I wanted to quickly share some of my research into epithets of Mercury. Since I began working with Mercury I took it upon myself to seek out correspondences to him that are not at all or are minimally co-owned by him and Hermes. While I respect Hermes, I view Mercury as a separate god who made his home in a different cultural context and so it was important to me to find at least a few epithets and items in the ancient world that were primarily his rather than primarily Hermes’. So, below are the epithets and/or symbols that I found that belong, more or less, to him. Enjoy, because I sure did!
Source: Walter Burkett’s Greek Religion
- Mercury Terminorum — Mercury, god of boundaries (especially in the sense of violating boundaries)
- Mercury Mercator — Mercury, god of merchants (primarily a Roman icon, where statues depicted Mercury as carrying bulging bags of money)
- Mercury Fortunus — Mercury, god of luck (probably in games of chance)
Source: Charles Duke Yonge’s A Dictionary of Epithets
- The Calamus — an item sacred to Mercury — meaning, a reed, an arrow, a flute, or a pen (as patron of literary men)
Source: Ovid’s Fasti
- Mercury Atlantiades — grandson of Atlas (his mother’s father)
Source: Charlton Thomas Lewis & Hugh Macmaster Kingery’s An Elementary Latin Dictionary
- Mercury Alipes — wing-footed, swift, fleet, quick
- Mercury Caducifer — bearing the herald’s staff
- Mercury Pacifer — peace-bringing, peaceful, pacific
- Mercury Interpres — broker, middleman, negotiator, mediator
Source: J. Bert Lott’s The Neighborhoods of Augustan Rome
- Mercury Sobrius — an aspect of Mercurius honored in a specific vici of ancient Augustan Rome, connected to an older Punic god
Source: Virgil’s Aeneid
- Interpres Divum — meaning Messenger of Heaven
Wandering Woman Wondering 