Friday, September 08, 2006

Mercury

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This bronze statuette is Roman and dates to approximately the 1st or 2nd century A.D. It is 4 -1/2 inches tall and weighs 327 g (11.5 oz).
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It was found in a burial near the German town of Krefeld using a metal detector. This was the far north and the border of the Roman Empire along the banks of the Rhine river. Just south of Xantan.

Mercury is the son of Jupiter and was one of the most popular Roman Gods. He is known as the official messeger of the gods and the patron god of commerce, and also of travellers. The Greeks called him Hermes.
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He is identifiable as Mercury by the winged traveler's cap or helmet he wears which is called a petasos or petasus.
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Mercury normally wears winged sandals and carries a kind of magic wand or herald's staff called a caduceus. The caduceus (or kerykeion) is a staff entwined with two snakes copulating, with an orb at the top which is similar to the astrological symbol of Tarus the Bull. The cadeceus is used to guide the souls of the dead to the lower world. It was a symbol of neutrality or non-combatant status and was often carried by diplomats. Mercury could also control the living with it, or turn anything in to gold. In the other hand he frequently is depicted with either a cornucopia or a bag of coins.
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Link: http://hpgarland.blogspot.com/2006/09/bronze-roman-god-figurine.html--

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Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_%28mythology%29
http://www.hermograph.com/science/mercury2.htm
http://www.indepthinfo.com/mercury/messenger-god.shtml
http://www.marbleclassics.com/god-mercury-roman-statue.htm
http://www.nisbett.com/symbols/caduceus.htm
http://www.crystalinks.com/caduceus.html
http://www.ancientspiral.com/caduceus.htm
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mercury.html
http://btc.montana.edu/messenger/elusive_planet/merc_symbol.htm
http://fc.kcsd.org/~vciviletti/cpwpages2/Caduceus.html
http://www.bemyastrologer.com/kybalion_three_initiates_hermes_trismegistus_hermespage.html
http://webpages.marshall.edu/~geveke1/caduceus.html