Editing Mercury (mythology) (section)

==Syncretism==
When they described the gods of Celtic and Germanic tribes, rather than considering them separate deities, the Romans interpreted them as local manifestations or aspects of their own gods, a cultural trait called the ''{{Lang|la|[[interpretatio romana]]}}''. Mercury, in particular, was reported as becoming extremely popular among the nations the [[Roman Empire]] conquered; [[Julius Caesar]] wrote of Mercury being the most popular god in Britain and Gaul, regarded as the inventor of all the arts.<ref>De Bello Gallico 6.17</ref> This is probably because, in the Roman [[syncretism]], Mercury was equated with the [[Celtic mythology|Celtic god]] [[Lugus]], and in this aspect was commonly accompanied by the Celtic goddess [[Rosmerta]]. Although Lugus may originally have been a deity of light or the sun (though this is disputed), similar to the Roman Apollo, his importance as a god of trade made him more comparable to Mercury, and Apollo was instead equated with the Celtic deity [[Belenus]].<ref name="Littleton"/>

Romans associated Mercury with the [[Germanic paganism|Germanic god]] {{Lang|de|[[Odin|Wotan]]}}, by ''{{Lang|la|interpretatio romana}}''; 1st-century Roman writer [[Tacitus]] identifies him as the chief god of the Germanic peoples.<ref>Germania 9</ref> This association of Mercury and Wotan is seen in the English language day-name Wednesday and the French Mercredi.