Maius

May is represented by the veneration of Mercury on this panel from a Roman mosaic of the months (from El Djem, Tunisia, first half of 3rd century AD)

Maius or mensis Maius (May) was the fifth month of the ancient Roman calendar in the classical period, following Aprilis (April) and preceding Iunius (June). On the oldest Roman calendar that had begun with March, it was the third of ten months in the year. May had 31 days.

The Romans considered May an infelicitous month. Although it began with one of the most notoriously licentious holidays of the Roman calendar, the Games of Flora (Ludi Florae), the middle of the month was devoted to propitiating the lemures, the restless shades of the dead.[1]

  1. ^ H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 115.