Mercury is the god of merchants, travelers, transporters, and thieves and tricksters. He is the son of Jupiter and is most commonly known as the “Messenger of the gods”. He is the son of the god Zeus and the Nymph Maia. Some of his most common symbols are the caduceus, winged sandals, a purse to represent him being the god of merchants. The planet in our Solar system, Mercury, has its name due to its quick rotation around the sun. Out of every planet, it has the lowest time of rotation at 88 days. The quickness of the rotation closely resembles the quickness of the Roman god Mercury and his job as the messenger of the gods.
I think that the name of the planet matches its namesake very well. As the smallest but fastest planet in the solar system, it resembles the traits of the god Mercury. The small size represents his standing in the council of the gods. While he is one of the more important gods, he is only thought of as the messenger rather than one of the more important deities. The quick rotation of the planet matches the occupation of the god as well. Hermes was assigned the task of delivering the messages of all of the gods. Whether it was delivering a gift to mortals or sending a mission to a hero, he did it all. I believe that since all of the planets are named after Mythological characters/creatures, the name Mercury fits the smallest but fastest planet very well.
-Jonas Pearson
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