Euripides: Ion

by Laura Swift

"Euripides' Ion" is the story of a young man's search for his identity, and a woman's attempt to come to terms with her past. Through the story of a divine rape and its consequences, it asks questions about the justice of the gods and the nature of parenthood, encouraging its audience to consider contemporary concerns through the filter of traditional myth. This detailed study outlines the pre-history and later reception of the Ion myth, and provides a literary interpretation of the play's main themes, aiming to combine analysis of the text with a consideration of its cultural contexts. Chapters on religion, family, and national identity investigate how Euripides handles these issues in the light of the values of his day, and a chapter on genre discusses the play's upbeat ending and explores how we should define tragedy.

Genres: Classics, Classical Studies

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2008

Reviews

[roibean]

it wasn’t this particular translation but i did. read ion [the loeb translation] and istg i Love a Play that has underlying themes of autochthony in it

[Liza]

the song about his broomstick was my favourite part

3/5☆

[Anton VLl]

De las tragedias griegas que he leído últimamente, Ion es la más rara y eso la hace interesante. Para mí no es una tragedia, más bien es un melodrama que critica la naturaleza del ser humano, con momentos de comedia, drama familiar y thriller de identidad.

Lo que no te esperas es que Eurípides trate temas como la exclusión o la igualdad con dos mil años de adelanto.

Menos conocida que Medea o Electra, pero vale la pena descubrirla.

[lacey]

kinda whatever. ending was not satisfying and i feel like everything was wrapped up a little too neatly. apollo's rape of creusa got really swept under the rug. and she even thanked apollo at the end for reuniting her with ion..... dot dot dot......

[Tamzin]

This was so engaging and hits on so many key themes: the problems of women, justice, good v evil, revenge, and so so much more.

[Ted Dyer]

One of Euripides' least popular plays - I'm not really sure why. Not his best by any means, but definitely a good play and worth reading.

[Isabella Hackett]

Not Euripides' most interesting but still worthwhile