Iris

= **Iris**, Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger of the Gods Ίρις-Ίριδα= //** Throughout the ages, the rainbow has been the symbol of hope, a promise of better things to come. **//

Appearance
She was usually depicted standing beside Zeus or Hera, sometimes serving nectar from her jug. As cup-bearer of the gods Iris is often indistinguishable from Hebe in art.

General Info
Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of the Olympian gods, particularly of the goddess Hera (see Hera) whose orders she brought to humans. For the coastal-dwelling Greeks, the rainbow's arc was most often seen spanning the distance between cloud and sea, and so the goddess was believed to replenish the rain-clouds with water from the sea. Her name contains a double meaning, being connected both with //iris//, "the rainbow," and //eiris//, "messenger." 

She is able to change shapes and when delivering messages to mortals Iris assumes the appearance of a mortal known to those who receive the message. If Zeus had a command to be given to another Immortal, Iris would deliver it; if he wished to make his will known to humanity, Iris would descend to the earth where she would either appear in borrowed mortal shape or divine form.

Relatives
Iris is the daughter of Thaumas (son of Pontus and Ge) and the Oceanid Electra, and sister to the Harpies. She was born in the mists of the sky just when the sun came out.As such, she is often pictured with wings, and personifies the rainbow.

Iris once saved her siblings from death. The Harpies were loathsome winged female creatures who daily would swoop down and eat and befoul the food of the blind seer Phineus. When the Argonauts Calais and Zetes, winged sons of the North Wind, Boreas, caught up with the Harpies and were about to kill them, Iris appeared and beseeched the sons of Boreas to spare the lives of the Harpies. She promised that if they let them live, the Harpies would never again bother Phineus.

Marriage
She had sex with Zephyrus, a wind god. With the West wind called Zephyrus, Iris is said to have given birth to Eros and Pothos, which is the personification of Longing, a being of inconstant mood, and an attendant of Aphrodite.

Myths [[image:http://thanasis.com/irisg.jpg width="310" height="257" align="left"]]
Iris had no distinctive mythology of her own. In myth she appears only as an errand-running messenger and was usually described as a virgin goddess.

Homer in the Iliad Book XXIV indicates that Zeus desires to speak to Thetis and he states, "Storm-swift-footed Iris started at once on this mission. Halfway between Samos and rugged Imbros she dived into the dark bosom of the sea with a resounding splash and sank to the bottom as quickly as the bit of lead that an angler attaches to his ox-horn lure with fatal consequences to the greedy fish. She found Thetis in her valuted cavern. Fleet-footed Iris went up to the goddess and said: 'Come, Thetis; Zeus in his unending wisdom calls you to his side.'"

Also in Homer's Iliad, Zeus sent Iris with a message for King Priam of Troy, instructing him to secretly come to the enemy Greek ships and, with the help of gifts, persuade Achilles to give up the body of Priam's son Hector, whom Achilles had slain in battle.

Notable Tasks
From Hesiod's Theogony: Loathed by the immortals, Styx makes her home in the underworld. When a dispute erupts on Olympos, Zeus will send wind-footed Iris to Styx for a pitcher of water. Any immortal who pours the waters of Styx, and swears an oath, is solemnly bound to tell only the truth. The punishment for breaking such an oath is one year without ambrosia, nectar or AIR! If that's not enough, for nine additional years, the oath-breaker is not allowed to attend the festivals or share the company of the other immortals. Among the duties of the Greek Goddess Iris was that of leading the souls of dead women to the Elysian Fields. In token of that faith the Greeks planted purple Iris on the graves of women.

Symbolism [[image:http://www.theoi.com/image/P21.6Iris.jpg align="right"]]
The wand of Iris indicates she is a herald. The name of the staff, caduceus, is more related to its function than its shape. The origin of the shape is two intertwined snakes whose detail is lost in the wand of Iris. The name comes from the Indo-European 'kar-2', 'To praise loudly, extol' and is related to the Greek word for herald's wand 'κηρύκειον'. In her other hand she holds an oinochoe jug. This may be needed to speak with spirits.

Trivia

 * Her male private area was called peanus.

==Iris (oxford dictionary) - a rainbow or a rainbowlike appearance Sources Iris The //**iris**// (plural: irides, or rarely, irises) is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil  http://library.thinkquest.org/C005949/anatomy/pupiliris.htm ==
 * __http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Iris.html__
 * __http://www.fjkluth.com/iris.html__
 * __http://thanasis.com/iris.htm__
 * __http://www.angelfire.com/biz7/myfae/__
 * __http://thanasis.com/irisg.jpg__
 * __http://www.fjkluth.com/t.d/iris.jpg__