Mercury

Mercury is Hermes' Roman counterpart. As Mercury, he becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike. He has children and perhaps descendants at Camp Jupiter in San Francisco. The Greeks envisioned Hermes as a cunning and resourceful being. The Romans saw Mercury more as the god of commerce and trade rather than simply thievery and travel. The planet and element Mercury was named after him.

History
His worship was introduced early, and his temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was dedicated in 495 BC. There he was associated with the goddess Maia, who became identified as his mother through her association with the Greek Maia, mother of Hermes. Both Mercury and Maia were honored in a festival on May 15, the dedication day of Mercury’s temple on the Aventine.

Mercury, the messenger god, was not among the di indigetes of the Ancient Roman religion. He was born of the synchronization of the Greek and Roman religions, during the 4th century BC. He is described as the one who sports winged shoes or talaria and winged pegasus. He is depicted carrying a herald's staff or caduceus, highlighting entwined snakes.

Mercury was worshiped as the icon of grain trade. He was considered the messenger of the gods, who descended to distribute the bounty of commercial success from time to time. Mercury was also revered as the psycho-pomp or the one who led deceased souls to the realms of afterlife.

Mercury really is Hermes but depending on the belief of the people that worship these gods depends on if its Mercury or Hermes. They both have the same myths, tales, poems, and hymns that people all believe in but most of those are all the same between Mercury and Hermes.

The Lost Hero
While not seen, Ma Gasket and her two sons, Torque and Sump, mention having eaten a child of Mercury as their last meal. Jason, while not being able to remember who this person was, feels like he should know him.

Representation
Mercury is sometimes represented as holding a purse, symbolic of his business functions. Usually, however, artists borrow the attributes of Hermes irrespective of their appropriateness and portray him wearing winged sandals or a winged cap and carrying a caduceus (staff). Mercury is sometimes depicted with a cockerel, as herald of the new day, and a ram, as the symbol of fertility. He is also shown with a tortoise shell lyre, that he is believed to have invented himself.

Various Epithets and Names of Mercury

 * Mercurius Artaios
 * Mercurius Arvernus
 * Mercurius Cissonius
 * Mercurius Esibraeus
 * Mercurius Gebrinius
 * Mercurius Moccus
 * Mercurius Visucius

Trivia

 * Mercury, the first planet from the sun, was named after him.
 * The element Mercury is named after him.
 * The word mercurial is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury's swift flights from place to place.
 * 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.