiter is the King of Gods and God of the sky and thunder. His brother Apollo is the God of archery, music, dance, prophecy, truth, disease, healing, light, and poetry.
A statue of Mercury god of speed and commerce
The planet Mercury is, of course, named after the Roman God, it is the closest planet to the Sun and the fastest to complete a full orbit.
As well as sharing similarities to the Greek God Hermes he also is linked to the German god Woden.
Mercury’s sacred day is Wednesday or Mercurii Dies in Latin. Wednesday translated to French is Mercredi, in Italian is it Mercoledi and German tribes would refer to Wednesday as Wodensday, from the German God Woden
And lastly, the element Mercury is named after the Roman God.
