Bronze statuette Mercury
Bring the blessings of the god of merchants and thieves into your home with this bronze statuette of the Roman god Mercury.
Mercury in Roman Mythology
As a direct counterpart to the Greek god Hermes, Mercury is also primarily considered a messenger of the gods. In addition, he is also the god of merchants and thieves, this also coincides with the scope of the Greek Hermes and shows once again to what extent the Greek culture has exerted influence on the Roman. The Romans knew and worshipped Mercury as Mercurius. Mercurius is derived from the Latin word for goods, merx, and makes it particularly clear what the god's primary role was - protecting merchants (important for supplying the empire), "bankers" and thieves. That the Greeks and Romans saw little difference between merchants, bankers, and thieves is not only a fun fact, but also an exceedingly timely and timeless view of "money workers."
Mercury - messenger of the gods and god of merchants and thieves
This 10 cm. high statuette of the god Mercury is made of solid bronze and is manufactured in Germany. This form of the god Mercury was the most common in Roman antiquity. Mercury is shown with his typical winged shoes, winged helmet and purse. As with the original from the first to second century AD, this replica is missing the herald's staff. The staff was in all likelihood a movable part and not permanently attached to the statuette and must have been lost.
- Mercury height: about 10cm
- Bronze casting
- Lost wax casting
- Made in Germany
Classical attributes of Mercury
The god Mercury is usually depicted with the following attributes. Winged helmet and winged shoes, purse, herald's staff. Winged helmet and winged shoes emphasize the mobility of the god Mercury and symbolize his connection between heaven and earth. The money bag represents all traded goods and money transactions and is at the same time the clearest allusion to the thieves, who usually target money and valuable goods. The herald's staff clarifies his role as messenger of the gods.
Gift tip
The statuette of the god Mercury is best suited as a gift for merchants and people who deal with money. If you know a thief or two in your family or circle of friends :-), they will certainly be happy about the god Mercury's assistance.
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