Editing Iris (mythology) (section)

=== Messenger of the gods ===
[[File:Pompeii - Casa dei Vettii - Ixion.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Iris stands behind the seated [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] (right) in a [[Pompeii]] fresco]]

Following her daughter [[Persephone]]'s abduction by [[Hades]], the goddess of agriculture [[Demeter]] withdrew to her temple in [[Eleusis]] and made the earth barren, causing a great famine that killed off mortals, and as a result sacrifices to the gods ceased. [[Zeus]] then sent Iris to Demeter, calling her to join the other gods and lift her curse; but as her daughter was not returned, Demeter was not persuaded.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymns]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 2.314&ndash;325]</ref>

In one narrative, after [[Leto]] and her children pleaded with Zeus to release [[Prometheus]] from his torment, Zeus relented, and sent Iris to order [[Heracles]] to free the unfortunate Prometheus.<ref>[[Valerius Flaccus (poet)|Valerius Flaccus]], ''Argonautica'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/valerius_flaccus-argonautica/1934/pb_LCL286.191.xml 4.60-78 ff]</ref>

After [[Alcyone and Ceyx|Ceyx]] drowned in a shipwreck, Hera made Iris convey her orders to [[Hypnos]], the god of sleep. Iris flew and found him in his cave, and informed him that Hera wished for Ceyx's wife, Alcyone, to be informed of her loved one's death in her dreams. After delivering Hera's command, Iris left immediately, not standing to be near Hypnos for too long, for his powers took hold of her, and made her dizzy and sleepy.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 11.585</ref>

In [[Aristophanes]]'s comedy ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'', the titular birds build a city in the sky and plan to supplant the Olympian gods. Iris, as the messenger, goes to meet them, but she is ridiculed, insulted, and threatened with rape by their leader Pisetaerus, an elderly Athenian man. Iris appears confused that Pisetearus does not know who the gods are and that she is one of them. Pisetaerus then tells her that the birds are the gods now, the deities whom the humans must sacrifice to. After Pisetaerus threatens to rape her, Iris scolds him for his foul language and leaves, warning him that Zeus, whom she refers to as her father, will deal with him and make him pay.{{sfn|Welsh|2014|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RiN8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29]}}

Iris also appears several times in [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'', usually as an agent of [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]. In Book 4, Juno dispatches her to pluck a lock of hair from the head of Queen [[Dido (Queen of Carthage)|Dido]], so that she may die and enter Hades.<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/245#4.630 4.696]</ref> In book 5, Iris, having taken on the form of a Trojan woman, stirs up the other Trojan mothers to set fire to four of Aeneas' ships in order to prevent them from leaving Sicily.<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/245#5.604 5.606]</ref>

[[File:IrisGuyHead.jpg|thumb|right|235px|''Iris Carrying the Water of the [[Styx|River Styx]] to [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]] for the Gods to Swear By'', by [[Guy Head]] (c. 1793)]]

According to the Roman poet [[Ovid]], after [[Romulus]] was deified as the god [[Quirinus]], his wife [[Hersilia]] pleaded with the gods to let her become immortal as well so that she could be with her husband once again. Juno heard her plea and sent Iris down to her. With a single finger, Iris touched Hersilia and transformed her into an immortal goddess. Hersilia flew to Olympus, where she became one of the [[Horae]] and was permitted to live with her husband forevermore.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph14.htm#487618623 14.829&ndash;851]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McLeish|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth McLeish|title=Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth|url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/bloommyth/hersilia/0|journal=Credo Reference}}</ref>