Mercury

Also known as: Cyllenian / Cyllenian God / bearer of the Caduceus / grandson of Atlas / son of Atlas / son of Jupiter / the son of Atlas / the son of Jupiter / the son of Maia / wing-footed God · Family: Olympian gods · Role: messenger of Jupiter · First appears: Fable 14

In Fable 14, Jupiter calls Mercury, his son by Maia, and orders him to kill Argus. In Fable 16, Mercury kills Argus by cutting off his head. In Fable 26, Mercury steals Apollo’s oxen and hides them in the woods near Pylos; Battus sees the theft, accepts a reward to keep it secret, then betrays Mercury by revealing where the oxen are. Mercury turns him into the Touchstone. In Fable 27, seeking access to Herse, Mercury asks her sister Aglauros to favor his love: “Herse is the cause of my coming; I pray thee to favor one in love.” Aglauros demands substantial gold and sends him from the house.

In Fable 28, Aglauros bars Mercury from entering and refuses to move from the threshold. He opens the door with his wand, and she finds she cannot move. In Fable 42, Mercury and the Cytherean Goddess have Hermaphroditus in the caves of Ida; when their son asks them to make men who enter a certain stream emerge half-men, they grant his request and taint the fountain with drugs.

In Fable 75, Mercury accompanies Jupiter in human disguise to seek lodging in the Phrygian hills. Though many houses refuse them, Philemon and Baucis welcome them. The gods reveal themselves, and the couple’s cottage becomes a temple; Philemon and Baucis are appointed its keepers.