Now is the Month of Maia...

Our month of May may have been named for the spring goddess or nymph Maia. She was the loveliest of the Pleiades, who were daughters of the familiar Titan Atlas. although H. J. Rose says Maia is connected with an obscure goddess named Maia who is distinct from this, the Greek mother of Hermes. A Renaissance song celebrates the month and shows some of the things we associate with her today. You may be interested to note that the Homeric Hymn to Hermes shows the nymph as a shy, retiring troglodyte.

Now Is the Month of Maying; Lyrics by Sir Thomas Morley: Source: threequarterale.com

Now is the month of Maying, when merry lads are playing! Fa la la la la!
Each with his bonny lass, a-dancing on the grass, fa la la la la!

The Spring, clad all in gladness, doth laugh at Winter's sadness! Fa la la la la!
And to the bagpipes' sound, the nymphs tread out the ground! Fa la la la la!

Fie! Then why sit we musing, youth's sweet delight refusing? Fa la la la la!
Say, dainty nymphs and speak! Shall we play barley break? Fa la la la la!

_{The Pre-Caesarian Calendar: Facts and Reasonable Guesses H. J. Rose The Classical Journal Vol. 40, No. 2 (Nov., 1944), pp. 65-76}