Mercurio (Statue from Villa Montalto)

Mercury was one of the twelve gods of Olympus. Often he is depicted with the winged sandals. However, the sculpture from which this print is taken shows him with his winged caduceus or magic wand around which two snakes are intertwined, which had the power to induce sleep. The son and messenger of Jupiter (Greek: Zeus), Mercury was charged with bringing Juno, Venus and Minerva before Paris, who judged Venus as the most beautiful. The unusual form behind him may be a stylised roadside marker, as he was also the patron of travellers. (Venus Rising, 2005)

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