Iris in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Iris

33 passages from 10 ancient authors that tell of Iris, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Iris was the personification of the rainbow in Greek mythology, as well as messenger of the gods along with Hermes. She was also known as the goddess ... For the story in one place, read our article on Iris.

Hesiod (2)

Hesiod, Theogony 780–819Styx and the oath of the gods (780-819)Iris fetches water from the Styx, the eldest daughter of Oceanus, which the gods swear by. A god who perjures himself lies breathless for a year and is then barred from the feasts of the gods for nine years. Beyond lie the sources and limits of earth, sea and sky, and the Titans live beyond Chaos; Cottus and Gyes live on Ocean's foundations, and Briareos marries Poseidon's daughter.
Hesiod, Theogony 265–304Iris, the Harpies, the Graiai, Gorgons and Echidna (265-304)Thaumas and Electra have Iris and the Harpies, and Phorcys and Ceto have the Graiai and the Gorgons. Poseidon lies with Medusa, and when Perseus cuts off her head Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus spring forth; Chrysaor has the three-headed Geryon, whom Heracles kills. The section ends with Echidna, the monstrous child of Ceto and Phorcys, half nymph and half huge snake, who lives in a cave in Arima.

Homer (13)

Homer, Iliad 15.143–219Zeus' message to PoseidonHera calls Apollo and Iris from the hall and sends them to Ida, where Zeus tells Iris to bid Poseidon leave the battle and go back among the gods or into the sea. Poseidon is angry at being treated as an inferior, since he and Zeus are brothers and each has his own portion. He yields, but warns Zeus that if he spares Ilios against the wishes of the other gods, there will be trouble.
Homer, Iliad 24.77–158Thetis is sent to AchillesZeus sends Iris to bring Thetis to Olympus, and Hera gives her a cup and speaks kindly to her. Zeus tells Thetis to go to her son and tell him that the gods are angry that he keeps Hector's body, and that he must accept a ransom from Priam. Thetis finds Achilles groaning in his hut and tells him what Zeus has said, and he agrees.
Homer, Iliad 11.163–283Iris to Hector; Agamemnon is woundedZeus sends Iris to tell Hector to hold back until Agamemnon has been wounded and left the field, and then he will have power to kill until sunset. Agamemnon kills Iphidamas, and Iphidamas' brother Coon wounds him in the arm. Agamemnon kills Coon and fights on until the blood dries, and then pain seizes him like a woman in labour and he drives to the ships.
Homer, Iliad 18.148–238Achilles shouts from the ditchThe Trojans press round the body of Patroclus, and Hector three times seizes the feet and three times the two Ajaxes drive him off. Hera sends Iris to Achilles to tell him to show himself at the ditch, and Athena casts her aegis round his shoulders and a golden cloud round his head so that a flame blazes from it. Achilles shouts three times from the ditch, the Trojans are thrown into confusion, and twelve of their best men perish among their own chariots and spears.
Homer, Iliad 8.350–484Zeus turns back Hera and AthenaHera and Athena set out to help the Achaeans, but Zeus sends Iris to turn them back with the threat of lamed horses and a shattered car. Zeus returns to Olympus and tells the two goddesses that at dawn he will destroy more of the Argives and that Hector will not stop fighting until Achilles rises at the ships over the body of Patroclus. Hera refuses to be rebuked and says that she will not oppose him.
Homer, Iliad 2.786–877The Trojan CatalogueIris, in the likeness of Polites, warns Priam's people that the Achaeans are advancing, and Hector breaks up the assembly and arms the Trojans. The poet lists the Trojan forces under Hector, Aeneas and Pandarus, and then the allies from Thrace, Paphlagonia, Phrygia, Maeonia, Caria and Lycia, the last led by Sarpedon and Glaucus.
Homer, Iliad 5.297–430Diomedes wounds AphroditeAeneas stands over the body of Pandarus, and Diomedes hurls a stone that crushes his hip, but Aphrodite wraps him in her robe and Diomedes pierces her hand. She drops her son, and Apollo covers Aeneas with a cloud while Iris leads the wounded goddess to Ares, who lends her his chariot to Olympus. Dione comforts her daughter, Athena mocks her, and Zeus tells Aphrodite that war is not her business.
Homer, Iliad 3.111–244Helen on the wall of TroyIris, in the likeness of Laodice, calls Helen to the wall, where she goes with two handmaids and joins Priam and the old men at the Scaean gates. Priam asks her to name the Achaean leaders, and Helen points out Agamemnon, Odysseus and Ajax, and looks in vain for her brothers. Antenor recalls the time when Odysseus and Menelaus came to Troy as envoys.
Homer, Iliad 23.192–261The pyre burns; the bones are gatheredThe pyre will not burn until Achilles prays to the North and West winds, and Iris carries his prayer to them, and the winds roar in and fan it all night. In the morning Achilles drinks wine, calls on the ghost of his friend, and the flame dies. The Achaeans gather the bones, place them in a golden jar covered with fat and a linen cloth, and heap up a low mound for the time being.
Homer, Iliad 24.159–321Iris to Priam; the ransom is packedIris goes to Priam, who sits covered in dung among his sons, and tells him to take gifts to Achilles with only a herald, since Hermes will guide him. Hecuba cries out in fear, but Priam will go, even if he must die in Achilles' arms. He drives out the men who crowd round to mourn him, has a wagon loaded with the ransom, and, at Hecuba's urging, prays to Zeus, who sends an eagle on the right as a sign.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 2.290–394Hymn 2 to Demeter (4): the famine and the mission of HermesIn her new temple Demeter withholds the grain and a terrible year follows, which threatens the offerings of the gods. Zeus sends Iris and then the other gods to persuade her, but she will not return to Olympus without her daughter. Zeus sends Hermes to the underworld; Hades agrees to let Persephone go, but first gives her a pomegranate seed to eat, and Hermes drives her back to Eleusis, where her mother embraces her.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 3.85–178Hymn 3 to Apollo (2): the birth of Apollo on DelosOnce Leto has sworn her oath, Delos is glad. After nine days and nights of labour, the goddesses bring Eileithyia, and Apollo is born, washed, and fed with nectar; he declares that the lyre, the bow and prophecy will be his. The Delian part of the hymn closes with the festival of the Ionians on Delos and the song of the Delian maidens.
Homer, Iliad 15.1–77Zeus wakes and rebukes HeraThe Trojans flee over the ditch and the stakes, and Zeus wakes on Ida to see them in flight and Poseidon at work among the Achaeans. He rebukes Hera, reminding her how he once hung her from heaven with anvils on her feet, and she swears by the Styx that Poseidon acts of his own will. Zeus smiles and tells her to send Iris and Apollo to him.

Euripides (2)

Euripides, Heracles 822–873Fourth episode: Iris and Madness send Heracles madIris tells the old men not to fear, for she is the handmaid of the gods and the figure with her is Madness, daughter of Night, who has been sent by Hera against Heracles. Madness says that she was born of noble parents and does not wish to use her powers against a friend, but, forced by Iris, she says she will serve Hera and drive him mad, and steals into the house.
Euripides, Heracles 750–821Third choral song: Lycus dies; Iris and Madness appearThe Chorus hears Lycus' cries from within the house, and rejoices that he is perishing by treachery, since he has himself made others perish. It sings that the justice of the gods and heavenly retribution are real, and of the honour of Heracles, and then sees two figures appear above the house, and cries out in fear.

Apollonius Rhodius (3)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.685–782Circe purifies Jason and MedeaAt Aeaea Circe, daughter of Helios, purifies Jason and Medea of the murder. When she learns the whole story she drives them from her house with reproaches. Hera sends Iris to fetch Thetis and to ask Hephaestus and Aeolus to help Argo.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.178–300Phineus and the HarpiesPhineus tells the heroes how Zeus blinded him for misusing his gift of prophecy, and how the Harpies snatch his food. Zetes and Calais, the sons of Boreas, chase the Harpies away from his table, and Iris stops them from killing them by swearing on the Styx that the Harpies will not trouble Phineus again.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.301–447Phineus' prophecy of the voyage to ColchisFed at last, Phineus tells the heroes how to pass the Clashing Rocks with a dove, and names the peoples and coasts on the way to Colchis: the Mariandyni, the Amazons, the Chalybes, the isle of Ares and the Phasis. When Jason asks about the way home he says that a god will guide them and bids them rely on Cypris. The sons of Boreas return, and Phineus says he wants only death.

Callimachus (3)

Callimachus, Hymns 4.87–204Hymn to Delos: Leto's wanderingsThe unborn Apollo warns Thebe not to make him prophesy yet and speaks of his coming fight with the serpent at Pytho. Leto is refused by the Achaean cities and by Thessaly, and Peneius is ready to shelter her until Ares threatens him and she bids him save himself. The islands, frightened by Iris, turn her away, and on Cos the unborn god forbids her to bear him there because another god, Ptolemy, is due to be born on the island. He foretells the defeat of the Galatians at Delphi, and Asteria then calls to Leto to cross over to her.
Callimachus, Hymns 4.1–86Hymn to Delos: Asteria among the islandsThe poet resolves to sing of Delos, nurse of Apollo, a wave-beaten isle that leads the others when they gather before Oceanus and Tethys. He tells how the island, once the floating Asteria who fled the love of Zeus, was named Delos when it became the birthplace of Apollo. Hera, angry with Leto, posts Ares on Haemus to watch the mainland and Iris on Mimas to watch the islands, and the cities of Greece flee from Leto. Apollo, still in the womb, rebukes Thebe.
Callimachus, Hymns 4.205–326Hymn to Delos: the birth of ApolloLeto sits by the Inopus and leans against a palm-tree, bidding her child be born, and Iris tells Hera, who relents because Zeus has calmed her. The swans of Pactolus circle Delos seven times, which is why Apollo's lyre has seven strings, and the island turns to gold as the god is born. Delos tells Earth that Apollo will love her above all lands and that she will wander no more. The poet then describes the first-fruits sent to Delos from the north, the dance of Theseus at the image of Cypris, and the sailors' rite at the altar.

Theocritus (1)

Theocritus, Idylls 17.1–137Idyll 17: In praise of PtolemyThe poem begins with Zeus and passes to Ptolemy son of Lagus, whom it praises as foremost among men, and to his mother Berenice. It tells of his birth on the isle of Cos, of the lands he rules and the wealth of Egypt, and of the temples he has built for his parents. It ends with his marriage to his sister, likened to the bridal of Zeus and Hera.

Aristophanes (1)

Aristophanes, Birds 1190–1279Episode: Iris is stopped at the wallThe Chorus sing that war has begun between the gods and the birds, and Peisthetaerus stops a flying figure who says that she is Iris, on her way from the Olympian gods to bid men sacrifice sheep to them. Peisthetaerus orders her seized for trespass, tells her that the birds are now the gods of men, and threatens to burn the palace of Zeus with eagles carrying fire. Iris leaves in anger, and the Chorus sing that the gods will never pass that way again, after which a Herald from men arrives.

Ovid (2)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.688–748Iris and Sleep; Ceyx and Alcyone become birdsAlcyone prays for Ceyx, and Hera (Juno) sends Iris to the house of Sleep in a dark cave to ask him to send a dream to Alcyone. Sleep wakes his son Morpheus, who takes the form of Ceyx and tells Alcyone that her husband is dead. Alcyone goes to the shore, sees his body, and throws herself toward it, and the gods change both into birds, and Aeolus calms the winds for seven days each year so that she may brood.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 14.772–851Romulus and HersiliaAmulius seizes the kingdom, and Numitor wins it back with the help of his grandsons, and Rome's walls are begun. The Sabine king Tatius makes war, Tarpeia betrays the citadel, and a hot spring, raised by Juno, closes the gate against the Sabines. After a battle the Romans and Sabines make peace. Mars asks Zeus (Jupiter) to fulfil his promise of heaven to Romulus, and the king is taken up in the god's chariot, and Hera (Juno) sends Iris to his widow Hersilia, who is received among the gods as Hora, the consort of Quirinus.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (1)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 14.419–547Athena's stormAs the Argives near Euboea, Athena asks Zeus for vengeance on Aias son of Oileus and for the storm that follows. Zeus gives her his thunder and lightning, and she puts on the Aegis and darkens sea and sky. Her thunderbolt breaks Aias' ship and drowns its crew, and captive women drag Danaans down with them.

Nonnus of Panopolis (5)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 31.70–131Book 31: Megaira is lent to Hera; Iris goes to find SleepPersephone agrees and gives Hera the Fury Megaira, whom Hera angers further by showing her the dead Indians. Megaira waits in a Caucasian cave in the form of an owl until Zeus sleeps. Hera sends Iris to ask Sleep to put Zeus to sleep for a day, and Iris finds him near Orchomenos.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 20.182–288Book 20: Hera sends Iris to deceive Lycurgos and DionysosHera sends Iris to Lycurgos with a poleaxe, disguised as Ares, and she urges him to fight Dionysos and his women; Lycurgos takes the message as an omen of victory. Iris then goes to Dionysos in the guise of a messenger and falsely tells him to lay down his arms and come as a guest to Lycurgos' house.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 31.132–198Book 31: Iris, in the shape of Night, persuades SleepIris takes the shape of Night, Sleep's mother, and urges him to charm the eyes of Zeus, saying that Dionysos' torches outshine her stars and reminding him of Zeus' long wakeful nights with Alcmene. Sleep agrees to put Zeus to sleep for one day.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 26.296–378Book 26: The elephants of Oita; Deriades' lineage; the army sleepsThe elephants of Oita and the Ethiopians who wear horses' heads in battle join the host. The poet gives the parentage of Deriades, son of Hydaspes and Astris, and describes the city crowded with armed men who sleep on the eve of battle.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 13.1–82Book 13: Iris summons Dionysos to the Indian warZeus sends Iris to Rheia to tell Dionysos that he must drive out Deriades and the Indians and teach all nations the rites of the vine. She reminds him that Hermes, Apollo and Zeus himself had to labour for heaven. Pyrrhichos is sent to gather the host, and the poet begins the catalogue with the Boeotians led by Actaion.