Iris (mythology) in the context of "Electra (Greek mythology)"

Hieros gamos, (from Ancient Greek: ἱερός, romanized: hieros, lit. 'holy, sacred' and γάμος gamos 'marriage') or hierogamy (Ancient Greek: ἱερὸς γάμος, ἱερογαμία 'holy marriage') is a sacred marriage that takes place between gods, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.

The notion of hieros gamos does not always presuppose literal sexual intercourse in ritual, but is also used in purely symbolic or mythological contexts, notably in alchemy and hence in Jungian psychology. Hieros gamos is described as the prototype of fertility rituals.

The caduceus (☤; /kəˈdjuːʃəs, -siəs/; from Latin cādūceus, from Ancient Greek κηρύκειον (kērúkeion) 'herald's wand, staff') is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds like Iris, the messenger of Hera. The short staff is entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography, it was depicted being carried in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger of the gods.

Some accounts assert that the oldest imagery of the caduceus is rooted in Mesopotamia with the Sumerian god Ningishzida; his symbol, a staff with two snakes intertwined around it, dates back to 4000 BC to 3000 BC. This iconography may have been a representation of two snakes copulating.

Prende or Premte is the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology. She is also called Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. She is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris ("Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty"). Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja (Gheg Albanian: e prende, prendja). She reflects features belonging to the original Indo-European dawn goddess. A remarkable reflection associated with the Indo-European dawn goddess is the Albanian tradition according to which Prende is the daughter of the sky god – Zojz.

Thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity, Prende is identified with the cult of Venus and she was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. She features attributes also belonging to Aphrodite, Iris, and Helen, as well as Persephone as shown by the etymology of her name. Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albanian e Bukura e Dheut ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.