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MERCURY |
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by Katie G.
[Mercury, by Robert Maplethorpe] Mercury, the messenger god in Greek and Roman mythology, is one of the twelve Olympians (the main gods and goddesses that live on Mt. Olympus), and is the fastest of all of the gods. Mercury's Greek name is Hermes. His parents are Zeus and Maia (a minor goddess), and according to a Greek legend, he was born in a cave on Mt. Cyllene. A few hours after his birth, Mercury had grown to the size of a four year old, and he crept out of the cave and went to Thessaly while his mother slept. Mercury's brother (in some legends), Apollo, kept his cattle in Thessaly, so Mercury stole a few of them and took them back to Greece. He then hid the cattle and covered up their tracks. On his way back to Mt. Cyllene, he found the shell of a turtle, and used it to make the first lyre. When he reached the cave, he laid down in exactly the same position that Maia had put him in. When Apollo realized that Mercury had robbed him, he told Maia that Mercury had been the one who had stolen the cattle. Maia looked at Mercury and said that he couldn't have robbed Apollo, for he was in the exact same position that she had left him in when she had gone to sleep. Zeus said that he had seen the robbery, and that Mercury had to return the cattle to Apollo. As everyone continued to argue, Mercury began to play his lyre. Apollo was enchanted by the music, and he let Mercury keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Later on, while Mercury was watching his herd, he made an instrument called the shepherd's pipe, and the flute. Mercury is usually shown wearing a helmet with wings on it (also known as the helmet of invisibility) and magic winged sandals (which can make the person wearing them fly). One myth says that Mercury loaned Perseus the helmet of invisibility and his magic sandals to help him fight Medusa. Mercury is also depicted holding a staff called the caduceus. According to legend, Mercury placed the caduceus between two fighting snakes, and the snakes stopped fighting and wrapped themselves around the staff, where they stayed forever. As the messenger of the gods, it was Mercury's job to take dead souls to the Underworld (also known as Hades). Mercury is said to have taken Eurydice down to the Underworld after Pluto (Hades) had permitted her to stay with Orpheus on earth for one day. In many legends, Mercury aided heroes on quests, or damsels in distress. One myth tells about how Mercury was sent to free Io, one of Zeus's girlfriends. Hera had jealously sent Argos, a monster that had one hundred eyes, to watch over Io. Mercury told Argos interesting and humorous stories, until fifty of Argos's many eyes had closed. Mercury played on his shepherd's pipe that he had made, and soon Argos had fallen into a deep sleep. After the monster's last eyelid closed, Mercury killed Argos and freed Io. Other stories tell about how Mercury saved Odysseus from danger while he was on his journey. He freed Odysseus from the charms of the nymph, Calypso, who had promised him immortality if he married her. He also helped Odysseus retrieve his crew from the sorceress Circe. Mercury gave him a small herb that protected Odysseus from Circe's spells. Since Mercury was one of the twelve Olympians, he lived on Mt. Olympus. His parents were Zeus and Maia, and in some myths Apollo was his brother. One of his children was Pan, a half goat, half man god. His other children were Erytus, Echion, Aethalides, Pharis, Abdeus, Hermaphroditus, Eudorus, and Myrtilus.
Besides being the chief messenger of the gods, Mercury was the god of roads and travel. He was also the god of shepherds, merchants, literature, thieves, athletics, business, tricks, and white lies. The words commerce, merchandise, and merchant are all related to Mercury's name. He is known as a bringer of good or unexpected luck, and is not very honest. Mercury's personality is witty, happy, and clever. He is also friendly.
Mercury Was The God Of:
In Rome, Mercury's main festival was called Mercuralia, celebrated on May 15. During Mercuralia, merchants sprinkled their heads and their merchandise with water from Mercury's well. In Greece, Mercury's (Hermes') main festival was called Hermoea.
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