Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/369

* MERCURY. 335 MERCURY. theory of Reseller, that Hermes is a wind-god. This ex|il:uns liis ])Osilion as swift messenger of the go<ls, and as guide of the souls, for tciiid and soul are closely connected in the primitive con- ceptions. The variety and apparent lack of con- nection in his functions would lind easy explana- tion in the union of divinities originally separate. In art the types of Hermes show a marked change in the course of time. At first he is a bearded man, with the 'petasus' or broad-brimmed hat, winged shoes, and his herald's staff. Later the type becomes distinctly .vouthful and vigor- ous, sometimes with short-girded tunic and cloak, but with the figure often nude, or but lightly draped. The most famous e.xtant statue of Hermes is the beautiful figure at Olympia, repre- senting the god holding the infant Dionysus, the work of Praxiteles. See illustration with Polt- CtlTl'S. Ro.lE. Mercurius was brouglit to Rome from the IJreeks of Southern Italy, as the god of merchants and trade, and this always reniained his character in the Roman religion, as his at- tributes of the purse and cadueeus plainly show. The literature of course presents him in all bis varied Greek activities, but these are absent for the most part from the inscriptions. As the Roman traders penetrated to the north, they identified with their tutelary god the Celtic Esus, and even found grounds for regarding the Germanic Wotan as the same divinity. KcYPT. Another divinity identified -with Hermes was the Egj'ptian god Dliouti or Tlioth (called Thout{h) or Thot by Greek writers), and in this case the resemblance is more striking. Originally Tliotli was the local god of Chmunu, the (Jreek Hermopolis (q.v. ). and is usually represented in the form of, or with the head of, an ibis. Before historic times, liowever, he had become a moon god, worshiped through- out Kgj'pt, and he plays an important part in EgA-ptian mythology as the assistant of the sun god in his fight again.st hostile powers. (See HoRU.s.) He was the inventor of writing and the scribe of the gods. A euhemeristic Phoenician tale rcjuesents liim as a man of ancient times, who invented letters and communicated bis dis- covery to his King. Thamus. Thoth was the judge who decided between Osiris (or Horus) and Set, and he assisted as recorder at the judgment of the dead. (See Dead, Jiidgment of the). He was the patron of learning and the in- ventor of all sciences, including especially as- tronomy and medicine. His sacred animals were the ibis and the cynocephalus. On Thoth as Hermes Trismegistus and on his writings, see Hermktic. Other Countrie.s. According to Greek ac- counts, Taaut would seem to have been the Phoe- nician Hermes, the inventor of letters and sciences; but this is only a late importation of Egj'ptian ideas, as may be seen from the name of the deity, and from the fact that he is called a son of Misor or Eg^-pt. Sunies. a name of obscure etymology-, is given as the Punic name of Hermes, .^niong the Babylonians, Nabu the god of Borsippa, worshiped in the planet Jler- cury, corresponded to Hermes in many of his at- tributes. The later Arabs relate niany fables nbont Hermes, stating, for example, that' Hermes Trismegistus once lived at Calovaz in Chaldaea, hut these stories are all worthless distortions of very late Greek traditions. Consult Roscher, Htrmcs dcr Wind-Got t (Leip- zig, 1878). MERCURY. The planet nearest the sun. Its mean dislance from the sun is 3U, 000, 000 miles, its periodic time 88 days, its diameter 3030 miles, mass ^'j- of the earth's; density 0.85, that of earth being unity. Since Mercury is an inferior planet, it is seen alternately east and west of the sun, at an apparent angular distance never exceeding 29°, and its apparent motion in the orbit is at times retrograde. When a change in the apparent motion takes place it appears for a short time stationary. During the year Mer- cury is morning star in the east three times and evening star in the west three times. Owing to its nearness to the sun, it is never above the horizon more than about two hours after sun- set or the same time before sunrise. On this account, and from its small apparent size (5" to 13" angular diameter), it is .seldom distinctly observable by the naked eye. It is said that Copernicus was never able to see it. It is very difficult to observe any markings on Mercury's surface, and there is consequently much doubt as to the period of revolution on its axis. In 1889 Schiaparelli (q.v.) announced that he had been able to fix this jieriod at 88 days, in precise accord with the period of the planet's revolution around the sun. If this be correct (and it has received some confirmation from the observations of Lowell ), Mercury always turns the same side toward the sun. This undecided question con- cerning the rotation time of Mercury is of much importance in theoretical astronomy. See Solab System ; Planets. MERCURY, or Quicksilver. A metallic ele- ment that has been known since ancient times. As early as B.C. 300 Theophrastus mentions 'liquid silver,' which he says is obtained by rub- bing cinnabar with vinegar in a copper vessel. Dioscorides describes the production of mercury by subliming cinnabar with charcoal in an iron pot. Pliny gave it the name of hj/drfirgi/iiim when so obtained, while native mercury he called argentum vivuin. Mercury was extensively stud- ied by the alchemists, who believed that it was one of the component parts of all metals, and they were familiar with the method of purifying it by distillation. Many of the alchemists and iatrocheniists considered mercury a metal ; but this was disputed, and even as late as 1735 soma chemists contended that it was a semi-metal. Not until 1759, when Braune found it possible to solidify it by exposure to a freezing-mixture, was its metallic nature established beyond dis- pute. Mercury is found in small quantities in the metallic state, principally disseminated tlinmgh its native sulphide. It is also found alloyed with silver, with gold, and with platinum, but in small quantities only. Its principal ore is the sulphide or einnahnr, but it also occurs in small quantities in combination with selenium, as tie- mniDutc and onofrite, and with chlorine, as calomel. The ores of mercury are not widely distributed in nature, there being but few dis- tricts where extensive mining operations are car- ried on. In the United States the most impor- tant deposits are those of New Almaden and New Idri, Cal. j Lane County, Ore. ; and Ter- lingua, Tex. The California mines have been for a long time the chief domestic source of mer-