Iris Sky Goddess of the Rainbow

Iris was the Greek goddess – or, better yet, personification – of the rainbow, and a messenger for the gods. A daughter of Thaumas and Electra, it seems that Iris was the only divine messenger in the earlier days, but at a later time, when Hermes assumed that function as well, she became Hera’s faithful servant. Her sisters were the Harpies, and her husband was sometimes said to be Zephyrus.

The Dual Function of Iris · The Meaning of Her Name
Iris was both a personification of the rainbow and a divine messenger. The Ancient Greeks combined these two functions in Iris, since, as a meteorological phenomenon, the rainbow appears to connect heaven and earth, and, by extension, it was only suitable that its spirit should serve as the link between the gods and the mortals.

Parents and Portrayal
Iris was the daughter of the obscure Titan Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra and the sister of the Harpies. Described as “wind-footed” and “storm-footed,” as well as “golden-winged” and “dewy,” just like her male counterpart Hermes, Iris was often portrayed with winged sandals (talaria) and a messenger’s staff (kerykeion).

Iris’ Loyalty to Hera
At a later date, the poets tried differentiating between the functions of Hermes and Iris, making the former the messenger of Zeus (and most of the other gods), and turning Iris into a loyal servant of Hera.

Iris and Her Family
It is said that Iris saved the lives of her sisters, the Harpies, when she restrained Zetes and Calais, from killing them by promising the Boreads that the Harpies will not bother Phineus anymore. However, she wasn’t this protective of her fraternal twin Arce (a goddess of the faded rainbow invented at a later date), since she sided with the Titans during the Titanomachy.

Probably because of the connection between rainbows and rain, Iris was sometimes said to have been the wife of Zephyrus, the rainy West Wind.