This handsome bronze pendant depicts the
Roman god Mercury, known to the Greeks as
Hermes. Son of Jupiter and Maia, Mercury is the
messenger of the gods, with attributes that are
the most complex and varied of those of any of
the major gods. He was responsible for
increasing the animal world, a deity of wealth,
the god of trade and travelers, of commerce,
manual skill, oratory and eloquence, of thieves
and of the wind--with whose speed he was able
to move. Mercury was also the patron of athletes.
He invented the lyre and gave it to Apollo who, in
turn, gave Mercury a golden staff with wings at
the top intertwined with serpents--symbol of
today's medical profession. Mercury's duties as
messenger involved many acts. He conducted the
souls of the dead to Hades, killed the hundred-
eyed Argos, and commanded Calypso to send
Odysseus away on a raft, to name but a few.
Mercury also assisted the three fates in the
composition of the alphabet, invented
astronomy, the musical scale, the arts of boxing
and gymnastics, weights and measures and the
cultivation of the olive tree. Here his portrait is
rendered in a most captivating pose, with head
slightly tilted and eyes held in a gaze as complex
as the attributes of the ancient god himself.
- (FZ.317)
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