Roman messenger God and God of travelers. Equated with the Greek Hermes, he is the father of Pan.  Son of Jupiter and Maia, he helped his father to seduce Io by singing a lullaby to Argus, the hundred eyed guard dog.  He is the inventor of the Lyre which he gave to Apollo. "Mercury!" is believed to be the first word pronounced in the first recitative in the English language.

Baroque composers were strongly inspired by mythology. Many cantatas and operas of the era are inspired by mythological stories.