Symbol of Hope

Iris
Goddess of Rainbow
Messanger of the Gods
Goddess of Oaths and Promises

Throughout the ages, the rainbow has been the symbol of hope, a promise of better things to come. The ancient Greeks personified the rainbow as the Goddess Iris, the favorite handmaiden and messenger of Hera, the Queen of the Gods. Carried by her shimmering wings, Iris travels so swiftly that mortals can see only the trail of her rainbow-colored passage across the sky.
Iris was also portrayed as a beautiful maiden, with golden wings, robes of bright colors and a halo of light around her head. She was the ambassador of the Gods. It was said that Iris leaves Mount Olympus only to deliver messages to mankind who look to her as an adviser and guide, linking her between the worlds of the gods and humanity.
Iris is the daughter of Thaumas, one of the many minor sea gods, and the ocean nymph Electra, an Oceanid. Her sisters are the Harpies, Aello, and Ocypete. She also has a twin sister, Arke, who served as messenger for the Titans in the first war and was thrown into Tartarus with her masters by Zeus (after ripping her wings off). She is married to  Zephyrus, who is the god of the west wind.
Such was her speed; she travels fast as the wind from one corner of the earth to the other, from the depths of the ocean to the underground world. Apart from carrying messages Goddess Iris had many other tasks to perform. One was to deliver a jug of water from the river Styx so to put liars to sleep. Zeus would make the gods swear by the water of the Styx and any god or goddess swearing falsely would lie breathless for a year and then barred for nine years from the gods meetings and feasts.
Though she was sometimes called upon to deliver bad news, Iris was known as a sweet tempered Goddess with no enemies. This gave her an access to the universe and welcome in all corners of the earth and beyond. Iris would lead the souls of the dead women to the Elysian Fields. To honor her, the Greeks would plant purple iris flowers on the graves of the dead. To this day, the Greeks plant irises on women's graves so that Goddess Iris will guide them to their resting places.
Iris not being a mere follower and deliverer of others' messages, her other qualities are gentle strength and communication skills born out of the art of balance. Iris mediates between the poles of good and evil creating balance amid strife. She arrests action and creates harmony. Iris is a bringer of hope and justice through temperance rather than force. It has been said that all the colors of the rainbow blended together create the color white, essence of the Spirit.

The flower iris grows in a variety of colors with a variety of unique aromas; each color of the rainbow has a specific meaning, and together their meanings are magnified:

Red—Vitality
Orange—Creative Energy

Yellow—Wisdom


Green—Life, Balance, Nature

Blue—Spirituality

Indigo—Infinity

Violet—Spiritual Mastery

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of Homosexual: Ancient Greece

Image
How we from being happily accept in society to being hate and have to fight for equality? Let start begin in the ancient world work our way to the source of the problem. The Ancient Greece "The noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail." - Plutarch The ancient Greeks are widely known for their gay exploits. Many people are aware of Greek homosexual love poetry, the same-sex relations of Greek gods and heroes, and the gay relationship between Alexander the Great and Hephaestion. It is important in the beginning to define our vocabulary. The term ’homosexuality’ as it is used and understood today is not mainly applicable to Greek of ancient times for three reasons: First of all, most Greeks were bisexual. Second, homosexuality and 'gay' as sexual identities are recent developments. They were emerged only in the 2Oth Century (our idea of what i
Please read more »

Seven Wonders of the World: Colossus of Rhodes

Image
Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight. Standing on a small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus, which stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In the late 4th century BC, Rhodes, allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt, prevented a massive invasion staged by their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius. In 304 BC a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Antigonus's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equi
Please read more »

Daily life of Roman life: Slavery

Image
Slavery had a long history in the ancient world and was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as Rome. Most slaves during the Roman Empire were foreigners and, unlike in modern times, Roman slavery was not based on race. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution. The testimony of a slave could not be accepted in a court of law unless the slave was tortured—a practice based on the belief that slaves in a position to be privy to their masters' affairs would be too virtuously loyal to reveal damaging evidence unless coerced (yeah right). Over time, however, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. How did people become Roman Slaves? People became slaves among the Romans by the following ways: Prisoners of war Sailors
Please read more »