Mercury, or Hermes, is a very interesting god. He is the messenger of Jupiter, and has wings on his cap and sandals. He flies swifter than the wind and wears a cloak which makes him invisible. As the wind carries things away, Mercury is sometimes called the captain of thieves, and he likes to play tricks.

While walking along a river bank one day, he carelessly hit a tortoise shell, and it gave forth a musical sound. Mercury at once fashioned it into a lyre. This musical instrument he gave to his brother Apollo, who was so delighted with it that he gave Mercury a wonderful wand called the caduceus. When animals or people quarrel, this wand will make them friends again. One day Mercury threw it upon the ground where two snakes were fighting, and at once they twined lovingly about it, and Mercury kept them there as an emblem of the power of the wand.

The caduceus represents the gift of language; for when men quarrel and are angry, if they use this wand and talk with each other, their differences will soon disappear and they will become friends.

You will recognize the statues of Mercury by his caduceus and by his winged cap and sandals. He is sometimes represented as standing upon a tongue; for he gave to man the gift of speech, and is the god of eloquence. Mercury is also the god of commerce; for if men could not speak and converse with one another, there would be no commerce in the world.