On both the first and second games I noticed they both have a sort of shield like orb with a set of wings and eight stars. The wings could be symbolic of the god Mercury who was known as a god of speed being the messenger of the gods. Having this symbolism makes perfect sense, because Sonic is supposed to be fast. Eight is a number that has several mythological stories behind it, but in this case it's actually how many times you will need to hit Dr. Robotnik every time you get to the end of a level. I found an interesting sight on Mercury or if you will Hermes that you might want to take a look at as well.