Iris
Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, messenger of the gods
Frieze-Dennison Vergil
- the goddess of the rainbow, daughter of Thaumas and Electra, the sister of the Harpies, and the swift-footed messenger of the gods: Irim de caelo misit Saturnia Juno, Verg. A. 5, 606; 4, 700; 9, 803; Ov. M. 1, 271; 11, 631; 14, 830 al.— Voc. Irī, Ov. M. 11, 585.—
- II Transf.
- A The rainbow: Irin vulgo arcus esse aiunt, quando imago solis vel imago lunae umidam et cavam nubem densamque ad instar speculi colorat, etc., Ap. Mund. 16, p. 64, 10; cf. Sen. Q. N. 1, 3, 1 sqq.: iris erat in circuitu sedis, Vulg. Apoc. 4, 3; Amm.20, 11, 26. —
- B A sweet-smelling plant, perh. the sword-lily, Plin. 21, 7, 19, § 40; Col. 12, 27; 12, 53, 2; Pall. 1, 37, 2. —
- C (Iris stone.) A precious stone, prob. a very pure six-sided prismatic crystal, Plin. 37, 9, 52, § 136. —
- D A river that flows into the Euxine Sea, Plin. 6, 3, 3, § 8; Val. Fl. 4, 600.
(Ἶρις), a daughter of Thaumas (whence she is called Thaumantias, Verg. A. 9.5) and Electra, and sister of the Harpies. (Hes. Th. 266, 780; Apollod. 1.2.6; Plat. Theaet. p. 155. d; Plut. de Plac. Philos. 3.5.) In the Homeric poems she appears as the minister of the Olympian gods, who carries messages from Ida to Olympus, from gods to gods, and from gods to men. (Il. 15.144, 24.78, 95, 2.787, 18.168, Hymn. in Apoll. Del. 102, &c.) In accordance with these functions of Iris, her name is commonly derived from ἐρῶ εἴρω; so that Iris would mean " the speaker or messenger: " but it is not impossible that it may be connected with εἴρω, " I join," whence εἰρήνη ; so that Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, would be the joiner or conciliator, or the messenger of heaven, who restores peace in nature. In the Homeric poems, it is true, Iris does not appear as the goddess of the rainbow, but the rainbow itself is called ἶρις (Il 11.27, 17.547): and this brilliant phenomenon in the skies, which vanishes as quickly as it appears, was regarded as the swift minister of the gods. Her genealogy too supports the opinion that Iris was originally the personification of the rainbow. In the earlier poets, and even in Theocritus (17.134) and Virgil (Aen. 5.610) Iris appears as a virgin goddess; but according to later writers, she was married to Zephyrus, and became by him the mother of Eros. (Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 391, 555; Plut. Amat. 20.) With regard to her functions, which we have above briefly described, we may further observe, that the Odyssey never mentions Iris, but only Hermes as the messenger of the gods: in the Iliad, on the other hand, she appears most frequently, and on the most different occasions. She is principally engaged in the service of Zeus, but also in that of Hera, and even serves Achilles in calling the winds to his assistance. (Il. 23.199.) She further performs her services not only when commanded, but she sometimes advises and assists of her own accord (3.122, 15.201. 18.197. 24.74, &c.). In later poets she appears on the whole in the same capacity as in the Iliad, but she occurs gradually more and more exclusively in the service of Hera, both in the later Greek and Latin poets. (Callim. Hymn. in Del. 232; Verg. A. 5.606; Apollon. 2.288, 432; Ov. Met. 14.830, &c.) Some poets describe Iris actually as the rainbow itself, but Servius (ad Aen 5.610) states that the rainbow is only the road on which Iris travels, and which therefore appears whenever the goddess wants it, and vanishes when it is no longer needed: and it would seem that this latter notion was the more prevalent one in antiquity. Respecting the worship of Iris very few traces have come down to us, and we only know that the Delians offered to her on the island of Hecate cakes made of wheat and honey and dried figs. (Athen. 14.645; comp. Müller, Aegin. p. 170.) No statues of Iris have been preserved, but we find her frequently represented on vases and in bas-reliefs, either standing and dressed in a long and wide tunic, over which hangs a light upper garment, with wings attached to her shoulders, and carrying the herald's staff in her left hand; or she appears flying with wings attached to her shoulders and sandals, with the staff and a pitcher in her hands. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderbuch, i. p. 93. tab. 12, 2, 3; Böttiger, Vasenyemälde, ii. pp. 68, 86, &c.) [L.S]
- , Ἶρις, the goddess of the rainbow, messenger of the gods, V., O.
IRIS (ὁ Ἴρις: Kasalmak), a considerable river of Pontus, which has its sources in the heights of Antitaurus in the south of Pontus. It flows at first in a north-western direction, until reaching Comana it takes a western turn: it thus passes by the towns of Mesyla and Gaziura. A little above Amnisus it receives the Scylax, and turns eastward; near Eupatoria the Lycus empties itself into it. After this it flows due north, and, traversing the plain of Themiscyra, it empties itself into the Euxine by four mouths, the westernmost of which is the most important. (Strab. 12. p. 556.) The Iris is smaller that, the Halys (Apollon. 2.368), but still a considerable river, flowing through a vast extent of country, and, according to Xenophon (Xen. Anab. 5.6.3), was three plethra in breadth. (Comp. Strab. 1. p. 52, 12.547; Scylax, p. 32; Ptol. 5.6.2; Xenoph. 5.6.9, 6.2.1; Apollon. 2.965; Dionys. Per. 783; Plin. Nat. 6.3, 4.) The part near its mouth is now called Yechitor Yekil Irmdk. (Hamilton, Researches, vol. 1. p. 340.)
[L.S]IRIS [IERNE]
(Ἶρις). Daughter of Thaumas (whence she is called Thaumantias) and of Electra, and sister of the Harpies. In the Iliad she appears as the messenger of the gods; but in the Odyssey, Hermes (Mercury) is the messenger of the gods, and Iris is never mentioned. Iris was originally the personification of the rainbow, which was regarded as the swift messenger of the gods. In the earlier poets Iris appears as a virgin goddess; but in the later she is the wife of Zephyrus and the mother of Eros (Amor). Iris is represented in works of art, dressed in a long and wide tunic, over which hangs a light upper garment, with wings attached to her shoulders, carrying the herald's staff in her left hand, and sometimes also holding a vase. See Bergstedt, Studia Archaeologica (Upsala, 1881).
(Ἴρις). The modern Yeshil-Irmak; a considerable river of Asia Minor, rising on the north side of the Anti-Taurus and flowing through Pontus into the Sinus Amisenus in the Euxine.
- Apollod. 1.2.6