Mercury
| Religion in NetHack |
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In NetHack, Mercury is the lawful god of the Ranger pantheon.
Origin
In Roman religion and mythology, Mercury is a major god and one of the 12 Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon - he is the the son of Maia, one of the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas, and Jupiter. In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, and both gods share characteristics with the Greek god Hermes. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery, and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld and as the "messenger of the gods", similar to Hermes. Also like Hermes, he was awarded a magic wand by Apollo, which later turned into the serpent-entwined caduceus, which he is often depicted holding in his left hand.
Archeological evidence from Pompeii suggests that Mercury was among the most popular of Roman gods, including two early bronze coins of the Roman Republic. In Virgil's Aeneid, Mercury reminds Aeneas of his mission to found the city of Rome. In Ovid's Fasti, Mercury is assigned to escort the nymph Larunda to the underworld, but falls in love and makes love to her on the way; Larunda bears him two children, referred to as the Lares (invisible household gods).
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Mercury is replaced by Orome for elven Rangers, Eilistraee and the Eddergud for drow and hedrow Rangers, Kurtulmak for gnome Rangers, and Apollo for other Rangers.
Encyclopedia entry
Roman god of commerce, trade and travellers. He is commonly
depicted carrying a caduceus (a staff with two snakes
intertwining around it) and a purse.
