IRIS

Description

This flower has been known to people for a very long time. Images of iris were found in Crete among the paintings of the Knossos Palace, built at the end of the III millennium BC.

The image of Iris on the Criti For the variegated colors of flowers of all colors of the rainbow, this plant is named after the Greek goddess Iris, who descended to earth to proclaim to people the will of the gods. And the name “iris”, which means “rainbow” in Greek, was given to the plant by the doctor and naturalist Hippocrates.

Iris was also emblazoned on the coat of arms of the city of Florence. The Romans called the city surrounded by white iris plantations Florence, which means the coat of arms of Mista Florence “blooming”.

In Japan, iris protected homes from harmful influences. In any Japanese family with sons, on the traditional Boys’ Day (the fifth day of the fifth moon), a magical talisman (“May pearl”) is prepared on this day from the flowers of iris and orange, since in Japanese the same hieroglyphs indicate the names of the iris and the words “warrior spirit”. “May pearls”, according to legend, should inspire courage in the soul of a young man: even the leaves of the plant are very similar to swords.

Among Christians, the iris symbolizes purity, protection, but also became a symbol of sorrow and pain, the reason for which was its sharp wedge-shaped leaves, which seemed to personify the suffering and sadness of the heart of the Mother of God from the suffering of Christ. Blue iris is especially often found as such a symbol in the images of the Virgin. Iris can also symbolize the immaculate conception.

As a religious symbol, the iris first appears in the paintings of early Flemish masters, and in the images of the Virgin Mary it is present both with the lily and instead of it. This symbolic meaning is due to the fact that the name “iris” means “lily with a sword”, which is seen as a hint of Mary’s sorrow for Christ.