Rainbows in culture Rainbows in culture The rainbow, a natural phenomenon noted for its design and its place in the sky, has been a favorite component of art and religion throughout history. The rainbow has a place in legend owing to its beauty and the historical difficulty in explaining the phenomenon. In Greco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Earth and Heaven. In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours. The Irish leprechaun's secret hiding place for his pot of gold
Irish folklore lived. Irish folklore consists of many classics that are repeated to this day. Popular Irish folkltales include the Otherworld ("An Saol Eile)", which revolves around the idea of supernatural manifestations and beings. These beings appear in many of the folkloristic genres such as ballads, popular song, legends, memorates, belief statements and folkloric material. Some famous examples from this include the Irish fairylore and restless souls and spirits around Halloween such as the Banshee. The Banshee is one of the most popular classics to this day, known by many different names (for example, "Badh" commonly used in the south of Ireland).