Mercury was the Roman god of
commerce and gain. We find mention of a temple having been erected to him {124}
near the Circus Maximus as early as B.C. 495; and he had also a temple and a
sacred fount near the Porta Capena. Magic powers were ascribed to the latter,
and on the festival of Mercury, which took place on the 25th of May, it was the
custom for merchants to sprinkle themselves and their merchandise with this
holy water, in order to insure large profits from their wares.
The Fetiales (Roman priests
whose duty it was to act as guardians of the public faith) refused to recognize
the identity of Mercury with Hermes, and ordered him to be represented with a
sacred branch as the emblem of peace, instead of the Caduceus. In later times,
however, he was completely identified with the Greek Hermes.
