May and Maia

 MAY and MAIA

I've always thought it strange there are so few depictions of Hermes' mother MAIA

The one below is part of a painting on a vase dated to about 500 BCE 

I love the way the position of her hands suggest she's having a lively discussion and you can just make out in this closeup traces of a hair ribbon binding up her undeniablely thick wavy less than perfectly orderly maybe even frizzly hair also suggesting a busy mum!

MAY and MAIA and a Mosaic

This is part of  the #Sousse Calendar a #NorthAfrican #Mosaic
Below are two ways in which it shows GREEK influence !

#typography #lettering #roman abc #greekscript

ONE the lettering style and shapes

Yes this is Latin and the Roman Alphabet we use but look carefully at the letter shapes particularly the A and the final S.  Does this remind you of #GreekUncial ?

#palaeography #epigraphy

and the god shown is #Hermes / #Mercury whose mother was #MAIA

Why is May named after a goddess?

Consider the legends the Romans had about a group of Arcadians and their king migrating into Latium and their belief they and the Greeks worshipped the same gods?

Finally I also wonder if the designer of this mosaic was possibly a Greek living in or visiting North Africa. It's been counted to between the 3rd and 4th century A.D.