Maia
MAIA, in Greek mythology, the eldest of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and the Oceanid Plelone. She and her sisters, born on Mt Cyllene in Arcadia, are sometimes called mountain goddesses. In a cave of Cyllene Maia became by Zeus the mother of the god Hermes. The story is told in the Hymn to Hermes attributed to Homer. She was identified by the Romans with Maia Majesta, an old Italian goddess of spring, to whom a sacrifice was offered on the ist of May by the priest of Vulcan.
M AIDA, a town of Calabria, Italy, in the province of Catanzaro, from which it is 30 m. W.S.W. direct, and 12 m. N.N.E. of Pizzo by rail (the station is 8 m. W. of the town). Pop. (1901), 5190. The town gives its name to the plain of Maida, where in 1806 British troops under Sir John Stuart defeated the French under Regnier. The names Maida Hill and Maida Vale in London are derived from this battle.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
