Euripides, Ion

Laura Swift (The Open University)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -410

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

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Euripides’

Ion

tells the story of Ion, the founding father of the Ionian Greeks, and his reunion with his long-lost mother Creusa, queen of Athens.

Ion

is one of the so-called “alphabetical plays” of Euripides (plays surviving by chance on a manuscript which was originally part of an edition of Euripides’ plays in alphabetical order). The play’s precise date is unknown, but judging by metrical evidence it was composed between 420 and 410 BC, probably towards the middle of that date-range.

The play is set at Delphi, and opens with a prologue by the god Hermes, who sets the scene so far. He tells us that Apollo raped Creusa when she was a young woman. Creusa became pregnant but concealed the pregnancy and abandoned the baby, who was rescued by Apollo and raised at his shrine at

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1631 words

Citation: Swift, Laura. "Ion". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 February 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13359, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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Euripides, Ion

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