![]() ![]() They were even willing to kill their only goose. Although extremely poor, the couple, unaware of who their guests were, shared what little food and drink they possessed with the weary travelers. However, they knocked on the door of the small home of Baucis and Philemon. According to the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses, on one of these trips, the two, dressed as peasants, came to a small village where they were dismissed rudely by its inhabitants. Often, however, Jupiter would take Mercury with him on many of his excursions to earth to be among the mortals. It was Mercury who was sent to remind the Trojan Aeneas to leave his beloved Queen Dido and Carthage and achieve his destiny to found Rome. Roman mythology is replete with stories of Mercury. Like many of the Roman gods, a planet - the closest one to the sun - was named for him.īesides the god of commerce, Mercury was also the patron of shepherds, cheats & thieves. Besides the wand and sandals, he also wore a broad-brimmed hat, the Petasus, and carried a purse, a symbol of his duties as the god of commerce and profits. ![]() The wand had been given to him by Apollo in Greek mythology. The god is frequently depicted holding the caduceus, a wand used to reconcile conflicts, and winged sandals for quickly carrying messages for the gods. A cult paying homage to him existed outside the city of Rome in Campania and Latium as well as in Gaul and Britain. Mercury's festival day was celebrated on May 15 in commemoration of the founding of his temple. A temple honoring him was built around 495 BCE and stood on the southwest slope of Aventine Hill near the Circus Maximus of Rome. ![]() Allegedly, while escorting the nymph Lara to Pluto's realm, he fathered the twin Lares, guardian gods of Rome. Like Hermes, he escorted the dead to the underworld. His Roman name Mercurius is probably derived from the Latin word for merchandise ( merx). Considered by some to be of foreign origin, he is often associated with his Greek counterpart Hermes. Mercury was the son of the king of the gods Jupiter and purportedly Maia, goddess of the plains. However, to many, he was also known for being cunning and shrewd as well as a deceiver, often pulling pranks on the unsuspecting, especially the god Apollo. Merchants would pray to him for high profits and protection of their trade goods. Mercury protected both merchants, especially those dealing in grains, and travelers. Mercury ( Mercurius) was the Roman god of commerce, often serving as a mediator between the gods and mortals, his winged feet giving him the advantage of speed, and so was the patron of circulation in general - of people, goods and messages. ![]()
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