Mercury (mythology)
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==History== |
==History== |
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Mercury did not appear among the {{Lang|la|[[numinous]]}} ''{{Lang|la|[[di indigetes]]}}'' of early [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]]. Rather, he subsumed the earlier [[Dei Lucrii]] as Roman religion was [[syncretism|syncretized]] with [[Religion in ancient Greece|Greek religion]] during the time of the [[Roman Republic]], starting around the 4th century BC. |
Mercury did not appear among the {{Lang|la|[[numinous]]}} ''{{Lang|la|[[di indigetes]]}}'' of early [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]]. Rather, he subsumed the earlier [[Dei Lucrii]] as Roman religion was [[syncretism|syncretized]] with [[Religion in ancient Greece|Greek religion]] during the time of the [[Roman Republic]], starting around the 4th century BC. He was one of the ''Di Novensides'' ("New Gods") of [[Greek pantheon|Greek]] origin.{{Cite book |last=Powell |first=Lucile |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Greek_and_Roman_Cults_in_Horace_s_Odes/Nd1GAQAAMAAJ |title=Greek and Roman Cults in Horace's Odes |date=1915 |publisher=University of Chicago, Department of Classical Languages and Literatures |pages=1 |language=en}} He has been compared to the [[Turms]] had similar characteristics.{{cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/turms_(Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Antica)/ |title=TURMS in "Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica" |last=Parise |first=N.F }} From the beginning, Mercury had essentially the same aspects as [[Hermes]], wearing winged shoes ([[talaria]]) and a winged hat ({{Transliteration|el|[[petasos]]}}), and carrying the [[caduceus]], a herald's staff with two entwined snakes that was [[Apollo]]'s gift to Hermes. He was often accompanied by a [[rooster]], herald of the new day,[http://exploratorium.galloromeinsmuseum.be/Default.aspx?query=search=deeplink%7C/record/uniqid=obj_3631&showtype=record Exploratorium: Beeldje van Mercurius] a ram or goat, symbolizing [[fertility]], and a tortoise, referring to Mercury's legendary invention of the [[lyre]] from a tortoise shell. |
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Like Hermes, he was also a god of messages, eloquence and of trade, particularly of the [[grain trade]]. He was the patron of travelers and the god of thievery as well. Mercury was also considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in [[Gaul]], where he was said to have been particularly revered.Caesar, Gallic War, at 55 He was also, like Hermes, the Romans' [[psychopomp]], leading newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Additionally, [[Ovid]] wrote that Mercury carried [[Morpheus (mythology)|Morpheus]]'s dreams from the valley of [[Somnus]] to sleeping humans.Littleton, C. Scott (Ed.) (2002). ''Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling'' (pp. 195, 251, 253, 258, 292). London: Duncan Baird Publishers. {{ISBN|1-904292-01-1}}. |
Like Hermes, he was also a god of messages, eloquence and of trade, particularly of the [[grain trade]]. He was the patron of travelers and the god of thievery as well. Mercury was also considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in [[Gaul]], where he was said to have been particularly revered.Caesar, Gallic War, at 55 He was also, like Hermes, the Romans' [[psychopomp]], leading newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Additionally, [[Ovid]] wrote that Mercury carried [[Morpheus (mythology)|Morpheus]]'s dreams from the valley of [[Somnus]] to sleeping humans.Littleton, C. Scott (Ed.) (2002). ''Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling'' (pp. 195, 251, 253, 258, 292). London: Duncan Baird Publishers. {{ISBN|1-904292-01-1}}. |
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