"Talaria, small wings fixed to the ankles of Mercury, and reckoned among his attributes. In many works of ancient art they are represented growing from his ankles as if they were a part of his bodily frame; but more frequently they are attached to him as a part of his dress, agreeably to the description of the poets; and this is commonly done by representing him with sandals, which have wings fastened to them on each side over the ankles. But there is a most beautiful bronze statue of this divinity in the museum at Naples, in which the artist, instead of the sole of a sandal, has made the straps unite in a rosette under the middle of the foot, evidently intending, by this elegant device, to represent the messenger of the gods as borne through space without touching the ground. A representation is seen in the preceding cut." &mdash Smith; 1873

Talaria

"Talaria, small wings fixed to the ankles of Mercury, and reckoned among his attributes. In many works…