The Greek goddess of the rainbow Iris (Iris) did not belong to the number of influential deities, although she resided on Olympus. The ruler of Hera identified Iridu as her assistant, and the light-winged goddess obeyed obediently all the instructions of the mistress.
Duties of the Iridescent Rainbow Goddess
The Greeks depicted the goddess Iridu as a young charming girl with luxurious rainbow wings, a caduceus, a bowl or a pitcher in her hands. In the paintings, Iris was often portrayed behind Hera, whom she always accompanied. It was believed that Iris was the daughter of the giant Tavmanta and the beautiful oceans of Electra. According to some myths, the goddess Irida is the mother of Eros.
Under Hera, Iris performed the same duties as Hermes under Zeus, but unlike the clever god of trade , the rainbow goddess was only an obedient performer. For example, according to the order of the lady, Irida delivered to the land a dangerous Nemean lion, who was later struck down by Hercules. She also served as a messenger and escorted the souls of dead women to Hades.
One of the most important responsibilities of Irida is the connection between the gods, the underground world and people. It flew easily and quickly between Olympus and the settlements of people, without fear, descended into Hades . The goddess of the rainbow scooped the water of Styx, sworn by all the inhabitants of Olympus, and watered the clouds with it.
People have dedicated iris flowers to iridescent irides Iris flowers, which also like it like moisture and are like drops of water sprinkled on the ground.
The goddess of chaos Eris
Because of the similarity of names, Iridu is often confused with the goddess of chaos and discord Eris. This cruel goddess very often caused bloody wars. For example, after Eridu was not invited to the wedding of the king of the giant Lapith tribe Pirithoy, the goddess of discord unleashed a war between the giants and centaurs.
Very often the goddess Eris accompanied Ares to the battlefield. When the battle was over, she remained for a long time in pain and death, enjoying the moans of the bloodied wounded.
One of the most famous acts of Eris is the unleashing of the Trojan War. Once again, not invited to the wedding party, the goddess of discord threw an apple on the table with the inscription "The Most Beautiful". At this prize, three goddesses began to claim: Athena, Hera and Aphrodite, and Zeus, who did not dare to incur the wrath of the two losers, ordered to judge the son of King Troy Paris. The young man without hesitation awarded the victory to Aphrodite, who promised him the love of the most beautiful earthly woman - Elena, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. These events were the beginning of a decade-long war that ended with the fall of Troy.