"Oh, rumour travels with winged sandals, like Mercury, does it not?"
GNU Free Documentation LicenseMercury - Credit: Otter/wikimedia commons

 Mercury (Greek: Hermes) was the Roman messenger god, as well as god of trade, travellers and commerce. Mercury was very speedy, wearing winged sandals and a winged petasos (a type of hat).


In Greek and Roman mythology, rumour did have a personification, called Pheme (Greek) and Fama (Roman). She was winged and carried a trumpet, and would spread good or bad news first as a whisper, getting louder and louder until she shouted loud enough for all to hear. Virgil described her as having multiple tongues, eyes and ears.