Who is mercury

The poet Horace wrote of him in his Odes. In fact, Horace called himself mercurialis, meaning a lyric poet protected by Mercury. Many of the myths of Mercury are derived from those of Hermes. Monuments to Hermes were thought to bring good luck, and this idea was perpetuated with Mercury as well.

Another borrowed role was that of escorting the souls of the deceased to the underworld. The festival of Mercuralia was held on May 15, the anniversary of the temple dedication, in honor of both Mercury and his mother Maia of the Pleiades.

Rituals of this festival involved merchants drawing water from the well at Porta Capena to be sprinkled on their trade goods and on their own heads. In art and statues, Mercury is typically depicted as a handsome young man, even boyish in appearance, wearing a white garment. Mercury often carries a money purse, symbolizing his function as patron of merchants and business owners. His fleetness as messenger of the gods is represented by a hat or sandals with wings, called petasus and talaria, respectively.

The caduceus was a symbol of peace, carried by ambassadors to foreign lands. It consisted of a branch with two shoots, originally decorated with ribbons or garlands. In later times, these attributes were replaced by two twining snakes, with a pair of wings above the snakes. Today, this symbol is used to represent physicians, the medical field, and the U. Army Medical Corps. Like many mythical figures, Mercury has been immortalized in the naming of celestial objects.

The planet Mercury, as visible just after sunset, was called in ancient times by his Greek counterpart, Hermes. Origins In early Roman mythology, there was no mention of Mercury as a member of the ruling class of gods. Appearance In most portrayals, Mercury is shown as a youthful god of Rome who is clean-shaven and is often little more than a child. Symbols There are many symbols associated with Mercury, including his winged cap and sandals that reflect the speed of the Roman god.

Art In art and statues, Mercury is typically depicted as a handsome young man, even boyish in appearance, wearing a white garment. Today Like many mythical figures, Mercury has been immortalized in the naming of celestial objects. He was the grandson of the Titan Atlas. Germanic tribes referred to Wednesday as Wodenstag , whereas in Latin Wednesday is called dies Mercurii. This was possibly due to their similar roles in sacrifice and death.

Gaulish Mercury refers to worship of Mercury by the early Celtic tribes of western Europe. In these tribes, he was likely held as the highest among the gods. The French translation of Wednesday is Mercredi.

Both are derived from the Latin word for Mercury. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It is the fastest planet to complete a full orbit around the Sun. The element Mercury is named after the Roman god. Mercury was a brand of automobile whose production lasted for 70 years. Production of the cars ceased in At room temperature, exposed elemental mercury can evaporate to become an invisible, odorless toxic vapor. If heated, it is a colorless, odorless gas.

Learn about how people are most often exposed to elemental mercury and about the adverse health effects that exposures to elemental mercury can produce. Elemental mercury is an element that has not reacted with another substance.

When mercury reacts with another substance, it forms a compound, such as inorganic mercury salts or methylmercury. In its inorganic form, mercury occurs abundantly in the environment, primarily as the minerals cinnabar and metacinnabar, and as impurities in other minerals. Mercury can readily combine with chlorine, sulfur, and other elements, and subsequently weather to form inorganic salts.

Inorganic mercury salts can be transported in water and occur in soil. Dust containing these salts can enter the air from mining deposits of ores that contain mercury. Emissions of both elemental or inorganic mercury can occur from coal-fired power plants, burning of municipal and medical waste, and from factories that use mercury.

Inorganic mercury can also enter water or soil from the weathering of rocks that contain inorganic mercury salts, and from factories or water treatment facilities that release water contaminated with mercury.

Although the use of mercury salts in consumer products, such as medicinal products, have been discontinued, inorganic mercury compounds are still being widely used in skin lightening soaps and creams.

Mercuric chloride is used in photography and as a topical antiseptic and disinfectant, wood preservative, and fungicide. In the past, mercurous chloride was widely used in medicinal products, including laxatives, worming medications, and teething powders. It has since been replaced by safer and more effective agents. Mercuric sulfide is used to color paints and is one of the red coloring agents used in tattoo dyes.

Human exposure to inorganic mercury salts can occur both in occupational and environmental settings. Occupations with higher risk of exposure to mercury and its salts include mining, electrical equipment manufacturing, and chemical and metal processing in which mercury is used.

In the general population, exposure to mercuric chloride can occur through the dermal route from the use of soaps and creams or topical antiseptics and disinfectants.

Another, less well-documented, source of exposure to inorganic mercury salts among the general population is from their use in ethnic religious, magical, and ritualistic practices and in herbal remedies. When inorganic mercury salts can become attached to airborne particles. Rain and snow deposit these particles on land. Even after mercury gets deposited on land, it often returns to the atmosphere, as a gas or associated with particles, and then redeposits elsewhere. As it cycles between the atmosphere, land, and water, mercury undergoes a series of complex chemical and physical transformations, many of which are not completely understood.

Microscopic organisms can combine mercury with carbon, thus converting it from an inorganic to organic form. Methylmercury is the most common organic mercury compound found in the environment, and is highly toxic. Learn about how people are most often exposed to methylmercury and about the adverse health effects that exposures to methylmercury can produce. Mercury becomes a problem for the environment when it it is released from rock and ends up in the atmosphere and in water.

These releases can happen naturally. Both volcanoes and forest fires send mercury into the atmosphere. Human activities, however, are responsible for much of the mercury that is released into the environment. The burning of coal, oil and wood as fuel can cause mercury to become airborne, as can burning wastes that contain mercury. The amount of mercury deposited in a given area depends on how much mercury is released from local, regional, national, and international sources.