Iris (mythology)

Iris
Goddess of the Rainbow
Morpheus and Iris, by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, 1811
Abode	Not specified
Symbol	Rainbow
Consort	Zephyrus
Parents	Thaumas and Electra
Siblings	Arke, Aello, Celaeno and Ocypete
Children	Pothos
Roman equivalent	Iris

In Greek mythology, Iris (/ˈaɪrᵻs/; Greek: Ἶρις) is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. She is also known as one of the goddesses of the sea and the sky. Iris links the gods to humanity. She travels with the speed of wind from one end of the world to the other, and into the depths of the sea and the underworld.

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Iris is the daughter of Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra, and the sister of the Harpies: Aello and Ocypete.

During the Titanomachy, Iris was the messenger of the Olympian Gods, while her twin sister Arke betrayed the Olympians and became the messenger of the Titans.

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, Iris carries a caduceus or winged staff. By command of Zeus, the king of the gods, she carries an ewer of water from the River Styx, with which she puts to sleep all who perjure themselves. According to Apollonius Rhodius, Iris turned back the Argonauts Zetes and Calais who had pursued the Harpies to the Strophades ('Islands of Turning'). The brothers had driven off the monsters from their torment of the prophet Phineus, but did not kill them upon the request of Iris, who promised that Phineus would not be bothered by the Harpies again.

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