Pantheon: Roman, Latin
Mercury is the god of commerce, abundance, the arts, trade, travelers, grain trading, and merchants. It is thought that all good things are sent by him. He is the son of Maia and Jupiter, and became associated with Hermes after the Romans conquered Greece. He was one of the most popular gods in Britain and Gaul. His festival was held on May 15th. Mercury is probably not one of the Roman gods appropriated from the Etruscans, nor one of the earliest gods since he did not have a flamen. The emerald is Mercury's sacred stone. He was thought by the early Italians to be the father of Faunus. He is the father of the Lares Compitales by Lara, and sometimes considered to be the husband of Facundia.
In art, Mercury appears as a man wearing winged boots or sandals, a winged hat, and carrying a caudecus. He is often accompanied by a rooster, a ram, a goat, or a tortoise. In Celtic-inspired areas of the Empire, Mercury was sometimes shown as having three faces, three heads, or three phalli.
Mercury Artaios: Mercury associated with bears and hunting worshipped in Gaul.