What do you think?
Rate this book
Ion
Series Copy
Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly recreate the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, The Greek Tragedies in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the editorship of Herbert Golder and the late William Arrowsmith, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a glossary of the mythical and geographical references in the plays.
One of Euripides' late plays, Ion is a complex enactment of the changing relations between the human and divine orders and the way in which our understanding of the gods is mediated and re-visioned by myths. The story begins years before the play begins, with the rape of the mortal Kreousa, queen of Athens, by Apollo. Kreousa bears Apollos' child in secret then abandons it. Unbeknownst to her, Apollo has the child brought to his temple at Delphi to be reared by the priestess as ward of the shrine. Many years later, Kreousa, now married to the foreigner Xouthos but childless, comes to Delphi seeking prophecy about children. Apollo, however, speaking through the oracle, bestows the temple ward, Ion, on Xouthos as his child. Enraged, Kreousa conspires to kill as an interloper the very son she has despaired of finding. After mother and son both try to kill each other, the priestess reveals the birth tokens that permit Kreousa to recognize and embrace the child she thought was dead. Ion
discovers the truth of his parentage and departs for Athens, as a mixed blood of humanity and divinity, to participate in the life of the polis.
In Ion , disturbing riptides of thought and feeling run just below the often shimmering surfaces of Euripidean melodrama. Although the play contains some of Euripides' most beautiful lyrical writing, it quivers throughout with near disasters, poorly informed actions and misdirected intentions that almost result in catastrophe. Kreousa says at one point that good and evil do not mix, but Euripides' argument, and what the youthful Ion strives to understand, is that human beings are not only compounded of good and evil, but that the two are often the same thing differently experienced, differently understood, just as beauty and violence are mixed both in the gods and in the mortal world.
Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly recreate the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, The Greek Tragedies in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the editorship of Herbert Golder and the late William Arrowsmith, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a glossary of the mythical and geographical references in the plays.
One of Euripides' late plays, Ion is a complex enactment of the changing relations between the human and divine orders and the way in which our understanding of the gods is mediated and re-visioned by myths. The story begins years before the play begins, with the rape of the mortal Kreousa, queen of Athens, by Apollo. Kreousa bears Apollos' child in secret then abandons it. Unbeknownst to her, Apollo has the child brought to his temple at Delphi to be reared by the priestess as ward of the shrine. Many years later, Kreousa, now married to the foreigner Xouthos but childless, comes to Delphi seeking prophecy about children. Apollo, however, speaking through the oracle, bestows the temple ward, Ion, on Xouthos as his child. Enraged, Kreousa conspires to kill as an interloper the very son she has despaired of finding. After mother and son both try to kill each other, the priestess reveals the birth tokens that permit Kreousa to recognize and embrace the child she thought was dead. Ion
discovers the truth of his parentage and departs for Athens, as a mixed blood of humanity and divinity, to participate in the life of the polis.
In Ion , disturbing riptides of thought and feeling run just below the often shimmering surfaces of Euripidean melodrama. Although the play contains some of Euripides' most beautiful lyrical writing, it quivers throughout with near disasters, poorly informed actions and misdirected intentions that almost result in catastrophe. Kreousa says at one point that good and evil do not mix, but Euripides' argument, and what the youthful Ion strives to understand, is that human beings are not only compounded of good and evil, but that the two are often the same thing differently experienced, differently understood, just as beauty and violence are mixed both in the gods and in the mortal world.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 415
15 people are currently reading
889 people want to read
About the author
Euripides
2,886 books1,864 followersEuripides (Greek: Ευριπίδης) (ca. 480 BC–406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the Suda says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (Rhesus is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined—he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
July 10, 2018
I had to read this book for one of my classes because the theme of my course is lost/abandoned children. That's basically the main theme of this work and I must say that I quite enjoyed the story. I have all Euripides's tragedies now so I think I'll probably read some of his other works in the future.
September 5, 2015
A question of justice
24 April 2013
At first I thought I saw similarities between this and Shelley's The Cenci, but I guess the themes in this play are a little different. The idea of the powerful oppressing the powerless is a similar theme but the two plays end up diverging quite significantly. The story itself involves the queen of Athens being raped by Apollo and then giving birth to a child. She then exposes the child (namely leaving it out in the wilderness to die) due to the shame of the whole situation. Years later her and her husband come to Delphi to find out how they can have children, and since they are the rulers of Athens children mean succession. As it turns out the child, Ion, was taken to Delphi and has been raised as an Ancient Greek version of an altar boy.
There is the idea of the powerful, represented by Apollo, taking advantage of the powerless, represented by Creusa, though remember that she is a member of the nobility, and this indicates certain layers of power. The idea here involves the relationship between the gods and humanity and raises the question that since the gods are divine why do they behave in such a fickle and unjust manner. This can be representative of the class system within Athenian society (and here were are not exploring the master slave relationship but the distinction between the wealthy and the poor, or the city dwellers and the farmers). Thus the question of justice does arise since Apollo, representing the wealthy, is able to commit crimes against humanity (representing the poor) and get away scott free.
Another theme that flows through here is the issue of progeny. Creusa and her husband desire a child so that Athens might have a stable government. The existence of a heir means that there will be no succession crisis (which can be turn out to be quite violent as various factions all fight for control of the kingdom) however they have remained childless. This issue of succession takes a twist when Xuthus (Creusa's husband) is told that upon leaving the temple the first person he sees will be his son, and this turns out to be Ion. This raises a few issues since Xuthus has had no child by Creusa, so it means that this child must have been had through another woman.
This causes a problem because Xuthus is not native Athenian, which means that if Ion is not the child of Creusa then he is a foreigner and for him to ascend the throne means that a foreigner will rule Athens (which is an issue that comes down even today – one of the theories as to why Kennedy was assassinated was because he was Catholic, which meant the Pope, a foreigner, was calling the shots). The problem was that secrets are unlikely to remain secrets, and the gods were never (and still are never) known to give straight answers. This means that the riddles that they spoke were oft known to be misinterpreted.
This play is not a tragedy in a sense, and probably falls more into a comic genre with the gods posing riddles that are misinterpreted, with the main actors making assumptions and getting things wrong, and then everything being sorted out at the end and everybody leaving happy. Ion, the one who never knew his mother, or father, leaves with a mother and a father, and Creusa and Xuthus, who desired a son, leave with a son. Athens is also saved, in that the succession crisis does not come about because an heir to the throne has become apparent.
The only person that escapes punishment, and in fact never makes an appearance in the play, is Apollo. Thus another theme that runs through the play is the question of the fickleness of the gods. It is intended by some characters that Apollo must be punished for his crimes, but Athena makes a grand entrance and tells everybody to stop and enjoy the revelations that have come to light. The play is opened by Hermes, who gives us the background and tells us the story that leads up to this point, but Apollo never makes an appearance. This is not surprising since the plays (particularly Euripides who loves to use the Deus Ex Machina) tend to only have the gods on stage at the beginning and the end. However the true villain of the peace never makes an appearance and skulks in the background somehow knowing his crime but never wanting to face it. Once again I guess this is a similar view of spirituality that many people have today – particularly when we deal with the fact that God seems to take a back seat when it comes to letting humanity run riot over the earth.
24 April 2013
At first I thought I saw similarities between this and Shelley's The Cenci, but I guess the themes in this play are a little different. The idea of the powerful oppressing the powerless is a similar theme but the two plays end up diverging quite significantly. The story itself involves the queen of Athens being raped by Apollo and then giving birth to a child. She then exposes the child (namely leaving it out in the wilderness to die) due to the shame of the whole situation. Years later her and her husband come to Delphi to find out how they can have children, and since they are the rulers of Athens children mean succession. As it turns out the child, Ion, was taken to Delphi and has been raised as an Ancient Greek version of an altar boy.
There is the idea of the powerful, represented by Apollo, taking advantage of the powerless, represented by Creusa, though remember that she is a member of the nobility, and this indicates certain layers of power. The idea here involves the relationship between the gods and humanity and raises the question that since the gods are divine why do they behave in such a fickle and unjust manner. This can be representative of the class system within Athenian society (and here were are not exploring the master slave relationship but the distinction between the wealthy and the poor, or the city dwellers and the farmers). Thus the question of justice does arise since Apollo, representing the wealthy, is able to commit crimes against humanity (representing the poor) and get away scott free.
Another theme that flows through here is the issue of progeny. Creusa and her husband desire a child so that Athens might have a stable government. The existence of a heir means that there will be no succession crisis (which can be turn out to be quite violent as various factions all fight for control of the kingdom) however they have remained childless. This issue of succession takes a twist when Xuthus (Creusa's husband) is told that upon leaving the temple the first person he sees will be his son, and this turns out to be Ion. This raises a few issues since Xuthus has had no child by Creusa, so it means that this child must have been had through another woman.
This causes a problem because Xuthus is not native Athenian, which means that if Ion is not the child of Creusa then he is a foreigner and for him to ascend the throne means that a foreigner will rule Athens (which is an issue that comes down even today – one of the theories as to why Kennedy was assassinated was because he was Catholic, which meant the Pope, a foreigner, was calling the shots). The problem was that secrets are unlikely to remain secrets, and the gods were never (and still are never) known to give straight answers. This means that the riddles that they spoke were oft known to be misinterpreted.
This play is not a tragedy in a sense, and probably falls more into a comic genre with the gods posing riddles that are misinterpreted, with the main actors making assumptions and getting things wrong, and then everything being sorted out at the end and everybody leaving happy. Ion, the one who never knew his mother, or father, leaves with a mother and a father, and Creusa and Xuthus, who desired a son, leave with a son. Athens is also saved, in that the succession crisis does not come about because an heir to the throne has become apparent.
The only person that escapes punishment, and in fact never makes an appearance in the play, is Apollo. Thus another theme that runs through the play is the question of the fickleness of the gods. It is intended by some characters that Apollo must be punished for his crimes, but Athena makes a grand entrance and tells everybody to stop and enjoy the revelations that have come to light. The play is opened by Hermes, who gives us the background and tells us the story that leads up to this point, but Apollo never makes an appearance. This is not surprising since the plays (particularly Euripides who loves to use the Deus Ex Machina) tend to only have the gods on stage at the beginning and the end. However the true villain of the peace never makes an appearance and skulks in the background somehow knowing his crime but never wanting to face it. Once again I guess this is a similar view of spirituality that many people have today – particularly when we deal with the fact that God seems to take a back seat when it comes to letting humanity run riot over the earth.
March 28, 2025
نماینشامههای اوریپید جوریه که باورت نمیشه همهش رو یک نفر نوشته، از بس که متنوعان. حقیقتاً این نمایشنامه (مثل قبلی، آلسست) یک جور غم زنانه در من ایجاد کرد. در آلسست، از «زن و همسر خوب» انتظار میرفت که چنان فداکار و مثلاً عاشق باشه که جونش رو هم برای شوهرش فدا کنه و فقط چنین زنی یک زن خوب و لایق شمرده میشد. اینجا هم که روایت غمانگیز یک تجاوز رو داشتیم. سعی میکنم اینطور بهشون نگاه نکنم، بههرحال دو هزار و چهارصد سال پیش نوشته شدن و واقعیتهای افکار جامعه رو نوشتن. ولی... قلبم میگیره حقیقتش، از اینهمه غربت زنانه.
February 4, 2019
آلسست، ایفیگنی در توریس، ایون و هلن جزو نمایشنامه هایی هستند که از زمان باستان تا دوره معاصر چالش برانگیز بودن. برای مثال از نظر سبک قابل طبقه بندی نبودن، نمایشنامه هایی با المان های تراژیک که معمولا با دخالت خدا (دئوس اکس ماکینا) پایان بندی غیر منطقی، خارج از روند عادی روایت و به طرز عجیبی خوش بینانه پیدا میکردن. انسان هایی که از قلمروی مرگ بر میگشتن یا خدایانی که با باز کردن گره های اصلی روایت در لحظات حساس مانع سوء تفاهم و مرگ تراژیک قهرمان یا قهرمان ها میشدن. سرنوشت یا تقدیر یا اجبار که نیروی محرکه اصلی برای بروز تراژدی در نمایشنامه های دیگر قلمداد میشد، با تغییر ناگهانی قوانین روایت شکسته و تراژدی به کمدی تبدیل میشد. تغییرات لحن متعدد و نوآوری های دیگری که اوریپید در این نمایشنامه ها به کار میبرد هم باعث میشدن تا طبقه بندی سبکی این نمایشنامه ها برای محققین مشکل باشه.
از این بین ایون برای من جایگاه بخصوصی داره، نمایشنامه ای با درجاتی از نوآوری که حتی ممکنه در نگاه اول با نمایشنامه های تراژیکمدی جدید (بعد از رنسانس) اشتباه گرفته بشه. برای مثال خودارجاعی و خودافشاگری در روند روایت، شوخی با مقوله خدایان و مذهب، پیچیدگی های روایی خاص، توصیفات پیچیده و پر از جزییات از اجسام و رویداد ها (چادر ایون) و ارحاعات بسیار به سیاست روز و انتفادات صریح از فرهنگ نژاد پرستی و اصالت پرستی آتنی. مقولاتی که هرکدوم نیاز به بحثی مفصل و کامل داره که متاسغانه از محدوده سواد و حوصله من خارجه.
ایون رو با ترجمه دی پیرو خوندم. همونطور که خودش هم تو مفدمه اعتراف میکنه، اطلاعتش از زبان یونانی باستان به مترجم های دیگه نمیرسه و زبان ترجمه اش بیشتر از اینکه به اصالت گرایش داشته باشه به شاعرانگی گرایش داره.
از این بین ایون برای من جایگاه بخصوصی داره، نمایشنامه ای با درجاتی از نوآوری که حتی ممکنه در نگاه اول با نمایشنامه های تراژیکمدی جدید (بعد از رنسانس) اشتباه گرفته بشه. برای مثال خودارجاعی و خودافشاگری در روند روایت، شوخی با مقوله خدایان و مذهب، پیچیدگی های روایی خاص، توصیفات پیچیده و پر از جزییات از اجسام و رویداد ها (چادر ایون) و ارحاعات بسیار به سیاست روز و انتفادات صریح از فرهنگ نژاد پرستی و اصالت پرستی آتنی. مقولاتی که هرکدوم نیاز به بحثی مفصل و کامل داره که متاسغانه از محدوده سواد و حوصله من خارجه.
ایون رو با ترجمه دی پیرو خوندم. همونطور که خودش هم تو مفدمه اعتراف میکنه، اطلاعتش از زبان یونانی باستان به مترجم های دیگه نمیرسه و زبان ترجمه اش بیشتر از اینکه به اصالت گرایش داشته باشه به شاعرانگی گرایش داره.
February 20, 2020
It's super Greek tragrdy. Girl get pregnant by Apollo. Forcibly in a cave. Gives birth in same cave. Rejects child leaves him in a cave. Yada yada yada she tries to murder her son and he returns the favor. Reunited and it feels so good by Athena. Happy endings! It's super crazy
October 26, 2022
امروز به یک سری نتایج نصفه و نیمه در مغزم رسیدم تا آنچه را که همیشه باگ داستان آیون میدانستم، برای خود حل کنم. مشکلی که فوکو در درسگفتار حکمرانی بر خود... به آن نپرداخته بود؛ یعنی اصلا برای او باگ نبود.
آیون قرار است بنیانگذار دموکراسی یونانی شود و بنابراین اوریپید برایش شجرنامهی خفنی جور میکند. پدرت که خدا است، مادرت هم اهل آتن است؛ پس دیگر پارسیا داری. منتها در اولین گفتگوی جدی گزوتوس و آیون، آیون میگوید که چون مادرم معلوم نیست که کیست و آتنی محسوب نمیشود، پس من نمیتوانم در سیاست موفق شوم. آخر نمایشنامه، آیون میفهمد که مادرش از قضا آتنی اصیلی است، اما آتنا میآید پایین و میگوید که این راز را برای هیچکس بر ملا نکنید.
مشکل اینجا است که اگر مردم ندانند که آیون حقیقتا فرزند خدا است و مادرش هم کرئوزی است که خودش در خاندان پادشاهی آتن است، پس چگونه ممکن است به او حق پارسیا بدهند؟ البته که او میتواند به سبب اجبارْ پادشاه شود، چون پدر ظاهریاش شاه است. اما مگر نه اینکه مردم به سبب اصل و نسب کسی به وی اجازهی حکمرانی و سیاستورزی میدهند (طبق حرف خود آیون)، پس آیونی که مردم و گزوتوس خیال میکنند مادرش یک کنیز بیگانه بوده، و پدرش گزوتوس، چگونه ممکن است وارد سیاست شود؟
من مسئله را برای خودم اینگونه حل کردم که در این زمان، آیون هنوز دموکراسی را تاسیس نکرده بود و بنابراین نیازی به تایید مردم نبود. پارسیا احتمالا به شکل حقی نبود که مردم به کسی بدهند، بلکه خدایان در خفا پارسیا را اعطا میکردند و آن فرد خودش باید اعتماد به نفس این را پیدا میکرد که در صف اول سیاست بایستد. شاید هم بعدتر این راز را آیون و مادرش به مردم آتن لو میدهند و اینگونه آیون میتواند حاکمی بشود که از سوی مردم نیز مقبولیت دارد.
آیون قرار است بنیانگذار دموکراسی یونانی شود و بنابراین اوریپید برایش شجرنامهی خفنی جور میکند. پدرت که خدا است، مادرت هم اهل آتن است؛ پس دیگر پارسیا داری. منتها در اولین گفتگوی جدی گزوتوس و آیون، آیون میگوید که چون مادرم معلوم نیست که کیست و آتنی محسوب نمیشود، پس من نمیتوانم در سیاست موفق شوم. آخر نمایشنامه، آیون میفهمد که مادرش از قضا آتنی اصیلی است، اما آتنا میآید پایین و میگوید که این راز را برای هیچکس بر ملا نکنید.
مشکل اینجا است که اگر مردم ندانند که آیون حقیقتا فرزند خدا است و مادرش هم کرئوزی است که خودش در خاندان پادشاهی آتن است، پس چگونه ممکن است به او حق پارسیا بدهند؟ البته که او میتواند به سبب اجبارْ پادشاه شود، چون پدر ظاهریاش شاه است. اما مگر نه اینکه مردم به سبب اصل و نسب کسی به وی اجازهی حکمرانی و سیاستورزی میدهند (طبق حرف خود آیون)، پس آیونی که مردم و گزوتوس خیال میکنند مادرش یک کنیز بیگانه بوده، و پدرش گزوتوس، چگونه ممکن است وارد سیاست شود؟
من مسئله را برای خودم اینگونه حل کردم که در این زمان، آیون هنوز دموکراسی را تاسیس نکرده بود و بنابراین نیازی به تایید مردم نبود. پارسیا احتمالا به شکل حقی نبود که مردم به کسی بدهند، بلکه خدایان در خفا پارسیا را اعطا میکردند و آن فرد خودش باید اعتماد به نفس این را پیدا میکرد که در صف اول سیاست بایستد. شاید هم بعدتر این راز را آیون و مادرش به مردم آتن لو میدهند و اینگونه آیون میتواند حاکمی بشود که از سوی مردم نیز مقبولیت دارد.
July 17, 2022
Not tragic enough
December 27, 2015
You may meet people in every variety of fortune and condition; but happiness in human life is hard to find.Ion follows the titular character; an orphan who was brought to and reared at the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Having been oblivious of his origin throughout his young life, simply accepting the temple's Priestess as his mother and Apollo as his spiritual father, he soon discovers the identity of his true parents through a painful process both requiring and inspiring maturation. It turns out that Apollo raped a girl one day, who then gave birth to the child that would be Ion, leaving it to die at the very cave in which she was offended by the god. The child was brought to the temple by Hermes, and this is where we find him at the beginning of the play. This story is presented to the audience from the start; the characters will have to learn it for themselves, and ultimately accept their fate.
Euripides is often called a misogynist; this play, if anything, suggests the opposite to me. This poignant passage especially struck me:
Look now, you who with changeless songsRather damning, I'd say, and right on point. While I did not think that the play was spectacular in the end, it did contain several memorable lines and moments.
Slander us women as unchaste,
Breaking man’s law and God’s to taste
Forbidden joys: to you belongs
This censure! See how the uncounted wrongs
Man’s lust commits debase him far beneath
Our innocence. Truth sings
Another tune, and flings
Men’s taunts of lustfulness back in their teeth.
May 20, 2009
For the past ten years I have acted with a theatre troop that regularly performs masked tragedy outside during the summer. One day I heard the artistic director say that he would never stage Ion because "nothing happens.” This is interesting considering we had already staged relatively good versions of Seven against Thebes and The Suppliants, both of which are significantly lacking in action. So when I read Ion I was surprised by how much I actually liked the play. Another not-so-tragic tragedy, it focuses on the reuniting of Ion with the mother who abandoned him in a cave. (I should note that just once I'd like to read of one of these mythological stories in which the baby actually dies, just to add suspense to the convention. Also, it makes me wonder how often this sort of abandoning occurred in real Greek life, since it happened so often in myth.) This play has some funny moments such as the pseudo-recognition with Ion and his "father" and the character of the tutor, who is perhaps the worst giver of advice in all of Greek Tragedy (and that is saying a lot). They seriously need to do a better job of screening the help in the Royal House of Athens. Overall, with multiple God appearances and a double Deus ex machine (sort of) this makes for a surprisingly good play.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2021
وای از آن وقتی که زنی بلغزد. وای از آن وقت که خدایان به شرارت بپردازند. هرگاه کسی که بر ما ستم روا میدارد قدرتی مافوق همه داشته باشد. ما شکوه او به کجا بریم و از دست او پیش چه کسی دادخواهی کنیم؟
اگر یکی از بندگان به راه معصیت رود، خدایان او را کیفر می دهند. پس شما که خود واضع قوانین هستید چگونه خودتان به نقص همان قوانین تن در می دهید... اگر قرار باشد تو که آپولون هستی یا پوزئیدون یا زئوس که خدای خدایان است برای هر کردار زشت خود جریمه ای مطابق قانون بپردازید همه خزائن موجود در معابد شما برای پرداخت این جرائم کافی نخواهد بود.
اگر یکی از بندگان به راه معصیت رود، خدایان او را کیفر می دهند. پس شما که خود واضع قوانین هستید چگونه خودتان به نقص همان قوانین تن در می دهید... اگر قرار باشد تو که آپولون هستی یا پوزئیدون یا زئوس که خدای خدایان است برای هر کردار زشت خود جریمه ای مطابق قانون بپردازید همه خزائن موجود در معابد شما برای پرداخت این جرائم کافی نخواهد بود.
October 23, 2022
One of my favourite Greek plays, finally read it in Greek. Such a powerful story of trauma that is bound to force itself out in the open, from the perspective of both mother and son.
December 15, 2022
I believe Euripides has a disorienting effect. Stirring, strong stories of Delphi…. lost to a vision, am I pushed closer to earth or torn from it?
‘The smoke of unwatered myrrh drifts
To the top of the temple.
The Delphian priestess sits on the
Sacred tripod chanting to the Greeks
Echoes of Apollo’s voice.
You Delphians, attendants of Phoebus,
Go down to Castalia’s silvery eddies:
When you have bathed in its holy dews
Return to the temple.
Let your lips utter no words
Of ill-omen, may your tongues
Be gracious and gentle to those who
Come to the oracle.’
‘The smoke of unwatered myrrh drifts
To the top of the temple.
The Delphian priestess sits on the
Sacred tripod chanting to the Greeks
Echoes of Apollo’s voice.
You Delphians, attendants of Phoebus,
Go down to Castalia’s silvery eddies:
When you have bathed in its holy dews
Return to the temple.
Let your lips utter no words
Of ill-omen, may your tongues
Be gracious and gentle to those who
Come to the oracle.’
September 5, 2014
First, I must thank a very dear friend for lending me four plays by Euripides, and this is my review of Ion the first one I read today.
Aristotle considered Euripides to be the most tragic of the three dramatists if his plays were worked out well, but sometimes found him faulty of how he manages the subject.
In Ion Euripides's protagonists struggle with the oppression and unfairness of the predestined will of the Greek god of light and prophecy, Apollo. Creusa suffered so much in her youth and in her mature age as the Queen of Athens, and throughout the whole play she is in shame and is accused of involving in some promiscuous affair in her youth. Creusa, and Ion are torn between their belief in the gods and the tragedy of their reality and how the gods should be fair and kind while all they bring is misery and leave them questioning everything.
What I find interesting in Euripides' Ion is the complicity of the events, how all the facts that are kept from both Ion and Creusa would lead to an impending doom, a disaster that could crush them both. You see how the characters evolve, act in a manipulative way and start plotting and scheming in order to survive. They are more human than other Greek tragic heroes, they are like us despite the fact of them still being royal and wealthy people , not lay men which is the tradition in Classic literature.
The play is well written, the plot is well designed and the build up is so dramatic and keeps the reader interested as things get more twisted and complicated, but the downside is in Euripides' use of Deus Ex Machina. In the end of the play the gods finally come out of their silence and Athena interferes, this obvious use of Deus Ex Machina, alters the ending from a doom-driven and tragic one to a quiet and happy ending, the reader or the spectator may accept this as he empathizes with the protagonists but, it is a bit of a turn off, like Shakespeare's problem plays, tragedies that have a happy ending.
This is the only play I read by Euripides, which is why I still cannot fully compare him to Sophocles, but I can see that Euripides uses the Chorus in a different way, and through the dialogue between the characters gives the reader a very vivid description of the temple, and delivers a twisted build up of events. Sophocles on the other hand, provides a solid structure to the play, a well designed plot that ends in the only acceptable way, and avoids Deus Ex Machina or any supernatural element that could bring back the balance to the play.
Aristotle considered Euripides to be the most tragic of the three dramatists if his plays were worked out well, but sometimes found him faulty of how he manages the subject.
In Ion Euripides's protagonists struggle with the oppression and unfairness of the predestined will of the Greek god of light and prophecy, Apollo. Creusa suffered so much in her youth and in her mature age as the Queen of Athens, and throughout the whole play she is in shame and is accused of involving in some promiscuous affair in her youth. Creusa, and Ion are torn between their belief in the gods and the tragedy of their reality and how the gods should be fair and kind while all they bring is misery and leave them questioning everything.
What I find interesting in Euripides' Ion is the complicity of the events, how all the facts that are kept from both Ion and Creusa would lead to an impending doom, a disaster that could crush them both. You see how the characters evolve, act in a manipulative way and start plotting and scheming in order to survive. They are more human than other Greek tragic heroes, they are like us despite the fact of them still being royal and wealthy people , not lay men which is the tradition in Classic literature.
The play is well written, the plot is well designed and the build up is so dramatic and keeps the reader interested as things get more twisted and complicated, but the downside is in Euripides' use of Deus Ex Machina. In the end of the play the gods finally come out of their silence and Athena interferes, this obvious use of Deus Ex Machina, alters the ending from a doom-driven and tragic one to a quiet and happy ending, the reader or the spectator may accept this as he empathizes with the protagonists but, it is a bit of a turn off, like Shakespeare's problem plays, tragedies that have a happy ending.
This is the only play I read by Euripides, which is why I still cannot fully compare him to Sophocles, but I can see that Euripides uses the Chorus in a different way, and through the dialogue between the characters gives the reader a very vivid description of the temple, and delivers a twisted build up of events. Sophocles on the other hand, provides a solid structure to the play, a well designed plot that ends in the only acceptable way, and avoids Deus Ex Machina or any supernatural element that could bring back the balance to the play.
October 14, 2014
I'm just not sure how to categorize Ion correctly, because while it's known that Euripides mostly wrote heavy tragedies, this play deviates from the usual "Euripidian" formula, if that makes any sense. It's not really a comedy either- I don't really remember anything that funny, unlike in Euripides' Alcestis, which was strictly a tragicomedy. Ion is a very different play for a few reasons, but that does not diminish how much I honestly enjoy the play for what it actually is.
Essentially, the play is about a young, supposedly orphaned man named Ion who believes that his mother could actually still be alive, so he is looking for her while also trying to make his way in the world. While working as a servant at the palace of Xuthus and Creusa, he runs into a rather abrupt situation as Xuthus starts to believe that Ion is his long-lost son from a previous marriage because an oracle told him so. This angers Creusa, who has not had a child with Xuthus and is jealous that he has had another child with another wife; therefore, she decides to poison Ion.
She poisons Ion's drink at a festival, but a bird drinks out of it first and dies (does that seem to be going out on a limb a bit or is that just me?), exposing Creusa to her crime. Ion gets mad at her and demands that she be executed; the gods then interfere and reveal that Creusa is Ion's mother, but Xuthus is not his father. Turns out that Ion is a demi-god because Apollo is his real dad! So it ends on a positive note- everybody is basically content.
A happy ending in a play by Euripides or in any Greek drama is kind of... I don't know, a bit odd to read. I was actually left with the feeling of conclusion, which also is weird because a lot of dramas tend to end on a very abrupt note. Seeing a play that is more conventional to how plays are in modern days is strange, but I can't say that it's unwelcome. The plot still kept my interest the whole time and was unique in its own way. I genuinely liked the protagonist, who is not really the typical "hero" type that usually is seen in Greek drama. Overall, I really enjoy Ion because although it can't really be categorized, it's a unique play that feels more modern; that is certainly a welcome feeling by all means.
Essentially, the play is about a young, supposedly orphaned man named Ion who believes that his mother could actually still be alive, so he is looking for her while also trying to make his way in the world. While working as a servant at the palace of Xuthus and Creusa, he runs into a rather abrupt situation as Xuthus starts to believe that Ion is his long-lost son from a previous marriage because an oracle told him so. This angers Creusa, who has not had a child with Xuthus and is jealous that he has had another child with another wife; therefore, she decides to poison Ion.
She poisons Ion's drink at a festival, but a bird drinks out of it first and dies (does that seem to be going out on a limb a bit or is that just me?), exposing Creusa to her crime. Ion gets mad at her and demands that she be executed; the gods then interfere and reveal that Creusa is Ion's mother, but Xuthus is not his father. Turns out that Ion is a demi-god because Apollo is his real dad! So it ends on a positive note- everybody is basically content.
A happy ending in a play by Euripides or in any Greek drama is kind of... I don't know, a bit odd to read. I was actually left with the feeling of conclusion, which also is weird because a lot of dramas tend to end on a very abrupt note. Seeing a play that is more conventional to how plays are in modern days is strange, but I can't say that it's unwelcome. The plot still kept my interest the whole time and was unique in its own way. I genuinely liked the protagonist, who is not really the typical "hero" type that usually is seen in Greek drama. Overall, I really enjoy Ion because although it can't really be categorized, it's a unique play that feels more modern; that is certainly a welcome feeling by all means.
May 17, 2013
I read this because my great granddad was the boffin who wrote the introduction. It was an odd experience reading something that has lasted intact thousands of years. Stories haven't changed much over the years and it was an enjoyable, if a little fantastical ride.
December 9, 2013
My Greek fatigue is strong, but I'm so close to having read all extant Greek tragedies! I must truck on!
December 21, 2024
I found Ion, the title character of the play, the most emotionally complex and modern of the characters I have read in Greek tragedy. He was an abandoned child left for dead but rescued and raised at the temple of Apollo at Delphi. When we meet him he is an earnest and sincere young man with more normal yearnings like knowing his parents than anything grandiose. He then gets adopted by the King of Athens (who unbeknownst to either of them is his step father) who heeds an oracle telling him the first child he will see is his son. This leads to a combination of joy, worry about what it means for his political future to be the son of a foreign-born king (yes, he shifts to somewhat grandiose pretty quickly), to sadness and betrayal about his mother’s (again, unbeknownst to either of them) plot to kill him out of jealousy for what she perceives to be her husband’s betrayal. In all of these Ion is imperfect—not virtuous but not deeply flawed and if anything seems young, confused, and changing in his attitudes. In this sense he is nothing like Agamemnon, Oedipus, Medea or many of the other grand figures of Greek tragedy—although possibly Orestes has some of this complexity too.
I should say the plot was a bit ridiculous with coincidences and deus ex machina's but what do you expect from Euripides?
I read the Ronald Frederick Willetts in the The Complete Greek Tragedies.
I should say the plot was a bit ridiculous with coincidences and deus ex machina's but what do you expect from Euripides?
I read the Ronald Frederick Willetts in the The Complete Greek Tragedies.
November 10, 2022
"Come colpito da un rumore improvviso, alza gli occhi verso il cielo.
Ahi, ahi!
Già vengon gli aligeri,
del Parnaso i giacigli abbandonano.
Volate lontano, io ve l’ordino,
dai recinti e dall’auree case.
Dà di mano all’arco e alle frecce.
Io te colpirò con le frecce,
araldo di Giove, che vinci
col rostro la forza
di tutti gli alati.
Un altro, a quest’ara, ecco, remiga:
un cigno. Non volgi
altrove il purpureo pie’?
Neppure la cetra sonora,
compagna di Febo,
potrebbe sottrarti dall’arco.
Le penne distogli,
va’ sopra lo stagno di Delo.
Di sangue, se tu non m’ascolti,
saranno gli armonici
tuoi canti bagnati.
Ehi, eh!
Che uccello è mai questo che approssima?
Vuoi forse sottessi i fastigi
dei muri, adunar pel tuo nido
festuche? La corda sonora
dell’arco t’allontanerà.
Vuoi dunque obbedire? Ritràggiti,
d’Alfèo presso i gorghi nidifica,
tra i boschi e le valli dell’Istmo,
ché i templi di Febo e le statue
non soffrano danno.
Ritegno ho d’uccidervi,
ché voi le parole dei Numi
annunciate ai mortali; ma quello
che compiere io debbo,
compirò: son di Febo ministro,
né mai cesserò dal servire
chi me sostentò."
-
"O di Giove e di Latona figlio, salve! E chi dai mali
vide oppressa la sua vita, non disperi, e agl’Immortali
presti onore: ché alla fine pur trionfa il buono; e il tristo
per virtú di sua natura, trionfar mai non fu visto."
(Trad. di Ettore Romagnoli, Zanichelli 1963, pp. 168-169 e 249)
Ahi, ahi!
Già vengon gli aligeri,
del Parnaso i giacigli abbandonano.
Volate lontano, io ve l’ordino,
dai recinti e dall’auree case.
Dà di mano all’arco e alle frecce.
Io te colpirò con le frecce,
araldo di Giove, che vinci
col rostro la forza
di tutti gli alati.
Un altro, a quest’ara, ecco, remiga:
un cigno. Non volgi
altrove il purpureo pie’?
Neppure la cetra sonora,
compagna di Febo,
potrebbe sottrarti dall’arco.
Le penne distogli,
va’ sopra lo stagno di Delo.
Di sangue, se tu non m’ascolti,
saranno gli armonici
tuoi canti bagnati.
Ehi, eh!
Che uccello è mai questo che approssima?
Vuoi forse sottessi i fastigi
dei muri, adunar pel tuo nido
festuche? La corda sonora
dell’arco t’allontanerà.
Vuoi dunque obbedire? Ritràggiti,
d’Alfèo presso i gorghi nidifica,
tra i boschi e le valli dell’Istmo,
ché i templi di Febo e le statue
non soffrano danno.
Ritegno ho d’uccidervi,
ché voi le parole dei Numi
annunciate ai mortali; ma quello
che compiere io debbo,
compirò: son di Febo ministro,
né mai cesserò dal servire
chi me sostentò."
-
"O di Giove e di Latona figlio, salve! E chi dai mali
vide oppressa la sua vita, non disperi, e agl’Immortali
presti onore: ché alla fine pur trionfa il buono; e il tristo
per virtú di sua natura, trionfar mai non fu visto."
(Trad. di Ettore Romagnoli, Zanichelli 1963, pp. 168-169 e 249)
April 26, 2025
From this edition's introduction:
The Ion belongs to a particular class of tragedy in which the hero is the Son of a God and a mortal princess. The birth is concealed, the babe is cast out or hidden and in danger of death from a cruel king, but in the end is recognized as a son of god and established as founder of a New Kingdom and ancestor of a royal house. [..]
In the Ion however, no excuses or re-shapings are made. Euripides just takes for his subject an existing traditional myth and treats it as he would treat a story of real life. It is his usual method. He represents the human characters as real people with real human feelings. He makes us sympathize with them and understand them. About the gods he takes little trouble. He leaves Apollo passionately condemned and rather perfunctorily defended. [..]
As for the Ion itself, if we can once swallow—that is the right word—the myth on which it is based, it is a singularly skilful and charming play, a true Dionysiac tragedy in its outward form, but veering towards serious comedy in its happy ending, in the variety and tenderness of its effects and in the intimacy of its long conversations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2018
Ion, or as I like to call it: the almost a tragedy.
Joking aside, I enjoyed reading through this. We follow a family that I have not crossed paths with before in any of the myths I’ve read and as it turns out, they’re pretty important in terms of their descendants. They just don’t have nearly enough tragedy to have more of a presence in the mythology.
One aspect I found particularly interesting is the fact that one of the characters goes as far as to call out the gods on their problematic behaviour (without suffering for it that is), and how that behaviour in turn can influence the behaviour of those that worship them.
As always Euripides covers a number of themes within the play as well, the most surprising (to me) being Athenian xenophobia, considering who his audience was. I also enjoyed his exploration of the family dynamic, and more specifically the place of the stepmother and the situation she’s often put in by the rest of the family.
Joking aside, I enjoyed reading through this. We follow a family that I have not crossed paths with before in any of the myths I’ve read and as it turns out, they’re pretty important in terms of their descendants. They just don’t have nearly enough tragedy to have more of a presence in the mythology.
One aspect I found particularly interesting is the fact that one of the characters goes as far as to call out the gods on their problematic behaviour (without suffering for it that is), and how that behaviour in turn can influence the behaviour of those that worship them.
As always Euripides covers a number of themes within the play as well, the most surprising (to me) being Athenian xenophobia, considering who his audience was. I also enjoyed his exploration of the family dynamic, and more specifically the place of the stepmother and the situation she’s often put in by the rest of the family.
Read
November 5, 2020Mi conclusión con esta obra (y con la mayoría de las tragedias griegas que he leído este año):
Fuera de eso, la mirada actual con la que uno se posiciona como lector de las grandes obras siempre va a incidir en la forma en que nos afecten los temas que tratan. Es difícil no ver la actualidad que muchos de los temas que nos presentan las tragedias, sin duda es algo que no podemos pasar por alto.
Esta obra en particular me pareció muy interesante y disfruté mucho la lectura en general.
Fuera de eso, la mirada actual con la que uno se posiciona como lector de las grandes obras siempre va a incidir en la forma en que nos afecten los temas que tratan. Es difícil no ver la actualidad que muchos de los temas que nos presentan las tragedias, sin duda es algo que no podemos pasar por alto.
Esta obra en particular me pareció muy interesante y disfruté mucho la lectura en general.
March 17, 2023
Are my eyes deceiving me? No one died and people actually communicated! Impossible.
April 21, 2025
هیچ چیز این عالم پایدار نیست.
شما که واضع قوانین هستید چگونه خودتان به نقض همان قوانین تن درمیدهید؟
رنج،رنج را پایان میدهد
ایون «اوریپید»
شما که واضع قوانین هستید چگونه خودتان به نقض همان قوانین تن درمیدهید؟
رنج،رنج را پایان میدهد
ایون «اوریپید»
October 15, 2023
I always enjoy antient Greek dramas, this one is good as well, interesting, dramatic, it really gives me a fresh feeling.
February 4, 2022
This is such a wonderful example of how downright great Greek drama can be. Who until Shakespeare would even dream of devising such a complex web of happenings and subconscious strata from the simple mythological material? Why it isn't held in higher regard baffles me; for me its structure, language, and development are all spot-on, forming an utterly complete theatrical experience that plays itself out on many levels in the audience's souls. Of course there is obvious irony aplenty, but there are some really interesting implications about religion, upbringing, and impulse that the psychological revolution must surely have had a field day with. Athena's comical, "deus ex machina" mock-ode to Apollo at the end is downright unconvincing and we are left with no doubt that Euripides ultimately sees the gods as a bunch of chumps and as ever, is primarily concerned with how we respond in both sublime and terrible circumstances. Maybe the sudden swerving from tragedy simply tells us that, no matter how unjust the gods may be, there is always reason to laugh in Fortune's face. It may happen to favor Ion in this case, but the show must always go on; and if by some chance fate doesn't strike with a vengeance, all the better. One of my favorite classical plays.
March 5, 2021
On this tragedy, Creusa stumble upon Ion at Apollo's temple. Ion was abandoned as a child and was taken care of by Hermes.
They don't recognize each other at first sight and conversation. Creusa tells Ion about "a woman whose son had the same fate as his", and wants Apollo to tell what was the fate of her son.
Xuthus, Creusa's husband, is told by the oracle that the first man which he meets, is his son. He then meets Ion, which accepts that fate and goes on to feast with his new father.
An old man plots Ion's murder with Creusa, which fails. As Ion discovers that Creusa tried to kill him, he follows her trace to Apollo's temple. The story is then unveiled, Creusa is Ion's mother, as confirmed by Pallas Athens, which shows up on the end.
They don't recognize each other at first sight and conversation. Creusa tells Ion about "a woman whose son had the same fate as his", and wants Apollo to tell what was the fate of her son.
Xuthus, Creusa's husband, is told by the oracle that the first man which he meets, is his son. He then meets Ion, which accepts that fate and goes on to feast with his new father.
An old man plots Ion's murder with Creusa, which fails. As Ion discovers that Creusa tried to kill him, he follows her trace to Apollo's temple. The story is then unveiled, Creusa is Ion's mother, as confirmed by Pallas Athens, which shows up on the end.
November 16, 2013
I read it transalted by Philip Vellacott.
This is the first play i read by Euripides, and because of it i became optimistic about his other works.
It got all the elements of an ancient Greek drama, the most remarkable one in this play is the very smart and animate dialogue. In the same time, many of the weakness points of the Greek drama are very clear in the play. for example, the logic of the dialogue which dealing with unlogic events "Apollo's plan to establish Ion on Athens", and the difficulty to determine the true face of the characters "how the childless Creusa decided to kill her husband's son immediately".
This is the first play i read by Euripides, and because of it i became optimistic about his other works.
It got all the elements of an ancient Greek drama, the most remarkable one in this play is the very smart and animate dialogue. In the same time, many of the weakness points of the Greek drama are very clear in the play. for example, the logic of the dialogue which dealing with unlogic events "Apollo's plan to establish Ion on Athens", and the difficulty to determine the true face of the characters "how the childless Creusa decided to kill her husband's son immediately".
March 31, 2023
I think this one was my favorite so far. it was beautiful everything about it the setting the descriptions the random gorgeous treasure items they had and any time they talked about space. I especially loved the part that talked about the constellations that was so cool. but the storyline was also so poignant and i was so stressed they wouldnt figure it out and when they did it was so happy (just like iphegenia and orestes im so happy that worked out too). 10/10 i really liked this one i was super invested
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews