# Maia > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maia > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maia.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maia > Source revision: 1354290108 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|One of the seven Pleiades sisters and the mother of Hermes from Greek mythology}} {{other uses|Maia (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox deity | type = Greek | image = File:Hermes Maia Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2304.jpg | caption = ''Hermes and Maia'', detail from an
[Attic red-figure](/source/Red-figure_pottery) [amphora](/source/amphora) (''c.'' 500 BC) | member_of = the Pleiades | consort = [Zeus](/source/Zeus) | abode = [Mount Cyllene](/source/Mount_Kyllini), Arcadia | children = [Hermes](/source/Hermes) | siblings = {{Collapsible list | title = Pleiades | bullets = on | [Electra](/source/Electra_(Pleiad)) | [Taygete](/source/Taygete) | [Alcyone](/source/Alcyone_(Pleiad)) | [Celaeno](/source/Celaeno_(Pleiad)) | [Sterope](/source/Sterope_(Pleiad)) | [Merope](/source/Merope_(Pleiad)) }} [Hyades](/source/Hyades_(mythology)), [Hyas](/source/Hyas) | name = Maia | deity_of = The [Arcadian](/source/Arcadia_(region)) [Pleiad](/source/Pleiades_(Greek_mythology)) [Nymph](/source/Nymph) | parents = [Atlas](/source/Atlas_(mythology)) and [Pleione](/source/Pleione_(mythology)) or [Aethra](/source/Aethra_(mythology)) | roman_equivalent = [Maia](/source/Maia_(Roman_goddess)) }}In ancient [Greek mythology](/source/Greek_mythology), '''Maia''' (from {{langx|grc|Μαίη|4=mother', 'nurse' or 'midwife}};The alternate spelling ''Maja'' represents the [intervocalic](/source/wiktionary%3Aintervocalic) ''i'' as ''j'', pronounced similarly to an initial ''y'' in English; hence Latin ''maior'', "greater," in English became "major." {{IPA|en|ˈmeɪ.ə|pron}} or {{IPA|en|ˈmaɪ.ə}}), also spelled '''Maie''', is one of the [Pleiades](/source/Pleiades_(Greek_mythology)) and the mother of the messenger god [Hermes](/source/Hermes) by [Zeus](/source/Zeus).[Homer](/source/Homer), ''[Odyssey](/source/Odyssey)'' 14.435; [Apollodorus](/source/Bibliotheca_(Pseudo-Apollodorus)), [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.10.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=:chapter=&highlight=Maia 3.10.2]; [Horace](/source/Horace), ''Odes'' 1.10.1 & 2.42 ff.; [Tzetzes](/source/John_Tzetzes) on [Lycophron](/source/Lycophron), 219 Maia was identified with the [Roman](/source/Roman_mythology) earth goddess [Maia](/source/Maia_(Roman_goddess)), the mother of [Mercury](/source/Mercury_(mythology)).Seyffert, Oskar. ''A dictionary of classical antiquities, mythology, religion, literature & art''. Page 372. S. Sonnenschein, 1891. {{Ancient Greek religion}} == Family == Maia is the daughter of [Atlas](/source/Atlas_(mythology))The alternate spelling ''Maja'' represents the intervocalic ''i'' as ''j'', pronounced similarly to an initial ''y'' in English; hence Latin ''maior'', "greater," in English became "major."[Hesiod](/source/Hesiod), ''[Theogony](/source/Theogony)'' 938 and [Pleione](/source/Pleione_(mythology)) the [Oceanid](/source/Oceanid), and is the oldest of the seven Pleiades.[Apollodorus](/source/Bibliotheca_(Pseudo-Apollodorus)), [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.10.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=:chapter=&highlight=Maia 3.10.1] They were born on Mount [Cyllene](/source/Mount_Kyllini) in [Arcadia](/source/Arcadia_(ancient_region)), and are sometimes called mountain [nymph](/source/nymph)s, ''[oread](/source/oread)s''; [Simonides of Ceos](/source/Simonides_of_Ceos) sang of "mountain Maia" ''(Maiados oureias)'' "of the lovely black eyes." Because they were daughters of Atlas, they were also called the Atlantides.[Simonides](/source/Simonides_of_Ceos), fr. 555 == Mythology == [[File:Cup Mercury Maia CdM.jpg|thumb|Mercury and MaiaAlthough the identification of Mercury is secure, based on the presence of the [caduceus](/source/caduceus), the one-shouldered garment called the ''[chlamys](/source/chlamys)'', and his winged head, the female figure has been identified variously. The cup is part of the [Berthouville Treasure](/source/Berthouville_Treasure), found within a [Gallo-Roman](/source/Gallo-Roman_religion) temple precinct; see Lise Vogel, ''The Column of Antoninus Pius'', Loeb Classical Library Monograph (Harvard University Press, 1973), p. 79 f., and Martin Henig, ''Religion in Roman Britain'', Taylor & Francis, 1984, 2005, p. 119 f. In [Gaul](/source/Gaul), Mercury's regular consort is one of the Celtic goddesses, usually [Rosmerta](/source/Rosmerta). The [etymology of Rosmerta's name](/source/Rosmerta) as "Great Provider" suggests a theology compatible with that of Maia "the Great". The consort on the cup has also been identified as [Venus](/source/Venus_(mythology)) by M. Chabouillet, ''Catalogue général et raisonné des camées et pierres gravées de la Bibliothéque Impériale'', Paris 1858, p. 449. Maia is suggested by the concomitant discovery of a silver bust, not always considered part of the hoard proper but more securely identified as Maia and connected to Rosmerta; see E. Babelon, ''Revue archéologique'' 24 (1914), pp. 182–190, as summarized in ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 19 (1915), p. 485. inside a silver cup dedicated by the freedman P. Aelius Eutychus (late 2nd century AD), from a [Gallo-Roman](/source/Gallo-Roman_religion) religious site|left]] === Birth of Hermes === According to the ''[Homeric Hymn](/source/Homeric_Hymn) to Hermes'', Zeus, in the dead of night so that his wife [Hera](/source/Hera) would not find out, secretly made love to Maia,Gantz, pp. 105–6; ''[Homeric Hymns](/source/Homeric_Hymns)'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D4 4.5] who avoided the company of the gods, in a cave of Cyllene. She became pregnant with [Hermes](/source/Hermes). After giving birth to the baby, Maia wrapped him in blankets and went to sleep. The rapidly maturing infant Hermes crawled away to [Thessaly](/source/Thessaly), where, by nightfall of his first day, he stole some of his half-brother [Apollo](/source/Apollo)'s cattle and invented the [lyre](/source/lyre) from a tortoise shell. Maia refused to believe Apollo when he claimed that Hermes was the thief, and Zeus then sided with Apollo. Finally, Apollo exchanged the cattle for the lyre, which became one of his identifying attributes.[Apollodorus](/source/Bibliotheca_(Pseudo-Apollodorus)), [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.10.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=:chapter=&highlight=Maia 3.10.2] At another time, when Maia was bathing with her sisters the Pleiads, Hermes snuck in stealthily and stole all their clothes. When the nymphs finished their bath they looked around naked not knowing what to do while Hermes laughed, and then returned them their garments.D scholia to the ''[Iliad](/source/Iliad)'' [https://topostext.org/work/866#24.24 24.24] Although the ''Homeric Hymn'' has Maia as Hermes' caretaker and guardian, in [Sophocles](/source/Sophocles)'s now lost [satyr play](/source/satyr_play) ''[Ichneutae](/source/Ichneutae)'', Maia entrusted the infant Hermes to [Cyllene](/source/Cyllene_(nymph)) (the local mountain goddess) to nurse and raise, and thus it is her that the satyrs and Apollo confront when looking for the god's missing cattle.{{cite book | title = A Companion to Sophocles | first1 = Kirk | last1 = Ormand | publisher = Wiley Blackwell | isbn = 978-1-119-02553-5 | date = 2012 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=ad0qBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 163]}} === As nurturer === Maia also raised the infant [Arcas](/source/Arcas), the child of [Callisto](/source/Callisto_(mythology)) with Zeus. Wronged by the love affair, Zeus' wife [Hera](/source/Hera) in a jealous rage had transformed Callisto into a bear.[Apollodorus](/source/Bibliotheca_(Pseudo-Apollodorus)), [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.8.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=:chapter=&highlight=Maia 3.8.2] Arcas is the [eponym](/source/eponym) of [Arcadia](/source/Arcadia_(ancient_region)), where Maia was born. The story of Callisto and Arcas, like that of the Pleiades, is an ''[aition](/source/aition)'' for a stellar formation, the constellations [Ursa Major](/source/Ursa_Major) and [Ursa Minor](/source/Ursa_Minor), the Great and Little Bear. Her name is related to μαῖα (''maia''), an honorific term for older women related to μήτηρ (''mētēr'') 'mother',{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} also meaning "[midwife](/source/midwife)" in Greek.{{Cite book|last=Nutton|first=Vivian|title=Ancient Medicine|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=9780415086110|location=London|pages=101}} == See also == * [66 Maja](/source/66_Maja), asteroid * [Bona Dea](/source/Bona_Dea) * [Maia (star)](/source/Maia_(star)) * [Maiasaura](/source/Maiasaura) * [Rosmerta](/source/Rosmerta) ==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}} == References == *[Apollodorus](/source/Bibliotheca_(Pseudo-Apollodorus)), ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website]. *[Diodorus Siculus](/source/Diodorus_Siculus), ''The Library of History'' translated by [Charles Henry Oldfather](/source/Charles_Henry_Oldfather). Twelve volumes. [Loeb Classical Library](/source/Loeb_Classical_Library). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site] *Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. * [Gantz, Timothy](/source/Timothy_Gantz), ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2). *[Hesiod](/source/Hesiod), ''Theogony'' from ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0129 Greek text available from the same website]. *[Publius Ovidius Naso](/source/Ovid), ''Fasti'' translated by James G. Frazer. [https://topostext.org/work/143 Online version at the Topos Text Project.] *Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Fasti.'' Sir James George Frazer. London; Cambridge, MA. William Heinemann Ltd.; Harvard University Press. 1933. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0547 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library]. *''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0137 Greek text available from the same website]. == Further reading == * Grimal, Pierre, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iOx6de8LUNAC ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology''], Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, {{ISBN|978-0-631-20102-1}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iOx6de8LUNAC&q=Maia "Maia" p. 270] * Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities,'' 1898 * [Smith, William](/source/William_Smith_(lexicographer)); ''[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology](/source/Dictionary_of_Greek_and_Roman_Biography_and_Mythology)'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DM%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Dmaia-bio-1 "Maia"] * ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1911. {{Commons category}} {{Greek mythology (deities)}} {{Nymphs}} {{Authority control}} Category:Pleiades (Greek mythology) Category:Agricultural goddesses Category:Mountain goddesses Category:Nature goddesses Category:Mothers of the twelve Olympians Category:Divine women of Zeus Category:Mythological Arcadians Category:Arcadian mythology Category:Deeds of Zeus --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.