Also called The rainbow.
Their story
Iris is the daughter of the sea-god Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra, and sister of the Harpies. In the Iliad she is the swift messenger of Zeus and Hera, running on the wind. When the gods swear their great oath, Zeus sends her to fetch water from the Styx in a golden jug. She once ran to fetch the winds to light the pyre of Patroclus.
Best times to give to them
- When a rainbow appears
- Before sending an important letter or message
- After rain
What they like being given
- Wheat cakes, dried figs and honey, like those once offered to her on Hecate's island near Delos
- Fresh water
- Flowers of many colours
How to honour them
- Pause and give thanks when you see a rainbow.
- Ask her help to carry words clearly between people who have stopped speaking.
- Keep a prism or rainbow-coloured cloth in a sunny window.
How they can help you
- Clear communication
- Reconciliation
- Hope after hardship
Symbols
- rainbow
- wings
- herald's staff
- jug
Sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 265-266, 780-787
- Homer, Iliad 23.198-212
- Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 14.645b
More Greek goddesses
- Hera Queen of heaven and guardian of marriage
- Athena Grey-eyed goddess of wisdom and craft
- Artemis Lady of wild things and the hunt
- Aphrodite Foam-born goddess of love and beauty
- Hestia Goddess of the hearth and the home fire
- Demeter Mother of the grain and the harvest
- Persephone Queen of the underworld and the returning spring
- Hecate Keeper of crossroads and keys