gracedpalmer:Maia: She is the oldest of the nymphs known as the Pleiades and also the mother of Herm
gracedpalmer:Maia: She is the oldest of the nymphs known as the Pleiades and also the mother of Hermes. She was visited covertly by Zeus in her cave on Mount Kyllini and raised her child in secret until he crawled away to steal the cattle of Apollo. Prints of this commissioned piece are available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/498578201/maia-mother-of-hermes-85x11-open-editionToday, May 4, is regarded as the birthday of Hermes:Born with the dawning, at mid-day he played on the lyre, and in the evening he stole the cattle of far-shooting Apollo on the fourth day of the month; for on that day queenly Maia bare him. - Homeric Hymn to HermesEDIT: Thanks to an alert reader who pointed out my error in listing May as the month of Hermes’ birth. The only references I can find say he was born on the fourth day of the fourth month (X and X). While their say-so doesn’t make it necessarily true, the date would fall either in April or the ancient Greek month of Pyanepsion, our October. I haven’t been able to locate my research from back in December when I queued this post, or to find a classical source for this statement. If anyone can provide a reliable reference, please let me know.I humbly apologise for making this erroneous assertion, and will strive to do better.However, the month of May was named by the Romans for Maia (Source: http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2016/01/months-names/), and the number 4 is sacred to Hermes, so I don’t think either of them will mind being honored on this date. -- source link
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