In Greek mythology, Iris is regarded as a messenger of the gods to the ancient Greeks. She was an emissary of the God Zeus and his wife Hera and left Olympus only to deliver the divine decrees to humankind who revered her as an advisor and guide. She could travel with the speed of the wind from one end of the earth to the other or to the depths of the ocean or to the chasms of the Netherworld.

Wearing a crown of light upon her head, Iris is presented as a beautiful maiden encircled by a rainbow of brilliant colours and sparkling shapes that softly embrace the gentle creatures of the Earth and connect Earth to Heaven.

Iris is portrayed as a young woman with wings and her attributes are a herald's staff and a water pitcher. In artwork she appears mainly on ancient Greek vases.

Iris is the daughter of the titan Thaumas and the nymph Electra. Thaumas (his name means "wonder") is a Greek sea god and the son of Pontus and Gaia (Mother Earth). With the Oceanid Electra he fathered Harpies and Iris.

Scholars have suggested that Iris, as the personification of the rainbow, represented an example of a brief union of the earth and sky. The qualities of this natural phenomenon in turn influenced her role in myth as the goddess who delivered messages between the heavens and earth.

In Homer's Iliad, Zeus sent Iris with a message for King Priam of Troy, instructing him to secretly come to the enemy Greek ships and with the help of gifts, persuade Achilles to give up the body of Priam's son Hector, whom Achilles had slain in battle.

Although the Iris is the coloured part of the eye that expands and contracts to control the amount of light that passes thru the eye, Iris is also a flower essence and is regarded as an aid to creativity.

Now Iris watches, unblinking ...