In Greek mythology, Maia was the mother of Hermes.
Maia was one of the seven Pleiades, daughters of the Titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione. Zeus visited her in a cave on Mount Cyllene, where she gave birth to Hermes, who became the herald and messenger of the gods.
The Pleiades are usually described as nymphs rather than goddesses, and Maia is the eldest in several ancient traditions. She should not be confused with the Roman goddess Maia, whose name became associated with the month of May. The Greek Maia is specifically Hermes’s mother in classical mythology.
Hermes’s birth is recounted especially vividly in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, which presents him as precocious from infancy. His father was Zeus, making Hermes a half-brother of many major Olympian gods, including Apollo, Athena and Artemis.