Other Goddesses- Iris

Iris from Fantasia

Iris- goddess of the rainbow and a messenger goddess. The daughter of Thaumas, god of wonders in the sea and son to Pontus and Gaia, and the Okeanid Electra/Elektra or Ozomene. Her siblings were the Harpies- Aellopos/Aello, Podarge/Celaeno/Calaeno/Kelaino, and Okypete/Ocypete, Isis' twin Arce/Arke, messenger to the Titans until after Titanomachy when Zeus took her winged shoes and cast her into Tartarus, and the river god Hydaspes who was sometimes seen as a child of Okeanos and Tethys.

She was thought to supply the clouds with rain and Ovid also describes her as replenshing Hera with rain. She was thought to be a cupbearer to the gods and thus could be linked to Hebe and Ganymede.

Zeus sent her to call Demeter back from her exile once she was reunited with Persephone. She was sent either to tell Hera of the birth of Apollo or to fetch Eileithyia to help Leto birth him. Homer had her in the role of messenger goddess in his Iliad, she went to the Trojans and Helen in the likeness of people they knew. Zeus ordered her to turn Hera and Athena back from Troy as they were defying him. He also ordered her to order Poseidon back as well. Hera sent her to Hypnos on several occasions, once bidding him to send a dream of the drowned Ceyx to Alycone so that she would know his fate, then to put the Thebans to sleep, and then in the disguise of Nyx to persuade him to put Zeus to sleep in exchange for Pasithea as a bride. Zeus sent her to Heracles in one version of the myth to permit him to free Prometheus.

Iris saved Aphrodite in the Trojan War when she was injured by Diomedes. Iris took her from the battlefield in her chariot and took her to Olympus.

Hera had her preserve the bodies of those slain in The Seven Against Thebes, when King Creon/Kreon forbid their burial.

Her main story was stopping the Boreads (Calais and Zetes/Zethes) from killing the Harpies. The two sons of Boreas were Argonauts who drove the Harpies from Phineus who they were tormenting on behalf of the gods. Iris promised the Harpies would leave Phineus alone if spared. After this Phineus told the Argonauts how to get through the Clashing Rocks.

Euripides had her driving Heracles to madness with Lyssa (spirit of mad rage, frenzies, rabies) driving him to kill his wife Megara and their children. This was probably in connection with Iris being a servant of Hera's.

She was usually viewed as Hera's loyal servant and messenger, whilst Hermes would have been Zeus' messenger, although Iris could work for other gods and goddesses. She also rarely went to the Underworld, that role was left to Hermes. In her association with the rainbow she could be linked to the sky and sea.

Sometimes she was a virgin goddess, other times she was viewed as the wife of Zephyrus/Zephyros, god of the west wind. They had a son together, Pothos/Pothus, god of sexual longing and desire, one of the Erotes with Himeros and Eros. Often though Pothus is thought to be sibling to Himeros and Eros and a child of Aphrodite. Probably to explain Pothus being a Erote, Eros was said by Alcaeus to be a son of Iris and Zephyrus.
Some people also suggest that Iris was wife to Morpheus, an idea probably brought about from the painting by Baron Pierre-Narcisse Guérin of Iris visting Morpheus.

Iris was depicted as young, beautiful with golden wings, a winged staff or herald's rod, and a jug. She was described as 'fleet-footed' or 'wind-swift footed'.

She had no Roman counterpart.