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Why was the planet Mercury given that name?

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The Romans knew of seven bright objects in the sky: the Sun, the Moon, and the five brightest planets. They named them after their most important gods. Because Mercury was the fastest planet as it moved around the Sun, it was named after the Roman messenger god Mercury. Mercury was also the god of travelers. read more

The element became known as Mercury when it acquired great importance to the early chemist/philosophers called alchemists. The alchemists equated the fast-moving liquid flow of the element with the fast movement across the sky of the planet. So, the element gets its name from the planet, which gets its name from ancient mythology. read more

Like all the planets, Mercury is named after one of the Roman gods, which were based on the gods worshipped by the Ancient Greeks. The Roman god Mercury was the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology, and most of his aspects were based on the Greek god Hermes. read more

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