thumb|right|150px|A 19th-century engraving of talaria.
The Talaria of Mercury () or The Winged Sandals of Hermes (, or , ) are winged sandals, a symbol of the Greek messenger god Hermes (Roman equivalent Mercury). They were said to be made by the god Hephaestus of imperishable gold and they flew the god as swift as any bird.
Etymology
The Latin noun , neuter plural of signifies "of the ankle". It is not quite certain how the Romans arrived at the meaning of "winged sandals" from this, possibly that the wings were attached at the ankles, or the sandals were tied around the ankles.
Attestations
thumb|right|One of the oldest known representations: [[Perseus, wearing the talaria and carrying the over his shoulder, turns his head to kill Medusa on this Orientalizing relief , , Louvre.]]
In ancient Greek literature, the sandals of Hermes are first of all mentioned by Homer (; , "immortal/divine and of gold"), though not described as "winged".
The description of the sandals being winged first appear in the poem Shield of Heracles (c. 600 – 550 BC), which speaks of (), literally "winged sandals". The Homeric hymn to Hermes from a somewhat later date (520 BC) does not explicitly state the sandals were winged, though they allowed him to leave no footprints while committing his theft of Apollo's cattle.
According to one estimation, it was around 5th century BC when the winged sandals came to be regarded as common (though not indispensable) accoutrements of the god Hermes. One later instance which refers to the sandals being winged is the Orphic Hymn XXVIII to Hermes (c. 2nd/3rd century AD).<!---*** If citing particular ed./tr. in 2 vols., please identify *** I, 583 and II, 730.-->
Perseus wears Hermes' sandals to help him slay Medusa. According to Aeschylus, Hermes gives them to him directly. In a better-attested version, Perseus must retrieve them from the Graeae, along with the cap of invisibility and the (sack).
On early Greek vase paintings, Hermes is shown wearing boots with a curved piece attached to the top edge of each one. This feature seems to be a pull strap for the boots rather than a simple or crude depiction of a wing.
During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Hermes was sometimes depicted with wings fastened directly to his bare ankles.