Mercuralia is a Roman celebration known also as the "Festival of Mercury". Mercury was thought to be the god of merchants and commerce. On May 15 merchants would sprinkle their heads, their ships and merchandise, and their businesses with water taken from the well at Porta Capena. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... A sculpture of the Roman god Mercury by 17th-century Flemish artist Artus Quellinus. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Porta Capena is a place near Rome, formerly a sacred forest, where Numa Pompilius and Egeria met. ...

 This Ancient Rome-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.