Maia

Maia is the name of a divinity worshiped at Rome, who was also called Majesta. She is mentioned in connection with Vulcan, and was regarded by some as the wife of that god, though it seems for no other reason but because a priest of Vulcan offered a sacrifice to her on the first of May, while in the popular superstition of later times she was identified with Maia, the daughter of Atlas.

It is more probable that Maia was an ancient name of the bona dea, who was also designated by the names of Ops, Fauna, and Fatua.

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References

Sources

  • Festus, p. 134 (ed. Müller).
  • Gellius, xiii, 22.
  • Macrobius, i, 12.
  • Smith, William. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.

This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain.