Maia was originally an
Italic deity— likely a goddess of spring— who was later adopted by the Romans. After her conflation with the Greek goddess
Maia,
Zeus' lover and mother of
Hermes, she became the daughter of the
Titan Atlas and the mother of the god
Mercury by
Jupiter. Her exact functions as a goddess are unclear. She possibly embodied the concept of growth, as her name was thought to be related to
maius, meaning "larger," or "greater." She may have also abstractly embodied the concept of
maiestas: the "majesty" of the Roman people. In an archaic Roman
invocational prayer, Maia was named as an
attribute of Vulcan, with
Gellius comparing their relationship to those of
Salacia and
Neptune and
Lua and
Saturn. The female deities named in the list embodied an aspect of their male counterparts' functionality. Maia was additionally associated and theologically intertwined with the Roman goddesses
Terra,
Fauna,
Ops,
Juno,
Cybele, and
Bona Dea. Her associations with the
earth goddesses Fauna and Ops were likely influenced by the scholar
Varro, who claimed multiple goddesses were derivatives of an original earth goddess: Terra. The association with Juno, whose
Etruscan counterpart was the goddess
Uni, is suggested by the inscription
Uni Mae on the
Piacenza Liver. In the Roman
provinces of
Gallica Belgia and
Germania, Maia was depicted alongside Mercury and his consort: the
Gallic goddess
Rosmerta. There, both goddesses were associated with fertility and the season of spring. Maia was occasionally depicted holding a
caduceus, therefore associating her with her son's healing abilities. == Worship ==