MERCURY, in the heathen mythology. See HERMES.
Most of the actions and inventions of the Egyptian Mercury have likewise been ascribed to the Grecian, who was said to be the son of Jupiter and Maia, the daughter of Atlas. No one of all the heathen divinities had so many functions allotted to him as this god: he had constant employment both day and night, having been the common minister and messenger of the whole Pantheon; particularly of his father Jupiter, whom he served with indefatigable labour, and sometimes, indeed, in a capacity of no very honourable kind. Lucian is very pleasant upon the multitude of his avocations; and, according to the confession of the emperor Julian, Mercury was no hero, but rather one who inspired mankind with wit, learning, and the ornamental arts of life, than with courage. The pious emperor, however, omits some of his attributes; for this god was not only the patron of trade, but also of theft and fraud.
Amphion is said, by Pausanias, to have been the first that erected an altar to this god; who, in return, invested him with such extraordinary powers of music (and masonry), as to enable him to fortify the city of Thebes in Bœotia, by the mere sound of his lyre.
Horace gives us the best part of his character:
Thou god of wit, from Atlas sprung,
Who by persuasive pow'r of tongue,
And graceful exercise, refin'd
The savage race of human kind,
Hail! winged messenger of Jove,
And all th' immortal pow'rs above,
Sweet parent of the bending lyre,
Thy praise shall all its sounds inspire.
Artful and cunning to conceal
Whate'er in sportive theft thou steal,
When from the god who gilds the pole,
E'en yet a boy, his herds thou stole;
With angry voice the threat'ning power
Bade thee thy fraudulent prey restore;
But of his quiver too beguil'd,
Pleas'd with the theft, Apollo smile'd.
You were the wealthy Priam's guide,
When safe from Agamemnon's pride,
Through hostile camps, which round him spread
Their watchful fires, his way he sped.
Unspotted spirits thou consign
To blissful feasts and joys divine;
And, pow'rful, with thy golden wand,
The light, unbodied crowd command;
Thus grateful does thy office prove
To gods below, and gods above.
This ode contains the substance of a very long hymn to Mercury, attributed to Homer. Almost all the ancient poets relate the manner in which the Grecian Mercury discovered the lyre; and tell us that it was an instrument with seven strings; a circumstance which makes it essentially different from that said to have been invented by the Egyptian Mercury, which had but three. However, there have been many claimants besides Mercury to the seven-stringed lyre. See LYRE.
His most magnificent temple was on Mount Cyrene, in Arcadia. He is described by the poets as a fair beardless youth, with flaxen hair, lively blue eyes, and a smiling countenance. He has wings fixed to his cap and sandals, and holds the caduceus (or staff surrounded with serpents, with two wings on the top), in his hand; and is frequently represented with a purse, to show that he was the god of gain. The animals sacred to him, were the dog, the goat, and the cock. In all the sacrifices offered to him, the tongues of the victims were burnt; and those who escaped imminent danger sacrificed to him a calf with milk and honey.