Title: Messenger of the gods Greek name: Hermes Day of the Week: Wednesday Solar system: planet Mercury |
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Mercury was the god of travellers. He had a winged hat and sandals, so he could fly. He carried a staff which also has wings and two snakes winding round it. He was also the god of thieves. When he was only a few days old, he stole the cows of Apollo. Mercury made special shoes for the cows and made them walk backwards, so no-one could follow their tracks. Eventually Apollo noticed that Mercury was playing a new musical instrument called a lyre, strung with cow-gut and worked out that Mercury had stolen his cows. Apollo was furious with Mercury, but thought the lyre was wonderful. So they agreed that Mercury could keep the cows and Apollo would get the lyre. Mercury was also the god of science and business. I think that he's the god of the Internet as well! |
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© Jo Edkins 2009 - Return to Roman gods index