Iris (mythology)

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Iris, by Luca Giordano

In Greek mythology, Iris (Ἴρις) is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity. She travels with the speed of wind from one end of the world to the other^[1], and into the depths of the sea and the underworld.

[edit] Greco-Roman pantheon

Iris is frequently mentioned as a divine messenger in the Iliad which is attributed to Homer, but does not appear in his Odyssey, where Hermes fills that role. Like Hermes (also known as Mercury), Iris carries a caduceus or winged staff. By command of Zeus, the king of the gods, she carries an ewer of water from the Styx, with which she puts to sleep all who perjure themselves. Goddess of sea and sky, she is also represented as supplying the clouds with the water needed to deluge the world, consistent with her identification with the rainbow.

According to Apollonius Rhodius, Zetes and Calais, who numbered amongst the Argonauts, Iris delivered the prophet Phineas from the attentions of the tormenting Harpies. The winged heroes, the Boread, pursued the Harpies to the Strophades (`Islands of Turning'), where they were turned back, repelled by Iris. This eventful 'turning' may have resulted in the islands' name. They succeeded in driving away the monsters but did not kill them, as requested by Iris, who promised that Phineas would not be bothered by the harpies again. As thanks, Phineas told the Argonauts how to pass the Symplegades.

Winged female figure holding a caduceus: Iris (messenger of the gods) or Nike (Victory)

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Iris is the daughter of Thaumas and the ocean nymph Electra, an Oceanid. Her sisters are the Harpies, Aello and Ocypete. Iris is married to Zephyrus, who is the god of the west wind. Their son is Pothos (Nonnus, Dionysiaca). In some records she is a sororal twin to the Titaness Arkhe (arch), who flew out of the company of Olympian gods to join the Titans as their messenger goddess during the Titanomachy, making the two sisters enemy messenger goddesses. Iris was said to have golden wings, whereas Arkhe had iridescent ones. She is also said to travel on the rainbow while carrying messages from the gods to mortals. During the Titan War, Zeus tore Arkhe's iridescent wings from her and gave them as a gift to the Nereid Thetis at her wedding, who in turn gave them to her son, Achilles, who wore them on his feet. Achilles was sometimes known as podarkhes, or "wing-footed with Arkhe's wings". Not much is written about Iris' twin sister.

According to the Dionysiaca of Nonnos, Iris' brother is Hydaspes (book XXVI, lines 355-365).

In Euripides' play Heracles, Iris appears alongside Madness, cursing Heracles with the fit of madness in which he kills his three sons and his wife Megara.

[edit] Epithets

Iris had numerous poetic titles and epithets, including Chrysopteron (Golden Winged), Podas ôkea (swift footed) or Podênemos ôkea (wind-swift footed), and Thaumantias or Thaumantos (Daughter of Thaumas, Wondrous One). Under the epithet Aellopus (Αελλόπους) she was de­scribed as swift-footed like a storm-wind.^[2] She also watered the clouds with her pitcher, obtaining the water from the sea.

[edit] Representation

Iris is represented either as a rainbow, or as a young maiden with wings on her shoulders. As a goddess, Iris is associated with communication, messages, the rainbow and new endeavors.

[edit] Derivations and portrayals

• The word iridescence is derived in part from the name of this goddess.
• The 7 Iris asteroid is named after the messenger.
• "Arco iris" and "arco-íris" are the words for "rainbow" in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively.
• In 1946, Iris was depicted on a 50-franc airmail stamp in France. This was accompanied the same year by a 40-franc airmail stamp depicting a centaur shooting an arrow into the sky.
• Iris appears in the Disney movie Fantasia at the end of the segment featuring the Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven.
• Iris appears as a character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).
• Iris is the most powerful summon from the video game Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
• Iris is the name of an important non-playable character in the video game Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. In addition to being a messenger between the titular Sinistrals (Gods of the planet Estpolis) and the main character, there exist in the world Iris Treasures which are said to shine with all the colors of the rainbow.
• The manifestation of the "Iris" shares many characteristics to Lao Tzu's ("pragmatic") theories of perception in his book, the Tao Te Ching.
• Irisianium is being goddess like and graceful towards others.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Iris (mythology)

• Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica by Hesiod (English translation in the Project Gutenberg online book catalog)
• The Iliad by Homer(English translation in the Project Gutenberg online book catalog)
• The Argonautica by c. 3rd cent. B.C. Apollonius Rhodius (English translation in the Project Gutenberg online book catalog)
• Aaron Atsma, The Theoi Project: Iris Goddess of the Rainbow & Messenger of the Gods
• Greek Mythology Link by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical guide to Greek mythology
• Ancient World Mapping Center