THE
ION OF EURIPIDES
Εοηίιοη: C. J. CLAY & SONS,
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
Ave Maria Lane.
tffambritJflc: DEIGHTON, BELL AND CQ.
Icipjifl: F, A. BROCKHAUS.
ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ ΙΩΝ
THE ^^^/^lJι^Qι:
ΙΟΝ• OF EURIPIDES
WITH A TRANSLATION INTO
ENGLISH VERSE
AND
AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
A. W. VERRALL Litt. D.
OF Lincoln's inn barrister-at-la\v
FELLOW AND TUTOR OF TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE
CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1890
[Αϊ/ Rights reserved'\
®amt)rilige :
PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
TO
WALTER LEAF Lttt. D.
My dear Leaf,
If you will permit, it will be a great pleasure
to me that this book- should testify, as long as it
may, to our twenty years of intimate association in
life and in study.
Yours affectionately,
A. W. VERRALL
PREFACE.
Trinity College, Cambridge,
September lo, 1890.
It is expected that in the approaching term the Ion will be
acted in Cambridge. The Syndicate of the Pitt Press have
honoured me with the proposal that I should take this occasion
of writing upon the play ; and the present book is the result.
The final stages of the preparation have necessarily been
compressed into a very short time. This would not be any
excuse for crude or hasty opinions, nor is it so pleaded. But
I may perhaps ask indulgence on this ground, if the details
are not as perfect as they should be. That they are not much
more imperfect is due to the staff of the Press, to whom I owe
my cordial thanks.
The books which I have chiefly used are the commentaries of
my friend Mr M. A. Bayfield (Head Master of Christ's College,
Brecon) and of Paley, the article on Delphi by Dr W. Smith,
and that on Oracuhmi by L. Schmitz {Diet. Geog. and Diet. Aitt.
respectively). In the notes a quotation from Mr Bayfield is
marked with a Β : but his book has been before me throughout
and I have used it as unscrupulously as he could desire. I am
also indebted to a curious book on the play (a translation with
preface etc.) by H. B. L. (Williams and Norgate, 1889) for most
important aid, the nature of which will appear in the proper
place. The legends connected with the plot have been recently
discussed in a work with which I am not unacquainted, and to
which I have gone upon occasion {^Mythology and Monuments
viii PREFACE.
of Ancient Athens ^ by Jane E. Harrison and Margaret De G.
Verrall, Macmillan, 1890). For personal assistance I have to
thank Miss Harrison and, as often before, Dr Jackson of Trinity
College and Mr R. A. Neil of Pembroke College.
The chief interest of this volume will be found in the
Introduction and Translation. The notes are for the most part
traditional and as brief as I could make them. The places
in which any noticeable interpretations have been proposed are
so few, that I may as well collect them, for the convenience
of the student, here instead of in an Index : — vv. 103 — 04,
323—29, 379, 404, 476 fif., 500, 517, 527, 554, 579—81, 602—06,
649, 702, 721, 755, 828, 916, 922, 929—30, 1095, 1 106, 1 1 17— 18,
1 130, 1 171, 121 1, 1235 — 36, 1246, 1251, 1264, 1266—81, 1295 —
1305, 1355, 1396, 1410, 1427, 1493, 1562.
With regard to the text it is traditional throughout. The
MSS. are irregularly written, but most of the errors are trivial
and have been corrected with certainty. It has been my
intention to notice the MSS., wherever there appeared to be
any actual or probable disagreement as to the proper reading,
but otherwise not. There is scarcely a place in which the doubt
is important. I have so far as possible excluded all critical
marks from the text itself. In a book intended to serve as
a basis for criticism it is better (as a reviewer of my Agamenmon
observed) to mark all doubts in this way. But as the purpose
of this book is purely literary, and it cannot be supposed that
any editor would take it for his sole apparatus critictis^ I have
preferred to avoid a disfigurement, which, unless it is carried
out more thoroughly than ever it has been yet, is really mis-
leading. Conjectures of mine there are almost none. I have
put άκμάν for αΚκάν in v. 484, ά\\α...νόσω for άΧ\Λ...νοσώ in
V. 755, κάΧως for καλώς in v. 1410, and have made suggestions
upon znj. 1235 and 1424.
A. W. V.
CONTENTS.
Introduction.
I. Gods and Machines
II. The Figures of the Omphalos .
III. 'The Unity of Time'
IV. The Parodos or Entrance of the Chorus
XI
xlvi
xlviii
Hx
Text, Translation, and Notes
INTRODUCTION.
I. Gods and Machines.
A Woman. But now this fellow, this Euripides,
By representing deities in his plays,
Has brought the men to think they don't exist'.
Aristophanes.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small.
Coleridge.
At the end of the prologue to the play before us, the god
Hermes, by whom it is spoken, retires among the bay-trees in
the precinct of Delphi, declaring his intention to 'see out' the
events which Apollo has determined to accomplish in the course
of the day. It is much to be wished, that we had been permitted
to hear in an epilogue, instead of the vacuous revelations of the
goddess Athena, the remarks of the divine Interpreter upon the
events which he actually saw, and that we might have had
the help of his critical sagacity in forming our own opinion. He
went away doubtless a wiser and, one must suppose, a sadder
god ; and he must have carried impartiality almost to a fault if,
with Paley, he could 'safely pronounce the lofi one of the most
perfect of the Greek Tragedies'.
Indeed he would have been generally supported in a more
strictly qualified judgment. Accident has given me lately the
opportunity of hearing many remarks upon the Ion, more free
^ Thesni. 450. νυν δ' ouros, iv ταΰσιν rpay^diais ποιών,
Tovs &νδρα$ avaweweiKev ουκ etvai ^eoi/s.
A
xii INTRODUCTION.
than those which we are accustomed to print; and I find that,
whether in print or in talk, the admiration, which the play must
always excite, is almost always accompanied by emphatic re-
serves. *A fine play, — but the story is disgusting.' Ά fine
play, — but most of the characters are detestable' — 'but without
much serious interest' — 'but much better in the earlier scenes' —
*but weak at the end' — 'but why wind up with a dens ex
machina}' — 'but Athena is really absurd!' Such is, I think, in
brief the state of opinion.
Now it appears on consideration that of these objections, in
all of which there is much apparent justice, the first three, to the
incidents, the characters, and the tone of the poet, may be traced
to a common source. The facts are revolting (strangely so, in
the crudity of statement, for the artistic reserve of Athenian
tragedy); and the characters, even that of Ion, are not by any
means perfect or purely agreeable to contemplate. But the
highest tragedy is composed of such facts and such characters.
Why is it that in this case we do feel a certain resentment
against the use of the common material.^ Is it not because, in
the penetrating words of the third objection, the play is wanting,
or supposed to be wanting, in 'serious interest'.•* No objection is
made to the matter of the Oedipus Tyranmis, not, that is, by any
one who has studied it, for it is constantly made in anticipation
by those who have not. In the solemn and profound interest,
which Sophocles feels and excites, all sense of disgust is merged.
We feel that if the poet has taken a horrible subject, it is because
he had an awful message to deliver ; and we not only pardon
but thank him. In the Ion we, speaking generally, feel nothing
of the kind. We do not and cannot believe that Euripides
really cared about his message, or had any message in particular.
And why do we disbelieve in the sincerity of his interest.^ Be-
cause^— I have heard and read this again and again — because, if
he really cared about his story, if he regarded it as anything
more than the pastime of an hour, to be forgotten when we leave
the theatre, he never could have dismissed us with the miserable
explanations of his goddess in the machine.
It is the truth. The close of the play is indeed so futile and
disappointing as to cast back a shadow upon the whole. If the
speech of Athena is really the Poet's last word, if we are to go
INTRODUCTION. xiii
away content, taking her view of the facts for our own, then
Euripides cannot be acquitted of trifling and paltering with
everything that deserves respect, with love and hate, with God
and man, with life and death: then indeed, for such a purpose
and to such an end, he had no right to drag us through the
windings of such a labyrinth : then indeed we must wonder how
a writer capable of such unmeaning insults can ever have had
any power upon the creed and convictions of his contemporaries
and of the world.
Let us place the story before us :
The scene shows the court and altar before the temple of
Apollo at Delphi. Hermes, as prologue, informs us that in
Athens, many years before, Creusa, a daughter of the house of
Erechtheus, the noblest house in Athens, was ravished by Apollo,
gave birth in secret to a son {Ion), and left him in a cradle, with
tokens upon him, at a certain cave. Thence, by Apollo's com-
mand, Hermes conveyed the cradle and child to the temple at *
Delphi and left it upon the steps. The prophetess of Apollo, -^
the Pythia, found him and brought him up. He is now adult, 4
and is still in the service of the temple. Creusa, the mother, has
since married Xuthus. They have no children, and are coming
to-day to consult Apollo on this matter. It is the intention of
Apollo upon this opportunity to procure the restoration of Ion
to Athens. As he does not wish to make public the true facts,
he will, through the oracle, declare to Xuthus that Ion is Xuthus'
son. In this belief Xuthus will take him to Athens, where the
truth will be disclosed to Ion and Creusa only ; and thus all
objects will be attained.
Ion appears; and after a preliminary scene, which exhibits
his simple piety and content, Creusa arrives, a little in advance
of her husband. She lays before Ion, as the case of a pre-
tended friend, the story of herself and Apollo. 'Her friend'
wishes to ascertain whether the child is living or dead. Ion,
shocked and incredulous, declares it impossible that the god
should be consulted on such a matter at all.
Xuthus arrives and enters the temple to enquire of the oracle
respecting the childlessness of himself and his wife. On coming
out again he meets Ion at the door, and greets him as a son,
xiv INTRODUCTION.
the oracle having 'given him, as the son of his body, the first
person whom he should meet on departing'. Ion's astonishment
is quickly overborne by the oracle's authority; and on enquiry,
conducted between the father and son, it is found that there
has been a passage in the life of Xuthus, which removes all
ground for surprise. Ion, though wounded and mortified to
know himself base-born, acquiesces; and Xuthus proposes to
celebrate the occasion with a public feast to the Delphians,
at which, to spare Creusa, Ion shall appear as his friend and
intending visitor. Ion shall conduct the feast; while Xuthus
himself repairs to Parnassus, where, from the probable circum-
stances of the birth, it is proper that a sacrifice should now
be offered. Some female slaves of Creusa, who are present,
are forbidden on pain of death to inform their mistress.
Up to this point, it will be seen, the action follows the
anticipation of Hermes, and seems to have attained the 'divine'
ends, when it is disconcerted very simply by the action of the
slaves. Creusa arrives with an old man-slave, in whose charge
she had been as a child. The others at once betray the secret
of Xuthus. Creusa, in a scene of extraordinary power, flings
away shame, for the sake of such revenge as she can have
against the god, and shrieks the whole story of her wrong
' in the ears of Apollo', cursing and reviling him to his face.
Her ancient guardian, who has already declared the 'discovery'
of Ion to be a fraud pre-arranged by Xuthus, proposes to
punish it by the murder of Ion. Creusa produces a precious
and mysterious poison, an heir-loom in her family, which she
carries on her person. The slave undertakes to put it in Ion's
cup at the feast.
In the next scene the failure of the plot is announced and
described. An ominous word, happening to fall at the right
moment, warned Ion to spill, instead of drinking, the poisoned
cup. Before a second cup could be presented, the poison was
detected by the death of a dove which drank of it, the emissary
put to the torture, and Creusa's guilt discovered. She has been
condemned to death.
Creusa, closely pursued by Ion and the crowd, flies to the
altar» of Apollo before the temple, from which they hesitate to
drag her away. Her fate however seems certain; but suddenly
INTRODUCTION, xv
the prophetess brings from the temple the cradle, in which Ion
was found at the door, wath the tokens in it, and bids him use
them to find his mother. Creusa declares the cradle to be that
of her child, and undergoes with success the test of describing,
without seeing them, the tokens within. Ion flings himself into
her arms, and a scene of rapture ensues.
This however is soon brought to an end, when Ion, who
naturally supposes himself, as before, to be the son of Xuthus,
is told by Creusa that his father was not Xuthus, and then that
his real father was Apollo. From this point {τκ 1485) we must
look more closely. At the first moment Ion, relieved from the
shock of finding himself, for the second time in the same day,
stamped as a vulgar bastard, receives the astounding disclosure
as Svelcome, if true'. But he never again refers to it as accept-
able either to his faith or his feelings; and almost immediately
{iK 1 5 16) in a whispered dialogue of painful interest, urges
Creusa to retract it and to admit that his father was a man.
It is indeed manifest, that he could not, without contradiction to
nature and his character, be made to accept the disclosures
of Creusa, at all events under the circumstances, as either
grateful to him or even credible. It is the least part of the
evil that, accepting Creusa's story, he, with his delicate and
religious mind, must see in himself the fruit of an outrage,
which he had denounced with indignation, when he supposed
himself unconnected with it. ' That might be met by rejecting
the fatherhood of Apollo, of which no proof has been offered.
But — and here is the thorn which cannot be escaped — part
of Creusa's story, her own motherhood, has been proved, upon
evidence furnished with Apollo's.sanction;'and the fact so proved
seems utterly irreconcileable with what Apollo by the oracle
had stated respecting Xuthus. Then — then — the oracle, the
oracle of Delphi, is false ! And if so, what is truth, what is
proveable, what or who is believable or worth believing any
longer at all } That is the appalling question which forces itself
upon Ion, and which Euripides thus brings home to his audience
by a story, which they knew to be only too probable. Ό θβος
αληθής; ή μάτην μαντβνβταί; — this, and not any question purely
personal, is the doubt, says Ion, which 'confounds my soul, as
well it may'.
V. I. ό
xvi INTRODUCTION.
In the time of Euripides, and at Athens in particular, no
question was more pressing. The Oracle of Delphi was the
very corner-stone of the Olympian religion. Sophocles in the
Oedipus Tyrannus {v. 892 ff.) puts the case clearly and truly.
There, as in the Ion, grave doubts have been thrown on the
truth of this all-important witness to revelation. "If this is
to pass," say the Thebans frankly, "there will be an end of
religion {eppei τά θεία) altogether. No more pilgrimages for us !
Why worship at all .•* " But in that play Sophocles, whose
attitude is orthodox, like that of Aeschylus, though with a
difference, signally justifies the suspected oracle; and religion
stands firmer than ever. Let us see what Euripides does
for it.
That Euripides, and those for whom he spoke, hated and
despised the Olympian religion is written all over his work.
Their hate was chiefly moral, their contempt chiefly intel-
lectual. They detested the doctrin^-olLthe^^ods for its im-
morality; they scorned it as resting ultimately upon the im-
posture of prophecy and other fraud. Delphi was to them the
main position of the enemy. To Apollo in particular Euripides
seldom shows any mercy ; to assail Apollo and the authority of
Delphi is a motive constantly present with him, very strong in
such works as the Orestes and the Andromache, dominant and
absorbing in the Ion. The selection of this antagonist, partly
due to his singular importance, is also explained by the special
circumstances of the time. We have it on record*, that the
partiality of Delphi to Sparta in the Peloponnesian war greatly
assisted the anti-religious movement in Athens, and destroyed
among the Athenian party the credit of the oracle itself To
an Athenian free-thinker therefore Delphi was at once the
mightiest and the most assailable of his enemies ; and the point
of the problem presented to Ion is that it raises, with all the
poignancy of pathetic circumstance, an intellectual and moral
question profoundly agitating then, and marking for us a critical
point in the history of human thought.
Now let us consider for a moment what sort of answer, from
the orthodox point of view, could be made. What would have
been said at Delphi by the Delphian 'princes'.? They certainly
^ Plutarch, Detnosth. 10.
fe
INTRODUCTION. xvii
could not have produced Athena, at least not before Athenians
and in the end of the fifth century, though a century or so
earlier they might perhaps have done so with success in Athens
itself \ What answer then could they themselves have made ?
One only ; the false declaration must be explained away. This
art, with the auxiliary art of ambiguity, are necessary branches
of the oracular profession, and were well understood at Delphi.
The classic example is that of Croesus, who having ruined
himself on the faith of an assurance, that, if he made a certain
expedition, he would 'destroy a mighty army', was informed
that the army, to which the prediction pointed, was that of
Croesus himself. In the case of Ion escape was more difficult,
since the god had certainly used, in speaking to Xuthus, the
unlucky expression ' son by birth '. On the other hand, he had
also said ' son given ' ; and nothing remained but to fix upon
that and make the most of it. This is precisely what Creusa
does {iK 1534). But the simple honesty of Ion rejects the quibble
with scorn. With no more success does Creusa try to make
out for the lie a motive, which though not respectable, is not
altogether selfish {v. 1539). Ion is too sincere not to see that,
since the problem is purely logical, the motive of the false
statement is irrelevant. * My question ', he says, ' is too deep for
such reply '. In utter perplexity he is about to give the oracle,
by a direct enquiry from himself, a chance as it were of re-
tracting, when — Athena appears above the roof.
Such being the knot to be solved, let us now consider the
solution. To say that Athena cuts it, without untying, is to pay
her an unmerited compliment. She does not touch the nodus at
all. Whatever she said, how could she } This goddess, or this
part of a goddess (for we seem not to be shown the whole of
her, though we doubtless see all that there is), this divine
ττρόσωιτον, heaved up by the machine, is herself a walking
or rather a swinging fallacy, a personified igiioratio clenchi\
A goddess of Olympus, and a goddess ' rising above ' the
Delphian temple, is to give bail for the Oracle of Delphi !
And where then is the security for herself.^ As is the speaker,
so is her speech. It ignores the question, and Ion bluntly
tells her so. More than half of it is spurious legend, compli-
1 Herod, i. 60.
b2
xviii INTRODUCTION,
mentary to Athens but nothing to the matter. In the other
half she repeats, point for point and almost without change,
the explanations which Creusa has already offered in vain,
and which now fall the flatter after exposure. Her apology
comes to this : * Yes, the facts are precisely as you can hardly
believe. You, Ion, are the son of Creusa and Phoebus, who is
indeed the selfish, brutal being that, on that hypothesis, he has
been freely called. (In fact it is because he is ashamed to
show himself, that I am here). He did tell, and through his
oracle, the lie in question ; his motive, if that mattered, was
no better, but a trifle worse, than Creusa has said ; and he does
propose to save his credit by the quirk which has been treated
with such contempt. As to the question asked, whether then
the Delphian oracle is worthy of credence or not, I do not
choose to answer directly; but I leave you to suppose, if you
please, that it is not. I have only to add, that (since Ion will
grow up into an excellent father and hero of the Ionian race)
all this is of no importance, and you may all go happily home,
convinced that revelation is a fraud and faith a delusion. And
of this there is no shadow of doubt, no possible, probable shadow
of doubt, — for I am Pallas Athena!'
No wonder that she produces no effect ! For she produces
none. Creusa indeed is ready, as she was ready before, to
recant everything, to forget everything, except that she has
recovered her child. Her servants are still, as ever, the servile
echo of her sentiments. But Ion } It was to re-assure Ion
that Athena came. " Daughter of Zeus, not with disbelief shall
we receive thy words. I believe that I am the son of Apollo
and Creusa. That was not incredible before^ Such is his
reply, his first and only word ; neither Creusa nor the goddess
can bring him to speak again. His silence is indeed so strange,
so incomprehensible, if we suppose that the story is really
coming to a triumphant conclusion upon the faith of Athena's
me.ssage, that in modern editions two speeches are actually
taken from Creusa to put in his mouth\ Better proof we could
not have, how impossible it is to reconcile his attitude with the
supposition that his difficulties have been cleared away.
And we, the readers, what do wc think.!* xhe more atten-
^ w. 1617 — 18.
INTRODUCTION. xix
lively the close of the play is read, the more clearly we shall see
that, after the epilogue as before, we are left with a question
which, unless it is answered in the play, is not answered at all ;
that the goddess is no more, and is not offered for anything
more, than a convenient piece of machinery, from behind which
the author says to the audience, " I have shown you a story
sad and obscure, composed of incidents which, whether or not
they happened long ago, might certainly happen to-day. Upon
the facts of the case, and upon the grave questions which arise
out of it, you have no doubt formed an opinion ; many of you,
I doubt not, have read my tale or heard it recited already ; or
you will form an opinion after reading and reflexion. And —
I congratulate you on all the glories of Athens."
There is another indication that the epilogue is not given
us by Euripides for his real exposition. The epilogue (and the
prologue) are full of miracle and miraculous antiquity. The
drama proper contains nothing plainly miraculous at all, and is
'modern', not in details indeed but in its whole spirit and
colour. Certainly the Athenian dramatists were not careful of
anachronism ; but there are limits to license. The Eunienides
of Aeschylus, for example, is of course full of matter not strictly
consistent with the age supposed; but nevertheless the general
tone is suitable enough to a time when Athena and Apollo
walked among men and pleaded before the judges of Athens.
The tone of the Ion is that of the age after Pericles. Nor was
Euripides indifferent to the 'modern' character of his play; as
we may see by this. The miraculous elements in the story are
grouped with the name of Erichthonius. In the most prevalent
genealogy Creusa was but three generations from Erichthonius
himself But Euripides at starting, and everywhere, implies a
long pedigree between them\ In one respect (we may observe
in passing) the commentaries have put into the story a character-
istic rather too modern. The prophetess of the play is some-
times described as old and venerable. There is no internal
evidence for this, and the external evidence is against it. The
PytJiia of early times was always young^ For the avoiding of
scandals, the practice grew up of appointing an old woman, who
^ w. 20, 722, 1000, etc.
^ See the article on Oracidicm mentioned in the preface.
XX INTRODUCTION.
played the part of a girl and was so dressed, the γραΟ? αντίτται^
of the prologue to the Einnenides. Aeschylus by an ' anachron-
ism ' sanctions this practice. But it was not fully established
even in his time or till long after; for the final adoption of it is
attributed to a scandal two centuries later than Euripides. In
times when there was a royal house of Erechtheidae in Athens,
there was also a young not an old Pythia in Delphi. In the
absence therefore of any intimation to the contrary, we should
assume that the facts are in keeping.
Since then Euripides has left us with a question, and a self-
refuted answer to it, which in effect refers us to the play and to our-
selves ; let us proceed as we are directed, and construct from the
play that authentic epilogue which Euripides holds in his hand.
Let us suppose that the jubilant Creusa and the unsatisfied
Ion have departed with their attendants, the crowd is dispersed,
and Athena risen above or withdrawn below, as we prefer to
think. The sun is behind the mountains; and the conclave of
Delphi, the priests, sacrificers, judges, the proxeni or entertainers
of pilgrims, and the rest\ are gathered round the great altar in
the evening light, eagerly conversing over the events of the day.
The prophetess with some women is sitting apart.
Suddenly from the portico behind them proceeds a solemn
voice, which says, It was not well done! ; and a man advances
towards the startled assembly, followed by a large party from
the colonnades and gardens around. 'May we ask, friend ' says
one of the principal ministers, a proxenus^ 'the reason of this
intrusion.-^'
'Respected Delphian', answers the spokesman, 'we are Athe-
nians in attendance upon Xuthus. He has returned from Par-
nassus, where most of us were with him; but I and one or two
more have been here throughout. Our companions found us in
your precinct, in converse, as you will not be surprised to learn,
with Hermes. The Son of Maia, I grieve to say, was in no good
humour. It seems that the day has gone not quite as Apollo
had led him to expect. He betrayed his expectations this
morning in a soliloquy which may, he fears, have been overheard ;
"and then", said he, "I shall be ridiculous. I shall complain at
the temple. Or rather", and here I thought he looked malicious,
' w. 94, 414, 1 219, etc.
INTRODUCTION. xxi
'you shall carry my complaint. Go to the fore-court; you will
ind them all there; and tell them from me, that it was not
kindly done'\ I hope that, having obeyed the god, we have
Our pardon'.
The Proxenus {after a pause). Well, Athenian, you have
lelivered the message,... two messages. We will offer to the Son
>f Maia such explanations and sheep as may content him. It
mly remains that we bid you good-bye, and congratulate you
m the excellent effect, which must be produced in Athens by
le relation of to-day's proceedings. Our heart yearns for the
:ity of Athena, so distracted in these latter days by the deceits
)f the unbeliever. But after this story —
Athenian. Indeed I hope so, I think so. Yes .•*... 'House of
Erechtheus, sons of Earth, long-lost heir. Daughter of Zeus, aegis,
Gorgon, eternal olive, Ionian stock, imperial race, Geleontes,
Hopletes, Argades'...Yes.? The story must be most advantage-
ous to religion and to Delphi,... entirely satisfactory... to a certain
portion of the audience.
Prox. And the rest }
Ath. Ah, noble Delphian, the rest! They are the men who
read, who read, a dangerous thing for some of us ! The Epsilon,
of which your temple preserves a specimen, is now, you know, a
drug in the market; and even ΓΝωθι οεΛγτοΝ and μηΔεν λγλν,
excellent as mottoes, are, as literature, insufficient for the de-
mand. {Several Delphians put their hands to tJieir swords)
Prox. Sir, if this affront —
Ath. Most respected, you mistake the matter. Violence to
us (we are many and citizens of Athens) is as needless as unde-
served. You have but to dismiss us and we go. Only for your
own sakes do not assume that this story, from which you hope
so much, will pass in Athens uncriticized, or that every one
there, women and men, will be of Creusa's opinion, rather than
of Ion's. {A pause.) Shall we go then, shall we relate the affair
as it stands, and add only this, that we asked you, as we most
humbly ask, for a little enlightenment, and that you sent us
away 'i {Murmurs. The chief personages confer aside)
TJte P7Ophetess. Let him go.
Prox. I think not.
The Proph. Let him go !
xxii INTRODUCTION. 1
TJte Priest of Zeus. Surely not. [To the Athenians^ My
sons, you also mistake. Delphi is open; let us hear your
difficulty.
Ath. Then, reverend father, it is this. For us, young men
of Athens, who are accustomed to our stiff jurisprudence and
patient courts of law, the methods of inspiration (with all respect
to your white hair) are a little quick. We know that Apollo,
acquired the oracle from Themis, but the institutions of the
foundress seem to be fallen into contempt. In Athens for
instance, an instance merely, we could not hunt a woman to
death, for a crime attempted only, without placing her before her
judges. {TJie Priest makes a depi^ecating gesture) The spirit of
litigation, you will confess and deplore it, has penetrated our
whole minds.
When therefore this story, or rather (and here is the point)
these two stories respecting the birth of Ion come to be repeated
among us, there will be, I assure you, advocates for both ;
our party here present is not unanimous; and it will be
thought proper to hear both sides. Will you kindly hear now
through me the defenders of your first, your discredited story,
and graciously remember, if I should offend, that I arh but
giving you a faithful representation of my sceptical clients }
Priest. Continue.
Ath. We say then, prophetess and ministers, that within a
few hours you have put forth three statements concerning the
parentage of this boy. You have declared, by your oracle, that
he is the son of Xuthus. You have since affirmed him, through
the Pythia though not by the oracle, to be the son of Creusa,
and through One whom we would rather not name (but Her
evidence is at any rate yours), to be the son of Apollo. One of
these statements at least is untrue. You say that it is the
statement made *by inspiration'. We note the admission for
what it may be worth. And ive say, more tender of your god
than you, that the first statement, the inspired statement, is
true ; that you know it to be true, and could prove it, prophetess
and ministers, if you chose ; that you made it, to be just to
you, partly because it was true, and partly for other motives,
not right, but not unkind. We say — {Murmurs and exclamations?)
Priest. But, Athenian, —
INTRODUCTION, xxiii
Ath, One moment !
Another Athenian. Go on, Cephisophon !
Several Athenians. Yes, yes !
Proxenns. Cephisophon ? The actor ?
Priest. And poet.
Ceph. And friend of the poet.
Prox. Go on.
Ceph, Between two contradictory statements, made by
the same deponent, probabilities must decide. — Which is the
likeher .^ Which is confirmed by other testimony t Which (sup-
posing it untrue) had the witness the less temptation to make 1
Let us put together all we know from you, from Xuthus, and
otherwise, of your original story; and let us see how it looks\
Some fifteen or sixteen years ago, there was held in Delphi,
and on yonder mountain, one of those nocturnal rites, which
to the profit of your city and the edification of the world,
are celebrated, one year out of two, in honour of your Bacchus
or Bromius. To this feast, among the pious and the... adven-
turous, came an ardent young man from Phthia. He was enter-
tained, as we know, by one of yourselves, one of your official
proxeni. I think, Sir {to the Proxe7ms), but it is no matter, that
you were the man.
Prox. Go on, sir infidel ! I know your name.
Ceph. I shall find one for you ! {continning) This official
then received young Xuthus, feasted him liberally, and intro-
duced to him some women — Or {to the Proxenus) shall I say
procured... ?
Prox. Cephisophon !
Ceph. Pandarus ! (Outcries.)
Priest. Peace, peace ! (Si/ence) Athenian, is it part of your
stiff jurisprudence to butt at the patient court.?
Ceph. Pardon ! I will be careful, {continuing) This intoxi-
cated...no, I mean, this initiated youth was duly introduced to
some of your Delphian women, who were to spend a religious
night upon Parnassus. {He looks doubtfully at the Priest?)
Priest. Proceed, Sir.
Ceph. In due time took place another ceremony, also held,
I fear, with less pomp and edification but perhaps not less
^ vv, 5J7 if., 714 if., prologue, etc.
xxiv INTRODUCTION.
regularity, in the alternate years. {A patise.) Whatever may
have been the position of the mother at the time of the initiation
— we find her first, remember, in an official house, — at the time
of the birth she was connected very closely with the intimate
service of your temple. {A laugh.)
Priest. Hush !
Ceph. You laugh ! Who found the child ^ {A silence.)
The Prophetess. I did.
Ceph. Where?
Proph. On the temple-steps.
CepJi, When } {A silence^ At what hour } I understood
from Hermes*, or at any rate I have heard, that —
Proph. At sunrise ; when I entered the temple.
Ceph. Ah ! Now at Athens, men of Delphi, it will certainly
be asked, how often such a thing has occurred, and how many
women of your town can or could possibly obtain access, during
the night, to this walled precinct, this fortress as in fact it is,
full of jealously guarded treasure; and how —
Cries. Hermes ! Athena ! Pallas ! Hermes !
Ceph. Oh yes! We know that Jiere you can bring all Olympus
to say that it was not by the mother that the child was laid
at the temple; that it was brought from Athens through the
air^! But for the moment, remember, you are supposed to be
arguing before judges of Athens. Did you note what the lady
Creusa said about the difficulty of proving in such a court
the alleged fatherhood of Apollo' 1 At any rate I can tell you
that Pallas Athena knows Athens and her own dignity far too
well to appear for examination in an Athenian dicastery. If it
were the Areopagus even ! But happily there is no murder
in the case, and this modern procedure is so scrupulous ! As
for Hermes, why, he 'knows Athens' too, as Apollo remarked
to him^; and besides he is vexed, as I said before, and vowed he
would have no more to do with the matter. So that unless you
can find some other and... different witness, I fear there will be a
suspicion, that it must have been the mother who did it after all.
The prophetess thought so, I am sure, when she found the
child ^ Did you not }
* See the prologue. * v. 36, v. 1599 ; but see w. 1453 — 56.
^ V. 1541. ^ V. 30. • V. 44.
• INTRODUCTION. xxv
Proph. Yes.
Ceph. That it was a woman of Delphi ?
PropJi. That it was a woman of Delphi.
CepJi. And never doubted it till to-day .-*
Proph. And never doubted it...
Ceph. {continuing hastily). Then what happens } No
questions asked ; no search for the parents ; the child is
accepted and brought up in the temple. Is that... usual .-* Well,
the time goes by. Xuthus, the father of the boy, whose relation-
ship to him (we shall say and, until the re-appearance of
Hermes, Athens as a jury will believe) was necessarily known
to one person among you, a person not far from the tripod,
— Xuthus, I say, went to the wars, won fame and fortune there,
and married a lady of princely rank in Athens\ All this, being
notorious, you knew — it is your business to know all that you
can, — and one in particular knew. Time went on, and they had
no child. At last you learnt, some of you learnt, and one in
particular learnt with a strange mixture of joy and misery,
that they were about to consult you on their distress. I say
you learnt this before their arrival, for they knew it at the
oracle of Trophonius, where Xuthus first enquired, and Tro-
phonius gave to him a hint of what Apollo's answer would
be'^ Now we cannot suppose that Apollo would be more com-
municative to Trophonius and his people than to you. Xuthus
and Creusa then were coming. The infant of Xuthus was grown
to man, reared in comfort, in splendour even, and advanced
to a place of trust ^ — by the same interest which preserved
him at first. He had been reared — Ah, men and women, let
us be friends ! — in those good lessons, which you can truly
teach, and could teach (we think, but let us not quarrel) as
well or better if you were of one mind with us. He was fit
for the high fortune of his father ; he had a right to it even,
in a certain sense; and it was resolved that he should have
it. The oracle declared to Xuthus — and that time, if ever, it
was something divine which spoke in the prophetess — the oracle
declared, with absolute truth in letter and spirit, that his own
son should be given him, and the person designed by the oracle
was Ion.
1 See the prologue, etc. ^ w. 300, 407. ^ v. 54, 326.
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
How can you, or how can we, go back from this story now,
consistent, probable, confirmed to common sense by circum-
stance and testimony, and in rehgion by the highest sanction
known ? Or if it is to be a question not of truth but expediency,
then surely it is better that you should acknowledge an error
in yourselves, than that you should have to defend the oracle by
the subterfuges we have heard. And consider this, for you are
not without hearts : you have laid it down\ as a condition of the
happiness which, upon the strength of your second story, you
have promised to this unhappy family, that Xuthus should
be kept in ignorance. Cannot you learn better from the almost
fatal failure of Xuthus himself.-* You know that your dishonest
condition is also impossible; that shortly, tomorrow, perhaps to-
night, love or malice will carry the matter, no secret even now,
and husband and wife will know that you have paltered with
one, if not with both, and they under your guidance have tried
to deceive each other. Have mercy upon them ! Take back
your retractation quickly, or there may well be murder yet!
Truly, if you do, the lady Creusa is likely to break her heart.
But neither can she be spared, if you do not. She also will see
after the first rapture, or will be made to see, that her supposed
possession has no warranty worth trust. Such are the goods of
deceit ! Give us then, give us the best bad chance, and your
own truth again to begin with ! {A pause)
Prophetess. If indeed it were best for —
Priest. Athenian, this is all impious folly ! In the first
place, the young man has been proved the son of your lady,
* proved ' after the fashion of your own human courts, as you
very well know : and your * judges ' would laugh at us for our
pains, if for our own or any interest we could be tempted to
deny it. But further, your tender argument for the truth of the
god, as you please to call it, comes to this — that we, who
dictate the answers of the prophetess, did on this occasion
dictate a truth. A noble defence ! We know that such things
are said of us by you and your like, and we scorn them. You
have professed to meet us frankly and friendly. Take then
a frank and friendly answer. As the god is true, that which
the prophetess said to Xuthus, not one of us put in her mouth.
^ V. 1601.
INTRODUCTION. xxvii
CepJi. {lookiiig at the prophetess). Quite possible. She may
have known the father herself, {starting and then controlling
himself) I could believe you !
Proxcnns. But you do not believe us ; for you sneer.
Explain then, pray, if the oracular answer was a plot in favour
of Ion, why did we not say simply that Ion was the son }
Why did we risk everything by directing Xuthus to ' the first
he should meet on leaving the temple'.-* How could we know
who this would be, or bring Ion at the right moment to
the door.? The words of the oracle were not only true, sub-
stantially true, as the blessed Athena showed, but bear on
the face of them the stamp of a miraculous revelation !
Ceph. Ha ! A miracle, a revelation ! {approaching the
Proxemis) The next man you hit will be Cephisophon ! {He
strikes him a light blow, and parries that which the Delphian
returns) A prophecy !
Several Delphians. Sacrilege !
Ceph. A prophecy ! {A langh here and there?) How could
I know whom you would next hit } Because I knew who would
next hit you. How could your conclave, sitting in the mid
sanctuary, know that Ion would be at the door } Because you
could detain the enquirer, and did, till Ion was at the door.
He was your own door-keeper^; his business on a day of
consultation was to be about the entrance. He was not obliged
to be there always, it is true ; and it chanced that his duty took
him away just after Xuthus had entered". What followed.?
That as long as Ion was absent, Xuthus remained with you ;
and that at the first moment when Ion came back, and his
voice was heard in conversation outside, Xuthus * was sped '
(quoth the handmaidens) from the interview to meet his son.
You must have been glad when it was over, for the accidental
absence was awkward, and the interview had to be made as
long as it well could be'. {Muttering.)
Besides you took another precaution. The youth's name
was, had always been, Ion. How do I know that .? From
Hermes^ that is, from my mother-wit, as the slave did'l You
1 VV. 219, 414. 2 ^^ ^24. 3 W. 510—516, V. 787.
^ iv. 81, where the addition of BeC^v implies that mortals had used the name before.
5 V. 830.
xxviii INTRODUCTION,
had put in your oracle one of your favourite mystic puns, con-
necting the person designated with this name\ So that if by
extraordinary ill-luck you had not pitched Xuthus straight upon
his son, you would have fallen back on the ' substantial truth ',
that no one but Ion was called Ion ! (Laughter and indigna-
tion})
In this way you also secured a minor but not undesirable
object, that his name should not be changed. You knew that
Xuthus — even if you gave no hint ; we do not know all that
passed— would look in the oracle for a name. We all consult
the seer on these occasions ; the women will have it. And look-
ing he could not miss. The reason why the child was called Ion,
you need not ask ; for though I can guess, I shall not tell you.
{Exclamations. )
And do not, I advise you, ask me for proof that voices
at the temple-door are audible within ^ You know they are;
and you may get more proof than you want. A miracle ! Such
miracles are the whole of your trump — I mean, your mystery.
It is thus that you play with the hearts of men. You find out
(it is not hard) what is the thing for which your petitioner
sighs; and you offer it to him with just some such simple
hocus-pocus as, aided by his own eagerness, will make him
take the boon for divine. You impose on no man, except (but
the exception is sufficient) in his own case. Xuthus would have
kissed your hands for joy. But the slaves of Creusa } Their
wishes were against you, and they suspected fraud on the spot^
Would any one of them have been so scrupulous, if you had
offered to reveal that she was a born Athenian } A miracle !
Gods in heaven ί {Angiy outcries on all sides.)
Proxenus. Enough, Cephisophon of Athens ! You can now
have no insult left. Go, go all of you ; and lay your case before
any dicastery from Alpha to Iota. See how the lady Creusa
will answer you, and what will be said when her proofs are
produced! {Tliey prepare to go?) She has the tokens, and it is
where they are that this * suit ' must be heard.
1 r/. 831 : iiTTtj σνναντ-ηση σοι Ιων {'Των) Iovtl were the terms in full. Plainly this
may be rendered, if convenient, 'whoever, being Ion, shall meet' etc.
2 From the door to the Adytum seems to have been about 100 ft.
' V. 685, V. 692.
INTRODUCTION. xxix
CepJi. {going). Oh, the tokens ! We shall see. There is
nothing in that. {Laughter)
Priest {laiighing). Man alive ! You are a miracle yourself,
a miracle of presumption! {Many of the Athenians applaud)
If it were not so late in the day, it would be amusing to know —
Prophetess {to him aside). Ah, let him go !
Ceph. To see my case ! No, thank you !
Priest. You need not fear, Sir. No advocate will appear
for us.
Ceph. I have no fear, no care, except for the truth. There
is nothing in the tokens. What we shall say is this : —
When Ion was given to Xuthus, you supposed and expected
that the husband would keep his secret. If he could not
(as it proved), then you trusted that the wife would accept
the fact and submit. Unluckily for your game, one of your
human draughts-men would not be played. The unhappy
lady came here charged to breaking with a passionate sorrow
and hope, which then you did not know. In her agony she
betrayed herself to others and to you, actually shrieking into
the shrine (where some of you sit*) the story of her wrong ^
(I said you should hear again from the door.) Evil advisers
seized the moment, and hurried her into a crime, which accident
detected before the accomplishment. Your full-fed fanatical
rabble, led by the young man, whose honest head had been
a little turned by the superstitious extravagance which you
teach for law^ and whose anger on his own account was natural
enough, rushed in a body to your magistrates. What you, the
judges, would have done, if free, I do not know. A minority
actually voted for mercy*. But in fact you merely registered
the sentence of your sacred and rascally populace. {The Priest
smiles in spite of himself)
What could you do } You bethought yourselves of the
secret you had discovered, of the outrage and the lost child.
Could anything be made of that }
Creusa fled — here, to your own altar, pursued by Ion and the
mob. They hesitated ; but it was plain that they would not
hesitate long. Ion was haranguing (not without force) against
^ 7Λ 414. "^ V. <)\\.
3 Tjv. 1220 — 25. * V. 1223, V. 1251.
XXX INTRODUCTION.
the abuses of the sanctuary. You were in a fearful extremity.
You saw your altar about to be defiled with an act which
no one out of Delphi would distinguish from murder\ Such
^ things have happened before ; I need not tell you the story of
Neoptolemus^ You foresaw the horror, perhaps the vengeance
of Athens and Hellas. You saw — I really beg your pardon ;
you are not fiends ! — you saw a woman about to suffer a fate
too horrible for any desert, and hideously disproportionate with
hers; and you saw an innocent lad, your pupil and favourite,
about to load himself with a life-long danger, a life-long
remorse'.
What could you do } What spell could you cast over your
wolves broke loose, or what fence put round the victim } What,
but the inviolable sanctity of a mother} That even fanaticism
might respect. But how were you to deceive.? You had fore-
stalled your credit by telling the truth. Your fiction could only
pass, if it seemed to be proved against you. There was nothing
for it but the basket- trick, — the cradle, an old device, not cer-
tain by any means, but worth trying in such a strait. You made
up your bundle according to the disclosures of Creusa, and the
prophetess brought it out.
There is nothing whatever in the tokens.
Proxenus. A very pretty story, and I hope your men of law
will like it! You are out of your senses! {General applause^
How, in the whole time between the detection of the assassin
and the production of 'our' evidence, could we possibly make
these preparations } Where should we find an old cradle, fifteen
years old, —
Ceph. {looking at the prophetess?) Ah, where indeed.?
Proxejtns. Silence ! It is my turn. Where should we find
the cradle, which Creusa was to recognize as that in which her
infant had been exposed, on the Acropolis of Athens, fifteen
years before? 'The disclosures of Creusa'! Supposing that we
knew them, what where they.? I have heard, we have all heard
by this time, of her behaviour, and the reproaches, retracted
since and outrageous then, which she dared to fling in the face
of the paternal and provident god. She said, I believe, that she
' w. 1259 — 60, w, 1310 — II. "^ Eur. Androm. 1085.
3 w. 1327—35.
INTRODUCTION. xxxi
had exposed Apollo's child, with tokens upon it, in the hope
that it might be saved and that she might find it again. But
she did not, I feel sure, give the least hint what the tokens were\
as we could easily prove by the evidence of her slaves. Even if
(I take the words out of your mouth) somebody from within was
attracted by her outcry, and picked up, at this useful door, while
she and her villainous old guardian remained near it, some frag-
ments of their talk about the exposure of the child, even then, I
say, it is certain, and they would tell us, that they did not go
into details^
I will grant you — I wish for every one's sake that this folly
should go no further, and I beg you to follow me and see where
you are — I will grant you the utmost that reason will allow.
We knew in the temple, we could not help it, that Creusa had
exposed a babe, with its baby-things upon it. We could assume,
as of course, that one of these things would be the baby-necklace :
all children wear one, and many a child has been recognized by
it before now — the common story. It would be wrapped, for
recognition, in some ornamented wrapping; I give you that;
and (here I go rather far) we might guess, knowing that the
mother was very young^, that she could use such wrapping as
she had*, and one which she would be sure of knowing again, a
shawl of her own work. We might possibly guess (and here I
go very far indeed) that, foreseeing the too probable chance of
the poor child's death, she could put... a wreath on it^ We
have all., seen such. And I think these admissions are ample.
{Murmurs of assent.)
Now then, my legal brother, for an experiment ! Go to one
of your forensic friends, and ask him, upon these data, to procure
the evidence; the necklace, of the exact pattern, out of the thou-
sand oddities which mothers invent for the express purpose of
distinction; the shawl, with the very device which the girl had
woven upon it; the wreath, of the particular leaf. Give him a
year, and see what you get! {Applause, and then a silence^
Answer, Cephisophon, how could we know these things }
Ceph. How could you know them } By divination.
Proxenus. By....^*
1 V. 918. 2 ^. 955.
3 vv. 887 fif. 4 V. 26, V. 1489. ^ V. 18, V. 27.
V. I. ' C
xxxii INTRODUCTION.
Ceph, By divination; from the oracle! {Amazement).
Priest. Athenian, be serious! This is no jest!
Ceph. 'Be serious!' You tax my patience; —
Priest. A poor revenue!
Ceph. 'No jest!' Are you serious yourself? You have for-
gotten, it seems, that it is you, and not I, whose case presumes
that the god. lied, or quibbled, and may be supposed an impostor.
I am for the god against you! I can still assume, what you,
his ministers, apparently cannot imagine, that the god might
have some little knowledge above the common. What do you
mean? You profess to be in communication with an all-seeing
deity; you offer to reveal from Him (for a consideration) the
secrets of every man's business and bosom, of the unknown
future, of the unseen world. And then, when I humbly suppose,
that in a crisis of your own affairs, and His, you might seek or
be called to the tripod, and might learn there, about a fact
which none should know better than He, a little more than (as
you have said) we could all guess, and just enough to save His
altar from pollution — when I suppose this, you tell me to be
serious ! No, no ; you must choose between your oracle and
your proofs! (A pause. One or two Atkeftians laugh gently)
Priest. Well, Athenian, we do not seem likely to under-
stand one another ; and the evening wears. Farewell, and do
as you please.
Ceph. Farewell then 1 — One thing more. The cradle, I see,
lies still by the altar. May I look at the tokens ? {He goes to
the cradle and looks in).
Priest, They are gone, as we told you. The mother has
them. Do you think she would leave behind the proofs of her
son's identity ? You had best take the cradle too.
Ceph. Thanks. And the wreath of olive ? For I see that
is still inside.
Priest. Then take it certainly.
Ceph. {with the wreath in his hand). She cannot care for it
much; and I am not surprised. For between ourselves, I do
not think she expected to find it.
Proxenus. How can you say so ? She was asked what
was in the cradle, and said at once, * Three things, a necklace,
a shawl, and a wreath.'
INTROD UCTION. xxxiii
Ceph. Did she ? Then I was mistaken.
Prox. Did she not ?
Ceph, Well, no. She described the shawl, and that was
produced ; she described the necklace, and that was produced.
Then Ion said, * There is 07ie thing more '. And she said, there
might be a wreath*.
Prox. Well, it is the same thing.
Ceph. Perhaps. Well, I will take it. Though it cannot last
long, I fear, having been plucked fifteen years ago, laid in a
cavern, carried fifty miles through the air in a few hours,
and left ever since in some dark corner known only to the
prophetess^ — Why, Apollo save us ! // is perfectly green !
(^Sensation.)
Priest. Let me look. The light is not good. {Cephisophon
hands it.)
Proxenus. Of course it is green; It is sacred olive, gathered
by Creusa at her home on your Acropolis, close to the cave.
Ceph. Of course. I, or any one, might have known that.
But why should it be green t
Prox. Really this is not decent! You, an Athenian, do
not know, and did not hear Creusa say^ that ' it must be
green ' —
Ceph. ' If it still existed '—
Prox. Precisely ; ' having once grown on that sacred tree.'
Anot/ier Athenian. Why, Cephisophon, every one knows
that!
Ceph. An old wives' fable, Anytus, learnt by the poor
girl from the servants (such as her tutor, whom they have
tortured to death) and revived with the other memories. {Angry
murmurs amojig the Atheniaiis.)
Anytits. Come, come, Cephisophon; this is going too far !
Remember that there is such a thing as an impeachment for
impiety.
Ceph. You shall impeach me, Anytus, and with my own
assistance, {to the Priest) Well, as it is miraculous, I will
certainly take it.
Priest {giving it). Here it is.
Ceph. Indeed it is not. The miraculous wreath was taken
^ V. 1432. - z'. 1361. ^v. 1435.
c 2
xxxiv INTRODUCTION,
away with the rest by Creusa ; I picked these two twigs of olive
myself in the precinct just before we came, and tied them
together as you see. Several of my friends here can witness to
the fact, — and so will Hermes, if you can find him. I have had
the thing on my arm all the time, and slipped it from under the
robe (a convenient place), when I put my hand into the cradle.
However ' it is the same thing'. Take it, Anytus {throwing it) ;
you may want it for the impeachment. {Silence) Well.^* {Silence).
The Prophetess {aside to the Priest). Oh, send him away !
(Cephisophon looks at her with compassion and shntgs his shoulders)
Priest {to her). Why 1 Absurd ! Not at this moment
certainly, {to hint) Well, Sir wizard, your trick has come off.
We will, if you please, dismiss the wreath. But — {Cephisophon
goes towards the cradle).
Several voices. No, no, no !
Priest {turning upon them). Fools !
Ceph. Quite so. {to the others) Why, if I had the shawl and
the necklace about me, what could I make of that.? I was
only going to pick up one of those woollen bands, in which the
cradle was wrapped \ {to the Priest) I will ask you to give it me.
( The Priest takes one and looks at it a moment. He offers it to
Cephisophon. As they hold it between them, their eyes meet.)
Priest {low and gravely). This is... quite fresh. ..too^ {He
lets the ba7idfall.)
Ceph. {dropping it). Yes. {Sensation. The Priest stoops
down and examAnes the cradle closely. He takes it up, passes his
hand over it, and sets it down again. He looks at Cephisophon.
Dead silence^
Ceph. And there is not on the osier-work of this cradle,
which has been laid away fifteen years in these woollen bands,
the slightest stain of mould to show where the bands went,
nor any mark of contact on the bands '.
Priest. No. (Silence). I do not understand it. {pauses ;
then suddenly puts his right hand on the altar) Athenian, I swear
to you by this altar and my right hand, that if there is any
trick in this, I know nothing of it.
Ceph. {grasping the hand). It will be the better for us !
{The Priest goes back and sits watching tmder the portico.)
1 V. 1338. 2 ^. 1389—94. « V. 1393.
INTRODUCTION, xxxv
Proxemis. It is quite simple : —
Ceph. Will you swear ?
Proxemis. CQYt2an\y...{Cephisophon grasps his left hand^
which he is extending to the altar)... not] when you demand it!
The matter is quite simple. It was noticed and explained by
Ion at the time. In the ordinary course no doubt there would
have been stains. But that only shows the care of the god for
this precious deposit. It is marvellous, another proof!
Voices {in various tones). Convincing. . .wonderful. . .strange. . .
... absurd... miraculous !
Ceph. Oh miraculous !
Prox. But I see no use in going on with this any longer ; —
Ceph. Nor I. The utter want of any reasonable explanation,
why these proofs of the boy's birth were concealed all these
years and produced at that particular moment, why they were
concealed this very morning, when you were revealing him to
his father — a difficulty which staggered even Ion in his ex-
citement^— would alone prove that there is fraud somewhere,
even if we cannot explain all. ' The will of the god ' will not be
answer enough for us !
Voices. Blasphemer ! Atheist ! Dog !
CepJi. Why, the very creature you put up to speak for
Pallas — (Cries of rage : several swords are drawn.)
Priest {from the portico, rising). Silence ! — The precinct and
treasuries are full of extra-guards to-night, because of the day's
uproar^ If any one offers violence to our friends from Athens,
he shall be arrested for sacrilege. {He sits again. The tunmlt
siibsides in murmtirs.)
Ceph. {contimdng). The voice in your puppet, I say, itself
declared, what the facts cry louder, that the motive of the trick
was not to prove the parentage of the boy, who is truly Xuthus'
son ; but simply to prevent the murder of Creusa. Apollo
saved yon by — machinations, shall I say.'* Ox machinery^} Oh,
you are cunning, you Delphians, in words ! So are some of us
at Athens.
Proxenus {furious). Ah ! You, who hear everything so
exactly, did you hear this } Did you hear the prophetess say —
^ vv. 1340 — 1349- ^ Eur. Androm. 1098.
xxxvi INTRODUCTION.
you, who pretend to believe that she arranged and brought out
the tokens as forged proof that Ion was son to Creusa — did you
hear her say to Ion at the last moment before she went, that he
should seek his mother 'first among the women of Delphi ' ^ ?
Did you see her come back to say that ? And will you tell us
why, if she meant him to find his mother then and there in
Creusa, she did her best to put him on another track ? Why ?
Why ?
Ceph. {ftiriotis). Ah ! I will tell you why ! — ( The prophetess,
who has come close to him in tlie dim light, toticJies his arm. He
turns towards Iter. She is almost fainting, and moves her haiids.
TJie rest do not see what passes. She sinks on the ground behind
him.)
Ceph. {turning again, with a feigned laugh). No, I cannot
tell you why. {Mocking laughter.) Or yes, I will: {speaking
slowly, without looking round) it was for love of Ion ! She had
been ever a mother to him in name, and in love, and her
parting kiss was even as a mother s kiss^. He was brought up
at her knee; she nursed him from infancy, though he never
knew the breast^ How could she be pleased to give him
away, to a new mother, although, for his own sake and to keep
his hands from blood, it had to be, although it was the zvill of
heaven ? Could she gladly see him go from this place, which he
knew and loved•, to a jealous city, where (for this story of his
birth will never, never pass) he will have all the miseries which
he foresaw*, and many others, more bitter than she can imagine ?
{A pause) Men, women, why should he not come back ? His
mother is, she must be, among you in Delphi. Find her ; cry
for her ; tell her to forget herself and her shame, and speak, for
the sake of Ion ! {He moves aside. TJie propJietess has risen to
Jier feet. She raises Jier liand, points to tlie cradle, and faints.
The women bear them atvay.)
Ceph. {aside) The gods forgive me !
Proxe7ius. What is the meaning of this ... mummery ?
Would you drive us all mad with your stage-tricks ? This will
not serve, Sir actor, and you shall twist and shirk no longer.
Answer me plainly. Will you dare to dispute, before us and
1 V. 1364. - w. 308—321, 1275—78, 1310— 1368 and /ΛΓΛ/«.
=* V. 319. * V. 585 ff.
INTRODUCTION. xxxvii
elsewhere, that the necklace and woven work of Creusa were
found in the cradle exactly as she described them, and that for
any one not an idiot that proof is decisive ? How could we
know that the pattern of her shawl was a Gorgon and a fringe of
snakes ?
Ceph. The aegis pattern ! The commonest thing in Athens!
That was your one bit of luck. Ion said as much ^
Prox. Nonsense ! Face me. How could we know that
Creusa had worked on her shawl a Gorgon and a fringe of
snakes } Leave off wriggling and answer that.
Ceph. She never said that she had.
Prox. Man ! How dare you —
Ceph. She said, she was very careful to say (evidently
because it crossed her mind that 'the pattern' might not be
easily recognized), that the thing was *a sampler '^ a bit of
blundering prentice-work^ {Angry laughter)) that it was 'not
finished ' {More laughter)^ but that the centre-piece, if her skill
had been equal to her intention, had the outline of a Gorgon,
and the loose ends of the stuff were like a fringe of snakes.
( Wild laughter.) Ion saw her hesitation, and thought she was
trying to cheat him*. {^ OhT) I will tell you another thing, if
you like. The pattern was not Athenian, but Delphian ; and the
person who put, or rather left^ that shawl in the cradle (it was
the baby-shawl of Ion right enough, and the work of his true
mother) did so hoping against hope that Creusa, who as a fact
did not recognize it^ would have actually disowned it. {Stupor.)
Proxenus. Hermes help us ! I wish it was lighter. There
is a figure on the wall there, of Pallas with her aegis^. I
should have liked to hear you maintain, in the presence of your
countrymen, that we do not know a Gorgon when we see it.
Ceph. You are all against me ! You would see nothing,
any more than Ion and Creusa did then. Every one was crazed
with excitement. Why it passed for a proof, that she recognized
the cradle ! '
A voice. So she did ! ( Torches are brought in.)
Ceph. Of course she did. What did you expect } You
knew that the woman had nursed for years the faith that
^ V. 1426. ^ V. 1419. ^ V. 1491.
•* V. 1420. 5 2;. 1425. 6 V. 210. ^ V. 1398.
xxxviii INTRODUCTION.
Apollo — so, to deceive her shame \ she called the brute who
wronged her and, like many other villains, has escaped the
justice of man — that Apollo would, must give back her child,
her baby, which some one found in the cave and stole, perhaps
killed, for the bit of gold that was upon it. You knew that she
had come to Delphi with this express purpose^ and in a
desperate hope that this might be the long-expected day^ You
knew that she coveted that lad, when she saw him, and noted
that by his age he might be her own *. You knew all this long
before, you that were about here when she first arrived ; for you
will not tell me that you, experienced confessors as you are,
were deceived by the poor, stale trick of the pretended * friend ',
which roused suspicions even in the artless Ion°. You knew
that Ion was longing 'more than ever' for evidence of his
mother^ You saw Creusa with death before her, close to her,
inevitable. Then from the temple of Apollo, by the hands of
Apollo's prophetess, you bring, swathed in Apollo's emblems —
an old cradle ; and you say to these two beating hearts, ' In
this, before Apollo's portal, Ion was found. In this are the
proofs of his mother.' You throw your basket within the grasp
of this heart-broken mother, just sinking into a sea of blood,
— and she recognizes it ! What did you expect but that she
would recognize it, that every one would be staggered, and that
this beginning would save from detection, from proper ex-
amination even, the rest of your imposture }
Pi'oxenus [fiolding a torch to him). Pray keep your elo-
quence to the point. What about the pattern of the shawl }
Cries. Yes, yes, the pattern !
Ceph. The pattern.? Why the thing is as plain as that...
this temple is at the centre of the earth !
A voice. Quite as plain.
Ceph. How do you know that it is } {Angry laughter.)
Anytiis. Cephisophon, you disgrace us! Who here, or
any where else, does not know that the holy stone of Delphi
marks the place where the two birds met, and that on either side
of it stand the venerable figures of the eagles themselves }
Ceph. Of the Gorgons themselves.
1 V. 341. 2 ^, 330—368. * V. 425. ^ vv. 308, 354.
^ v. 431. « V. 564.
i
INTRODUCTION. xxxix
Voices. No, the Fates !
Other voices. No 1 Gorgons !
Many voices together, drowning the rest. Eagles, eagles,
eagles 1
Ceph. Then why did Ion call them Gorgons?^ {A pause.)
He did, for I heard him. A servant of the temple ! {A pause.
To the Proxenus) Do you see now, that, unless snakes are
exclusively Athenian, the pattern might be Delphian ? Or do
you now think it strange, that Ion and others should take for a
Gorgon a bit of rude work, which did in fact resemble a Gorgon
as much as it resembled anything ? {A pause, followed by rising
murmurs^
Proxenus {beside himself). An end of this ! Sir ' friend
from Athens ', we have heard you out. We have listened
patiently to your tissue of sophistical explanations, singly
improbable, collectively absurd. We know, and you know,
that you have not touched the question ; that there is another
proof, certain and sole-sufficient, — the necklace. You have been
pleased to assume all this while that it was merely a necklace,
a common necklace. The folly of your case, on that supposition,
was pointed out to you before by our kindness. But you would
not be warned, and now you must take your punishment.
It was no ordinary necklace. It was a family-jewel, peculiar,
unique. The house of Erechtheus, as all Hellas knows (with a
reverence to the Athenian's), use for this purpose, for the necklaces
of their infants, a private pattern, of great antiquity, a gold
chain of which the links are snakes, curiously fashioned, re-
sembling and commemorating the snakes of the Gorgon slain by
Athena. The model was given by Athena herself to their
ancestor.
Now tell me. Sir, — or rather, for I have done with you,
I will ask any fair-minded man among your countrymen here
{Salutes) — is it sanity to suppose, that any of us would attempt
a fraud requiring, as the first necessity, that we should find,
at a moment's notice, such a jewel as that .^ You saw the
necklace, and know that it was genuine ; of course in the time
it could not possibly have been forged. As honourable men,
you will not suggest — one man only would be equal to such
^ V. 5, V. 224, and see Essay 11. On the figures of the Omphalos.
xl INTRO D UCTION.
impudent malice — that we keep in our treasures specimens of
all the remarkable heir-looms in Hellas, for the purpose of
putting them upon spurious heirs, and can find each one in the
instant that it is wanted. {The Delphians gather round Cephi-
sopJioii threateningly. Some of tJie A thenians go to his side, T/te
Priest comes slowly down from the portico, passing the gronp.)
Priest {aside to Cephisophon). I see it now. Go on. The
gates shall be kept clear for you. [He passes out.)
Proxenus {fioticing the by-play, frantically). Conspirator,
suborner, corrupter ! {seizing Cephisophon) How did we get the
necklace } There cannot at this moment be such another in
Delphi ! If you would not die on the spot, retract your
slanders, or tell me how we got that necklace !
Ceph. Tell you ! Ah, I will tell you indeed !
Of course, as you say, all turned and turns on the necklace.
Of course without a necklace, a genuine necklace, the fraud
could never have been projected. Of course it was apparently
impossible and not to be thought of, that you (whoever of you
committed the fraud) should have got such a necklace at the
moment. And therefore, as without the necklace the fraud
must have utterly failed, so with the necklace it was almost
certain to succeed. Whatever blunders you had made, the
' sole-sufficient proof of the necklace would have passed off
anything. The wreath was a blunder, an over-finesse. It was
that which put me on the track. The shawl — well, if you do
not see what that was, I shall not tell you ; though it would not
matter. She will soon be... out of your reach. But the necklace
was enough. And for this very reason, if you had not been
blind, blinded, you might have known long ago (and I have
given you hints), that we had solved this part of the enigma ;
or we should have been as mad as you think us to begin
the accusation. It is impossible — yes, praise be to the gods
(for I believe in a Providence as well as you, a detecting
Providence), it is impossible that there should be another such
necklace in Delphi at this moment. And therefore it is, that
I ask you with confidence — Where is tJie necklace of Erich-
thonius ?
{A shriek. Several of the DelpJdans run out into the darkness.
Tlte rest fall back andy while Cephisophon is speaking, slip away^
ρ INTRODUCTION. xli
some into the precinct, the last, with the Proxenus, into the
temple)
Cephisophon. Where is tJie necklace of Erichthonins ? I will
tell you where it is now. In the possession of its rightful
owner, the lady Creusa. And I will tell you where it was,
when she was recognized for the mother of Ion. It was in
the cradle. Let me trace it for you. When Creusa and her
servant plotted the murder of Ion, the poison (also an heir-loom
in her family, and deadly enough, though not the blood of
the Gorgon) was in a little pyx, hung upon her wrist by the
chain upon the model of which these baby-necklaces, used
by the house of Erechtheus, are all made, the original baby-
necklace (as they suppose it) of Erichthonius, put round his
neck by Athena herself. This chain, with the poison-pyx and
another pyx attached to it, Creusa put on the arm of the
slave who was to poison the cup, where he was to keep it
under his robe (remember my wreath) and ready to his hand.
When the attempt was detected, there on his arm the necklace
was found. Your officers, who tortured him to incriminate
Creusa, of course took from him this damning evidence, and
carried their proof to those of you who sit as judges/. To
remove the pyxes was the work of a moment. Nothing has
been heard of it since.
It was this which suggested to you your pious fraud. It
was because by an extraordinary and providential accident,
miraculous and yet quite natural, as are all His ways, you
were just then put into possession of this jewel, that you were
able (you were naturally willing and anxious) to prevent a
horrid act of cruelty and sacrilege. I do not say that you
acted wrongly. It was a fearful situation. If, instead of putting
up your puppet-goddess, you had acknowledged the deception,
as you might, when it had done its work, we could perhaps
have praised you. We could have pitied you, if even since, at
our urgent entreaty, you had made reparation to truth. But
deception was too much ingrained in you ; and now it is too
late. The lady Creusa has the necklace that was found in the
cradle. Either she has, or you have, the necklace of Erich-
thonius. {TJie Delphians are all gone, and tlte temple door is
1 vv. 20 — 26, 267 — 270, 985 — 1038, 1208 — 1222, 1426 — 1431.
xlii INTRODUCTION.
closed. CepJiisopJion goes tip to it and strikes it violently zuith
the knocker^). Where then, where is the necklace of Erich-
thonius ?
A voice from within. The necklace of Erichthonius...is lost !
Night and silence. The Athenians look round in bewilder-
ment. Cephisophon from the portico leads forward Euripides by
the hand.
An Athenian. Let us go home.
Euripides. My friend, we are at home. The play is over,
the story told, and the scene is our theatre again. Good-night.
An Athenian {sadly). And is there then no god, Ο
Euripides .-*
Euripides. Neither that do I say, or have said, Ο Chaerephon.
Whence, or from whom, came to that feast the detecting dove ?
Who sent that dumb creature to save, at the cost of her own
' incomprehensible agony ' the life of the kind-hearted lad, who
was sorry to kill the birds ϊ^ Apollo, Chance, Providence } We
know not. Only, for the gods' sake, do not think that it was
the ravisher of Creusa.
Which is more likely 1 That this frame of the heavens, this
truly divine machine, is governed by beings upon whom our
poor nature cries shame ; or that a knot of men, backed by
prejudice and tempted by enormous wealth, should try by
cunning to keep up a once beneficent or harmless delusion for a
little while longer t
For a little while ! Χρόνια μεν τά των Θεών ττως, εΙς τέλος δ'
ουκ ασθενή. Good-night. Let us go to our chambers and pray,
to Pallas, if you must, to Zeus if you will, but let us pray at
least to the Father of men and women and beasts and birds
of the air, and give the verdict according to our hearts.
* V. 1612. ^ V. 179, V. 1205.
INTRODUCTION, xliii
In the foregoing exposition of the Ion, those who are
acquainted with the recent version of the play by H. B. L/ will
see that I have taken from his preface several most important
hints. He was the first, so far as I am aware, who pointed out
distinctly, that since the play, by its whole tone, is manifestly
hostile to the Apolline religion, we are bound to look for such
an explanation of the unexplained story, as may be consistent
with this view, that in short it is an attack upon Delphi and
must be interpreted accordingly. He observes that in the
story proper, as distinct from the prologue and epilogue, there
are no supernatural elements (he extends the theory of machina-
tion even to the doves, which I think is a mistake) ; and he
shows that the method by which the oracle is conveyed to
Xuthus is a very simple piece of conjuring indeed. He also
points out that the intentions of Apollo, as announced by
Hermes in the prologue, are not carried out in the play, but
signally defeated : and he draws the correct inference, that there
is 'a change of tactics' on the part of the possessors of the
oracle, and that the attribution of Ion to Apollo and Creusa is
'an after-thought'. He further remarks that the confession of
Creusa furnishes for this after-thought the necessary basis of
knowledge. In fact he was, if I may say so, on the road to
the solution. But he did not draw the inference, to which his
premisses properly lead, that, if the second story of Ion's
parentage is an after-thought, the first story is probably true,
and the alleged proofs of the second story are almost certainly a
fraud, and further, if the whole is to be intelligible, a fraud, the
motive and means of which can be detected with certainty from
evidence furnished by the play itself The moment that, from
this point of view, we read the scene of the recognition between
^ London, AVilliams and Norgate, 1889.
xliv INTRODUCTION.
Ion and Creusa, we see that at every point the absurdity or
weakness of the evidence, and the blinding prepossessions of the
deceived persons, are carefully exhibited, — at every point except
one, the necklace. This looks at first sight like solid proof.
Ergo, it is the key to the fraud ; and the rest is simple.
In order to leave the facts of the story exactly as they are
left by the author (which of course we are bound to do), I have
not absolutely determined in my epilogue whether or not the
Delphian woman, who was the mother of Ion, was the Pythia.
That we are meant to suspect this is manifest. The play
(and particularly the scene in which the Pythia appears, with
the following speech of Ion) is full of ambiguities and of ' irony '
pointing us in this direction. I have noted some of them, but
there are many more. Still I do not think that Euripides has
made the evidence decisive, as that against the fraudulent tokens
is decisive. The points are these; shQ foimd the infant, according
to herself, at such a place and time, that it is very difficult to say
who else could possibly have left it; she kept his cradle and
baby-shawl for years, and could not say why ; she behaved as
his mother in every respect; she knew his father, and 'gave
him ' to his father of her own accord ; on the other hand, she
could scarcely bring herself, under the most terrible pressure,
to give him another woman for his mother. This is, if I am
not mistaken, strong evidence, but not conclusive : and that, I
believe, was the intention of the poet. That the thing was
possible and not unlikely is manifest from nature and historic
evidence. But of all the fine strokes in the drawing of Euri-
pides, it is perhaps the finest, that on this point absolute proof
is withheld. The probability is quite enough to make the scene
in which she signs away her 'child by love though not by nature'
one of the most tragic in ' the most tragic of the poets'.
It is an interesting question, but unfortunately not answer-
able, how much of the solution of the plot was exhibited on the
stage. It depends entirely on the way in which the final scene
was set and acted. It would be easy, taking the spoken parts
as they stand, to arrange the accessories and action so as to
give the audience anything, from a hint to a complete exposure.
I think however, if it is worth while to give a mere opinion,
that the exposure was not complete and did not go beyond
I
INTRODUCTION. xlv
such a very slight hint as I have put into the stage-directions.
An explicit and public attack on the prevalent religion, not
safe-guarded by the orthodox license of comedy, would pro-
bably have been scandalous to the majority and dangerous to
the author, even though directed mainly against the unpopular
oracle. If the time was very near, when Plato would propose
to proscribe Homer, nearer still was the prosecution and death
of Socrates. To the ultimate purpose the stage-exhibition at
the Dionysia was indifferent. In the condition of literature
at Athens, among a society in close intercourse, the circle
chiefly interested must have known the play and the aim of
it before they went to the theatre. Those who did not could
not fail to see on the stage, what modern students have gene-
rally seen in the bare text and through all the difficulties of
language, that the plot is unsolved and the play in fact un-
finished. Within a few days all who cared to know more would
know everything, and the rest could shut their eyes. Thus
appearances were saved ; and the work of the free-thinker
was better done, as Aristophanes shows us, than the broadest
satire could have done it.
Whether the Oracle of Delphi was always a fraud and no-
thing more, is a question beyond our limits. Euripides has not
said so, neither need we. Personally I do not believe it. That
in the fifth century it was deeply stained with fraud, and had
ceased to do any service equal to its mischief, is certain : and
that is enough.
II. The Figures of the Omphalos.
On the two figures which stood on either side of the holy
stone of Delphi see Professor Middleton's article on the temple
in The Jourjtal of Hellenic Studies (Vol. IX. p. 295). They
were commonly called eagles, and are so represented un-
mistakeably in a few late works of art, such as coins. The
representations do not agree with one another and have no pre-
tensions to fidelity. But that the figures were also supposed
to be Gorgons, is rightly inferred by Hermann from v. 224 of
this play and Aesch. Euin. 49 (where note the whole context).
I have implied in the * epilogue ' that there was even a third
hypothesis, that some called them Fates. My reason is this.
Pausanias in his description of the temple of Delphi, which
is even worse arranged than is usual with him, does not appear
to mention the omphalos among the objects contained in the
building. He describes it, briefly and without mention of the
figures (x. 16. 2), but quite apart from the contents of the
temple itself And as we know not only that the omphalos was
in the building, but that it was one of its most famous and
characteristic treasures, this extraordinary omission requires to
be accounted for. Now in the naos or cella of the temple,
the second chamber, between the pronaos and the adytum,
Pausanias says that there was *an altar of Poseidon, because
in the most ancient times the oracle was the property of
Poseidon also ; and there are also there images of two Fates.
Beside them instead of the third Fate stands a Zeus Moiragetes,
also (called }) an Apollo Moiragetes '. The ' altar of Poseidon '
seems to be mentioned by Pausanias alone, (x. 24. 4.)
Is it then possible (I put it forward merely as a suggestion
to meet the difficulty) that these mysterious two Fates of Delphi
were in fact identical with the two Gorgon-eagles, or at least
derived from them ; and that the explanation of Pausanias'
omission is simply that his * altar of Poseidon ' was the
omphalos itself.•* It is quite likely that it was said to have been
INTRODUCTION. xlvii
the altar of Poseidon in those ' very ancient times ' when
Poseidon owned the oracle. Pausanias, who certainly ' mixed
up his notes', as Prof. Middleton says, will then simply have
forgotten to tack the name omphalos in the right place. That
the ompJialos was in the naos^ where the 'altar' was, is I think
clear, if anything is, from Pausanias' own account taken with
the other evidence\
This supposition would add point to two places in tragedy.
In the prologue to the Eumenides, the prophetess, with these
omphalos-figures in her mind, debates with herself whether the
Furies are more like feuiales {^υναΐκα^) or Gorgons. If the
question was doubtful in the case of the figures themselves, the
allusion is the more to the purpose.
In the play before us {v. 1422), Ion, when Creusa mentions
the Gorgon of the pattern, exclaims ώ ZeO, rt? ημα^ €κκυνη^€τ€Ϊ
Ίτότμο^ ; ' Zeus, what fate is this which is tracking us like a
JioiindV I have shown that the point of the situation turns
on the fact that the pattern is really meant for one of the
omphalos-figures, and therefore might be a Gorgon, because
it might be almost anything. Now Ion's exclamation certainly
contains a hint at eagles, the hounds of Zens {jcvve^ Αως), as
they were called (Aesch. Prom. 1022, Agam. 136). If the
figures were also thought to ho: fates, then 7ΓΟτμο<ς is allusive too,
and the point is complete.
The truth no doubt is that the works, the originals (for they
were changed), were extremely archaic and rude, and that little
could really be decided, but that they were meant for creatures
of some kind and seemed to have wings. The ultimate pre-
valence of the eagles is due to the merits of the corresponding
legend. The advocates of the Fates were embarrassed by the
number ; and Gorgons were ovhlv ττρος τον Άττόλλω. But for
this very reason we may be sure that this tradition is the older
and more genuine, and that the figures were more like Gorgons
than anything else. Pindar is for eagles {Pyth. IV. 6) ; which in
him means only that this was the version which the Delphians
wished to circulate. Aeschylus puts the Gorgon-theory in
front and the Fates next. Euripides uses .the whole dispute
for his own purpose.
^ See Mr Bayfield's Introduction to the Ion, p. xvi.
V. I. d
III. ' The U7iity of Time'.
Although this subject has an important bearing on the
exposition, or at least upon the representation, of the Ion, we
might and should have passed it over, but for its intrinsic and
present interest apart from this particular play. In truth I
hesitate to begin, for of * The Unity of Time * it may almost be
said that it would offer no difficulties, if only it had never been
explained. The practice of the Greek dramatists was necessary
and rational. The remark of Aristotle upon it, tantortim catissa
malortim, is true and accurate. But a series of accidents,
curiously illustrating the growth of opinion, has led from
simplicity into complication, and from complication into en-
tanglement ; until at last the enquirer, who may unluckily try to
go to the bottom of the matter, will find himself involved in
paradoxes, which would pose a college of metaphysicians.
As a general rule, a drama must be divided into scenes. If
the story is at all complicated or extensive, it cannot be set
forth, with any truth to nature, in one single uninterrupted
dialogue. In representation therefore there must be some means
of marking the breaks, of showing where the audience are to go
forward in imagination from the supposed time of one dialogue
to the supposed time of the next. The simplest, which has been
used in all times when better could not be done, is to clear the
boards for a short interval and then send on the actors again.
But this is not satisfactory. If the interval is very short, the
interruption is not well expressed to the eye. Unless it is very
short, the expectant house will become impatient. In modern
theatres the problem is solved completely by the curtain.
But to the theatre of the Athenians a curtain was not well
adapted, and the occasions of performance were such as to
require that no time should be wasted. We do not know (and
for the age of the great tragedians it is very improbable) that
INTRODUCTION, xlix
they used a curtain at all. Instead of it they employed a device
peculiar to the growth of drama among themselves, the choric
ode. With Aeschylus, with whom our full knowledge begins,
the practice was perfectly settled. For every play there was a
particular body of performers called specially the chorus, related
to the plot sometimes as principals, more often as subordinates.
In the dialogues they took part with the rest. But when the
play was to be interrupted, in the gaps between scene and
scene, these performers executed sets of symmetrical dance-
movements, which were in themselves an exhibition highly
pleasing to the Greek taste; and in order to connect these
* dances ' with the play, they accompanied their movements
with symmetrical songs, the topics of which were more or less
adapted to the dramatic situation. Every means was taken,
which might make these performances more efficient as a break
in the play. The mere change, from the more or less natural
action of the stage-play to the wholly unnatural action of the
dances, was much. But much more was done. Not only the
metres but the language and vocabulary of the songs were made
as unlike those of the play as they could be. Such was the
* curtain ' of Aeschylus.
We are not now concerned to show with what skill the
tragedians of Athens got out of this device all the possible
advantages, how beautiful, appropriate, and helpful to the
audience these interval-songs were made. We are concerned
only with their mechanical function as a break, with the effect
which the use of them had in limiting the means of the dramatist,
and specially in limiting the extent of supposed time which the
action of the play from first to last could conveniently cover.
In the nature of things, as every one now agrees, and with one
brief modern exception always has agreed, there is not any limit
at all to the length of this supposed time, or to the length of the
lapse which the audience are to suppose at a break. The
descent and rise of the curtain may signify an hour, a day, week,
year, years, or whole generation, if necessary. The dramatist
has only to let us know with sufficient accuracy, by the dialogue
before and after (or by ' Τιιηε, as Chorus \ or the programme, or
how else he pleases), how much time and what events are to
pass ; and we suppose accordingly.
d 2
1 INTRODUCTION,
Nor was it ever imagined by the Greek playwrights or the
Greek critics that any such limit was desirable, or required by
the nature of plays any more than of narratives. They began,
as Aristotle tells us, by treating the one very much as the other.
'•' Tragedy ", he says, " endeavours as far as possible to confine
its action within the limits of a single revolution of the sun, or
nearly so; but the time of narrative (epic) is unlimited. This
however at first was more the case with Tragedy itself "\ But
they very soon found that, as practised by them, drama in this
respect, as in many others, was not free but bound. They
struggled against restriction; not even Euripides submits to it
completely. But restriction was necessary ; and the reason is
apparent; most clearly perhaps, if we consider the rare cases in
which they disregarded it.
The breaks were to be marked with songs, sung on the scene
by performers in the play. The presence of these performers at
all the scenes could seldom be quite natural. But the shorter
the supposed action of the piece, and the shorter the supposed
intervals, the less would be the discrepancy between the facts
presented and the natural facts. By the indulgence of the
audience, and in view of the necessity, a moderate discrepancy
might be tolerated. It was found, and the nature of things
shows why, that the point at which the discrepancy began to
be flagrant and intolerable, was when the audience were told
to pass in imagination from day to day. Night is the great
natural interrupter of actions and changer of situations. That
the same body of persons should be found standing about,
at the same place, at various intervals during the day, is
conceivable though it does not often happen. That they should
be found there day after day, not to say week after week, is
inconceivable and ridiculous. For this simple common-sense
reason Greek tragedy "endeavoured, as far as possible" to
confine the action within the limit of a day.
There are two, perhaps only two, extant plays, whose action
clearly exceeds the usual limit, the Sttppliants of Euripides and
the Eiimenides of Aeschylus. In the Suppliants'^ there is an
interval comprising the preparation and march of an Athenian
army to Thebes, a battle there, and the return : the interval is
* Ar. Poet. cap. 5. • v. 598. >
INTRODUCTION. li
represented by a peculiar lyric dialogue among the chorus,
mothers of the dead Argives whose recovery from the enemy
is the object of the expedition. With a curtain, nothing would
be more simple. But conceive the performance without ! And
this example brings out another point. If very long intervals
were allowed, offences must arise out of the personal identity
of the chorus and the identity of the place, desirable in Greek
theatres from the simplicity of their scenery. The place of the
action is the altar at Eleusis, to which the Argive mothers have
come to implore aid. In the earlier scenes this works very well.
But why should the mothers be assembled at the same altar, all
of them and no one else, some weeks afterwards, ready to
receive there the news of the victory 1
Equally instructive is the other case, the only case in which
the restriction is infringed with success. In the £.unienides
the chorus are a troop of gods. They can appear therefore
with perfect propriety, the same troop and the same gods,
at intervals as long as the poet chooses : they could even, if
they pleased, be elsewhere in the intervals and yet apparent on
the scene all the time. Accordingly the tiresome restriction
is at once cast off with the reason of it, and the action leaps a
year or so without the slightest embarrassment \ The Ion
conforms to the limitation, and with unusual success. The best
example is the Seven against Thebes^ which is perhaps that
almost impossible thing, a choric drama formally unimpeach-
able.
The limitation of time imposed by the use of the chorus had
many indirect effects, one of which we will mention, as it applies
to our play. In order to get as much time for the action as
the case would allow, it was common to start it in the morning,
and even with sunrise or before. In a single case this is no
disadvantage ; the Ion is proof to the contrary. But it must
have become monotonous, when we have it in the Persians^
Seven, Agamemnon, CJioephori, the Ajax, Electra, Antigone, the
Ion, Helena, Electra, Medea, in all these plays expressly, and in
many others, in fact in most, by implication. Another result
^ The scene is also changed ; but if it were not, there would be no difficulty. The
chorus of the Prometheus are also gods, but that play has no time at all. The divine
colloquy may occupy hours or centuries, as we prefer to think.
lii INTRODUCTION.
of the practice, also applying to our play, is that since with the
best intentions it was often difficult to get the action into a
day, the relations of the incidents to one another in time
are apt to be left rather vague. Necessity grew into habit,
and a Greek play will seldom bear minute examination from
this point of view. Professor Lewis Campbell has recently
illustrated this in the Classical Review^. In the Ion itself the
incidents will not work out quite satisfactorily. It is a little
odd, for instance, if we come to think of it, that Xuthus, who
thought he might be back from Parnassus for the beginning
of Ion's feast, has not got back after all that occurs before the
end of the play. But we do not come to think of it ; and in a
general way the events look fairly like those of a day, which,
as Aristotle says, is the result desired.
Such was with the Greeks 'the unity of time', for which
pompous and disastrous term there is of course no authority in
Aristotle. Before coming to modern developments, let us make
some remarks, (i) The statement of Aristotle is not a precept
at all*''. Aristotle knows how to express an opinion, when he
wishes to do so, and in this case he expresses none ; probably
because he saw that it was but a choice of evils. (2) The
limit has nothing whatever to do with any supposed continuity
in the action. The action of every Greek play is discontinuous,
that of the Seven, which occupies a few hours, just as much
as that of the Suppliafits of Euripides, which occupies weeks.
Both plays, and all the plays, consist of scenes, in which the story
^ Vol. IV. p. 299. He exaggerates somewhat, even making difficulties where
there are none. For example, in Uit Sttpplices of Aeschylus, **when the ship that
brings Aegyptus' sons is seen, Danaus consoles his daughters by telling them that the
landing cannot be effected till late in the evening {v. 769). Within 100 lines after-
wards {v. 842) the Herald comes, and no contradiction is hinted as arising between
this and that." There is no contradiction. The landing which cannot be effected,
and is not, is that of a force sufficient to overpower the protecting Argives. The
landing effected is that of a herald and small party to claim the fugitives and of
course, if no one opposes, to take them. This landing might be made with ease in
an hour. But Professor Campbell's general position is quite sound. Of his attempt
to apply it to the case of the Agamemnotty I can only say, with all respect, that it is
as if one were to argue thus : * Since this piece of elastic, six inches long, will easily
stretch to nine, and to twelve without breaking, why should it not stretch to twelve
yards?'
^ Professor Campbell properly calls it *a rough generalization'.
INTRODUCTION, liii
proceeds according to the imitative representation on the stage,
and intervals, in which the story jumps an imaginary gap, and the
interlude before the audience does not imitate the action of the
story or any natural action at all. (3) The limit has nothing
to do with the real time occupied in performing the play, which
indeed, as Aristotle says, is *no matter of art'. The time taken
by the performance has no more necessary bearing on the story
of a drama than the time spent in reading has upon the story
of a novel. (4) There was no conventional presumption among
Greek dramatists and audiences about the length of the action
supposed. It was the business of the author then, as it is
now, to explain, so far as was necessary, how long his story took
and how long were the intervals. No doubt after a course
of choric dramas audiences began to expect the sunrise and all
the rest, — one of the reasons perhaps why choric drarna had
not a long life. The later forms do not concern us.
And now we ourselves have to pass (with an appropriate
dance and ode) from Aristotle to the Renaissance. When
Du Bellay, Jodelle, and their successors set about renovating
French literature by the study of antiquity, they took the
ancient tragedy along with the rest, and in the first instance
they took it entire, chorus and all. For precepts they went
very properly to Aristotle, and in their enthusiasm made a
precept out of his guarded statement about the tragic day.
This slight error would have mattered little, if playwrights
had held to the chorus ; for then * the unity of time ' would
have protected itself by arms stronger than any authority. But
the dramatic chorus, rooted originally in habits peculiarly Greek,
and not a thriving plant on its own soil, would not bear the
transplantation and the nipping influence of the curtain. It fell
away. Then came the blunder, the extraordinary blunder, we
might call it, if the mistakes of one generation were not so often
strange to another. Missing the reasons of the Greek practice,
the critics insisted that 'Aristotle's rule' was universally valid
and applicable to all drama as such. The next thing was
to find reasons for it ; and here they are : —
With respect to the comparison drawn by Aristotle between the length
of the action in narrative and in drama, we will remark, that uninterrupted
continuity is much more necessary in an action which we witness as spectators
Uv INTRODUCTION.
present at the place, than in an action of which we merely read or hear a recital.
It is not natural that we should suppose ourselves passing days and nights,
without sleep, drink, or food, in the contemplation of what goes on, or should
suppose that, being all the time in the same building, we are carried to
different places. This is the reason of the unity of time (day)^ and place,
which is a necessity of the theatre ^,
It is a salutary lesson to read such a passage as this, and to
remember that the author was a man not without sense, who in
the days of Addison had a considerable reputation both in
France and elsewhere. The absurdity of Bossu's rule in itself,
and the equal absurdity of the theory on which it is based, are
now apparent. But the strangest thing of all is that he should
have believed his reasoning to lead to his rule. Manifestly,
if the time of the supposed action in a drama is to be limited by
the physical needs of the spectator, supposed to be really
present throughout, then a ' revolution of the sun ' is far too
long. Four or five hours will be the extreme limit, and two
hours the limit desirable. Of course this could not altogether
escape notice ; and the next stage was the strangest of all.
If the rule of notre Aristote did not fit the French justification,
taut pis pour la regie: it must be changed till it did, and it was
changed.
For the sake of symmetry with ' the unity of action ' (a not
bad term for the proper connexion of every part in a drama
with the whole), the identity of scene, which drama was supposed
to require, had been inaccurately called 'the unity of place'
and the limitation to a day had been foolishly called ' the unity
of time'. Now for eager and not very clear-headed disputants,
from unity to continuity is an easy glide. And the French
reasons did undoubtedly point to the doctrine (also absurd,
but that is a trifle), that the total action performed on the stage
ought to cover one continuous space of supposed time. Accord-
ingly by unity of time ' Aristotle ' was taken, whenever it was
convenient, to have meant continuity of time. All this had
been done long before Bossu, whose paragraph presents in
miniature a conspectus of the embroglio. By way of climax
we may note that all this while the critics were fighting with
' jour', the slight ambiguity of this word in French did something to confuse the
confusion.
^ Bossu, Tniitc dti Poeine Epiqm. Liv. Π. chap. 1 8 (beginning).
INTRODUCTION. Iv
equal zeal for 'the five acts'; though the only possible inference
from their theory was that every drama should consist of one
single scene.
However for this wonderful doctrine, in the middle of the
17th century, a pertinacious host was in arms. If not formidable,
they were annoying. Corneille, in the preface to The Cid and
elsewhere, condescended to say in his imperial manner that
he had complied, so far as might be, not only with those
veritable rules of dramatic art which Aristotle had laid down for
all time, but also with those 'inconvenient' restrictions, which
had been fathered upon Aristotle by the French critics. The
Cid kindled all France and blazed over Europe. Post hoc,
propter hoc. Louis the Fourteenth humbled Holland, devastated
the Palatinate, threatened the Empire, — and * Aristotle's rule '
was proved.
In practical application nothing could permanently maintain
such a structure against the shocks of experiment; and in the
theatre ' the rule ' has long been dead. But the errors of specu-
lation die more slowly than those of practice, because they can
be so carefully kept from the wind. When it had been seen that
the ' classic ' theory of the drama was worthless in its aesthetic
and practical aspect, it continued to exercise an influence in its
historic aspect, though in truth this was rather the worse part
of the two: and to this day 'the unity of time' continues to
haunt the discussion of Greek drama, in which it has not much
more right than the Cartesian vortices. The subsequent story
is also curious; but I have been too long already and must
now be brief.
The rule, we have said, emerged from controversy in the
form that the action of a drama should be continuous and
limited to (at most) one day ; and with a Nota bene, that such
was the established practice of the Greeks. Now of course in
one sense 'the action' of Greek tragedies was continuous, that is
to say, there were performers before the audience throughout.
This continuity of performance was not at all the continuity of
the French rule, which referred not to the performance, but to
the supposed time of the story presented. This supposed time,
as already observed, was in Greek plays not always continuous,
but always discontinuous and broken by the choric odes. Here
Ivi INTRODUCTION.
however again was a distinction easily missed ; and by some it
was missed ; so that the notion went on and goes on, here and
there, that * continuity of action ' was a requirement of the
Greeks'. With this was joined the notion, also derived from the
French controversy, that the limit to a day was with the Greeks
a fixed conventional presumption.
Now comes the last and not least remarkable episode. It
might have been expected that, when the tragedians came to be
more carefully studied, these notions would have been quickly
exploded by producing the examples of the Suppliants (of Euri-
pides) and the Eumenidcs (not to mention others less clear '^X in
which it is palpable that the supposed action is extended be-
yond a day, beyond many days, and is interrupted by long
breaks. And so these notions would have been exploded ; but
for the accident, that one single play, one of the greatest and
most familiar works of Greek art, presented, with regard to the
time of the action, a puzzling problem ; and that by refining the
residuum of the French controversy it seemed possible to extract
out of it an answer to this problem. I need not say that I refer
to the Agamemnon.
That the action of the Agamemnon falls within a day (and
much less) is shown not by any presumption, but by manifest
internal evidence. It was supposed to be equally clear, that
the events comprised in it were such as would in reality occupy
weeks. A notion, a German notion this time ! What if in Greek
drama the supposed time was ' ideal ', and had no relation to the
real time which the events would occupy ? This would account
for the contradiction attributed to the Agamemnon^ because one
sufficient assumption will account for any thing, however enor-
mous. It would also bring in the relics of the French rule, since
an ideal time, which has no relation to events, can of course be
continuous and discontinuous at once, just as an interval in such
an ideal time can have simultaneously or successively as many
different measures as we please. It would also give (at last) an
excellent and truly philosophic account of * the unity ' and ' the
day', since in limiting their plots to an ideal day the Greeks
* In the Introduction to the Agamemnon I have myself used in one or two places
phraseology derived from this confusion, though my argument is clear of it.
' e.g. the Andromache^ which 1 hoped to discuss here, but must jxistpone.
INTRODUCTION. Ivii
would not really have limited them at all; and of course ideal
time has unity, and multitude too, and contains in itself all other
true properties of a metaphysical entity. Thus or somewhat
thus was evolved the terminology of the following passages \
seldom heard except in connexion with the Agamemnon, but in
that connexion often :
Now if in the Eumenidcs months or years might elapse between the
exordium and what follows it, why may not the action of several days be
silently assumed elsewhere between one episodium and the next ?
Why indeed ? Who ever has said or thought otherwise ?
1 say ' silently,' because the interval is of course not thought of
Why is it not 'thought of just as much as any other necessary
part of the story ?
In the continuity of the idealized action the interruption of darkness and
repose is eliminated, together with many other irrelevancies of actual life,
by a tacit agreement between the poet and his audience... There are two
places in the Agamemnon^ which may be adduced to illustrate the systole
and diastole which belong to the ideal management of time in tragedy ^
etc.
This language and the underlying theory, the last remains of
a fruitless controversy, I do not propose to criticise. I doubt if
I understand them ; I doubt if any one does ; I cannot think
them likely to make any thing clear ; and I am sure they have
not elucidated Greek drama. Nor of course can I now defend
the different answer, an English answer, which I have offered for
the problem of the Agamemnon. As I have stated it, I shall
leave it to defend itself; as Professor Campbell understands it, it
is quite indefensible ^ But it is much more pleasant to argue
against dead and disreputable Delphians than against oracular
but friendly Professors. I have only to say that in my humble
opinion there have been episodes enough in this drama of ' the
^ Classical Review, Vol. IV. pp. 304, 305.
2 Prof. Campbell, to my amazement, supposes me to say that the audience learnt
the story of the Agamemnon from the play itself. No one ever could think this as to
the Agamemnon^ or any other play of Aeschylus, or, we may add, of Sophocles^
Most of the story is always taken as known. My own language on the point is
explicit and repeated : see pp. xiii, xiv, xxxiv, xlvii, Ix. Nor is this the only point on
which I must refer my critic to what I have actually written.
Iviii INTRODUCTION.
unities', which has already had its day of three centuries; the ^
audience will be pleased with the exodus ; and it is high time j
that 'the unity of time' and 'the ideal time', ideally united,
should march out of time altogether.
IV. The Parodos, ar Entrance of the Chorus.
In the preceding- essay we have discussed one of the effects
produced upon Greek drama by the peculiar device of the
chorus. To work out this subject in full would be matter for a
book ; but there is one branch which I should like to follow here,
because we have a remarkable clue to it in the Io7t,
The main function of the chorus was to mark the breaks
between the scenes by their odes and dances. Thus the dramatist
was provided with a more or less efficient ' curtain ', when he had
got his chorus into the orchestra. But first he had to get them
there. The practical result was, that either the play must begin
with a scene admitting the presence of secondary personages to
a large number, or else before the end of the first scene some
excuse must be provided for bringing such a body of persons on.
Between these alternatives much was to be said for the first,
and so far as we have evidence to judge, it was first preferred.
Aeschylus, who re-created and practically created tragedy, had
the advantage of first choice. In three of his seven remaining
plays,^ the chorus are 'on' at the opening, and in a fourth^
though not 'on', they are approaching the place of action
when the play opens, and no special reason has to be found for
their entrance. But this could not continue. By their difficulty,
above discussed, with regard to the time of action, the drama-
tists were already condemned to a certain monotony in their
opening, always a difficult matter to manage. It would have
been intolerable to add to this monotony of time the monotony
of always starting with a full scene; and besides, the chorus,
troublesome enough in any case, would often have seriously
interfered with the necessary freedom of the first exposition.
Moreover to start with the chorus was much more convenient
1 Persians^ SiippUanis, Eumenides. ^ Choephori.
Ix INTRODUCTION,
or less inconvenient when they were principal persons, as in
the Suppliants and Ettmenides of Aeschylus. But the topics
admitting this treatment were soon exhausted, and experiment
showed also that the true development of the drama was in
another direction. Accordingly the poets fell back on the
alternative, in Sophocles and Euripides almost universal, of
bringing on the chorus in or after the first scene; and then they
had to find a * motive for the Parodos'.
In great straits they were. Three times in the extant plays
of Euripides the hero or heroine utters in the first scene cries
which resound in the neighbourhood^; we have eight sets of
friendly and inquiring visitors ^ generally brought to the place
by ' rumours ' ; and neither in Sophocles nor in Euripides, as a
general rule, have these persons anything much to do, when
they come, except to sing the choric odes. In the Medea their
presence is a gross absurdity, and the poet, in order to get his
magnificent play through at all, is forced to ignore them. After
going through some years of Dionysia, it must have been hard
not to smile, when the 'shrieks' were raised or the 'proclamation'
issued. The inevitable outcome is seen in the Phoenissae and
the Iphig-enia atAtdis, where the chorus, when wanted, just march
in, without pretending to have any dramatic account to give of
themselves. But before this could happen, choric drama must
have been in a perilous state. In all the extant plays there are
but two parodi, which seem quite natural and dramatically good,
those of the Seven against Thebes, and the Oedipus at Colonus,
But even when a ' motive ' had been provided, the difficulty
was by no means at an end. Until the chorus were there, the
dramatist had no means of breaking his action. Now suppose
that the general course of the play required the chorus to be
composed of persons who could not arrive till long after the time
when the action started. The case arises, for example, in the Aga-
meinno7t and in the Io7t. The Agamemnon begins in the night ;
the chorus have not only to be ' summoned ' but roused. The
Ion begins in the precinct of Delphi at day-break, and with
^ The Stippliants ( Eur. ) is an exception.
2 Medea, Helena, Ileraclidae.
' Medea, Uippolytus, Andromache, Alcestis, Helena, Orestes^ Electro, Here.
Ftirens.
TNTR OD UCTTON. Ixi
the earliest preparations of the sacred ministers. The chorus
are visitors at Delphi. From the circumstances and the course
of the play it is plain that some considerable time must be
supposed to elapse between the opening and their appearance,
more time than it is convenient to represent by a spoken scene
on the stage.
In the case of the Agamemnon I suggested, as a mere
guess without proof, that between the prologue and the entrance
of the chorus, there was some pageant or purely mimic perform-
ance with music but without words, which might help to explain
the intention. In the Ion we have all the proof, which from the
nature of the case we could have, that this was so.
When Ion appears, he is accompanied by certain ministers
{iK 94), whom he immediately dismisses to fit themselves by
ablution for the office of the day and then return to the temple
and perform certain services on behalf of persons coming for
consultation. On the stage those who are directed to return
are generally seen to do so. What the services were, we know
from τ/. 418. A general sacrifice had to be offered, to ascertain
from the omens that the day was proper for consultation ; and
when Xuthus arrives, he hears that this has been done. Now in
what place was it done } On the great altar in front of the
•temple. This is not merely probable, but proved, both by the
words Ίτρο ναοΰ^ in v. 420, and by the description of the death
of Neoptolemus in the Andromache^. There Neoptolemus offers
for himself the sacrifice of consultation within the steps, that is,
on the raised platform before the temple, upon which the great
altar stood. He is afterwards slain on the altar. That the
whole scene (according to Euripides' version) passes outside of
the temple is evident^
Now in the Ion the stage (a stage probably very much like
that lately discovered at Megalopolis, only of wood, some six
^ That vabs here and here only should mean the cella, or second chamber, of the
temple, and ττρό ναοϋ in the pronaos, cannot, I think, be reconciled with the language
of the play generally : vab% is several times used for the whole building, and no notice
is ever taken of the divisions. (See vv. 314, 316, ναοίσι 5' οίκβΐ$...άφίκον ραόν).
Besides, it does not appear that there was any altar of sacrifice in the />rofiaos.
^ w. 1 1 Γ I fF.
^ Note ζ'Γ'. II 15, ii2o — 23.
Ixii INTRODUCTION.
feet high and approached by a steep* flight of steps) represents
this very platform, and on it stands the altar, where Creusa
takes refuge. To what purpose then should the playwright
first direct the audience to expect a performance at this place,
and afterwards by reference assume that it has been done, if
he did not mean them to see it done ? The point in' the play
where it should be done and must be, if done at all, is between
the first scene and t/ie entrance of the chorus ; where something
of the kind would be of great dramatic use. Surely then we
may safely assume that the performance did take place at that
point, and that the playwright took this opportunity of amusing
the lovers of spectacle, and of exhibiting, as his general purpose
required, the pomp and splendour of the oracular establishment.
Apart from this, the chorus of the Ion is not specially in-
teresting, though it is in its dramatic relation about as good as
any after Aeschylus. The odes are exquisite. But the most
interesting feature connected with it is this of the preliminary
pageant, which I notice in the expectation that, notwithstanding
the natural difficulty of the enquiry, other demonstrable instances
may be found.
^ V. 739. Note that here Creusa and her tutor plainly enter not on the stage plat-
form, but below. So no doubt does Xuthus at v. \o\. The plot of the slave and
Creusa {v. 970 ff.) is probably debated at or near the foot of the steps, not on the plat-
form above.
ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ ΙΩΝ
ν. Ι,
ΤΠΟΘΕΧΙΧ*.
Κρβονσαν την ^Έρβ'χθβως ^ΑττόΧλων φθβίρα^: ejKvov βττοίησβν
iv * Αθήναις' ή δε το ^βννηθβν ύττο την άκρόττόλιν Ιξίθηκβ, τον
αντον τότΓον καΙ του άΒίκηματος καΐ της Χοχείας μάρτυρα λα-
βοΰσα. το μεν οΰν βρέφος 'Έρμης άνελό μένος εΙς ΑεΧφούς
ηνε^γκεν' εύρουσα δ' η ττροφήτις ανέθρεψε' την Κρεουσαν δε
Ηοΰθος ε^ημε' συμμαγ^σας yap ^ Αθηναίοις την βασιΧείαν καΐ
τον της ττροειρημενης ^γάμον εΧαβε Βώρον. τούτω μεν ονν αλΧος
τταΐς ουκ ε^ενετο' τον δ' εκτραφεντα ύττο της ττροφητώος οΐ
ΑεΧφοΙ νεωκόρον εττοίησαν. 6 δε α^νοών εΒούΧευσε τω ττατρί.
Ή σκηνή του Βράματος υττόκειται εν ΑεΧφοΐς.
^ This is a mere summary of the prologue.
^, 5 ', 5 D
ΤΑ TOT ΔΡΑΜΑΤΟΣ ΠΡΟΣΩΠΑ.
ΕΡΜΗ2.
ΙΩΝ.
Χ0Ρ02 ΘΕΡΑΠΑΙΝΙΔΩΝ ΚΡΕ0Υ^Η2.
ΚΡΕΟΥΣΑ.
Η0ΥΘ02.
ΠΡΕ2ΒΥΤΗ5 η ΠΑΙΔΑΓΩΓΟΙ.
ΘΕΡΑΠΩΝ ΚΡΕΟΥ^ΗΧ
ΠΥΘΙΑ -iJTOL ΠΡΟΦΗΤΙ^.
ΑΘΗΝΑ.
ί— 2
ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ ΙΩΝ
Scene : before the temple of Apollo at Delphi, Time : just before
sunrise. Enter HERMES.
EPMHX.
*Ατλα9, 0 γ^αλκεοίσι νωτοίς ουρανον
θέων παλαιοί^ οίκον ίκτρίβων, θέων
μυας εφυσε ΜαΓαι^, η μ iyeivaro
^Ερμην μεγίστω ΖηνΙ, δαιμόνων λάτριν.
ηκω Se Αελφων την8ε γην, ϊν ομφαλον 5
μέσον καθίζων Φοΐβος νμνωΒεΙ βροτοίς
τά τ οντά καΧ μέλλοντα θεσπίζων αεί.
εστίν γαρ ουκ άσημος Ελλήνων πόλις
της γρνσολόγγου Παλλάδος κεκλημενη,
ον παιδ' *Έ>ρε^Θεως Φοίβος εζενξεν γάμους ΙΟ
βία Κρεονσαν, ένθα προσβόρρονς πέτρας
Παλλάδος υπ ογθω της ^Αθηναίων )(θονος
Μακράς καλονσυ γης άνακτες *Ατθί8ος.
άγνώς Βε πατρί, τω θεω γαρ ην φίλον,
γαστρος Βυηνεγκ ογκον ως δ' ηλθεν γβονος^ 15
1. The long syllable preceding ουρανόν violates the law of the final cretic.
Cf. Phoeii. 747 άμφότερον' άπολίΐφθ€ν yap ovdev θάτίρον. There are a few
other more or less clear examples of the irregularity. 3. |j.ias : ' of one
goddess ', Pleione. Some connexion seems to be intended between θίων and
θ(ων μιας. One of the host of heaven (perhaps it is meant) bestowed a
tender reward for his pains. But we want more knowledge of the story.
eeov άλίας Shilleto. 5. ό(ΐψαλόν. In the temple 'close by the earia stood
the famous omphalos. It was a rounded conical white stone, similar in shape
to half an G:^<g^ and of such height that the suppliant could sit upon it. The
story is that Zeus, wishing to discover the centre of the earth, despatched
ION
Scene : before the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Time : just before
simrise. Enter Hermes.
Hermes. To Atlas, him whose brazen shoulders wear
The sky, the ancient dwelling-place of gods,
A goddess brought forth Maia ; she to Zeus
Me, Hermes, errant messenger of heaven.
This place is Delphi, from whose centre-stone
Enthroned Phoebus prophesies to the world
The thing that shall be as the thing that is.
I have an errand here. There is a burgh,
In Hellas something famed, whose style proclaims
Her patron Pallas of the golden spear.
There, at the northward rocks 'neath Pallas' hill
In Athens, which the lords of Attic land
Call the Long Cliffs, Phoebus embraced perforce
Erechtheus' child Creusa. Unobserved
(For so was Phoebus' pleasure) by her sire,
She bore her burden till the time was come.
two eagles, one from the east and one from the west, and that the omphalos
marked the point at which the birds met'. B. 7. τά... μέλλοντα: that
which both is and is to be : the point is that to the god the future is but an-
other present. So in Het. 923 a prophetess knows τα τ υντα και μή, the future,
which ' both is and is not '. For the position of re see Kiihner, Gree/: Gram-
mar^ § 520, note 5 b. 9. ' The gilded point of the spear of the colossal
bronze statue of Athene Promachos on the Acropolis was a conspicuous ob-
ject at a distance of several miles'. B. 11. The cave (see v. 17) is at the
base of the cliffs at the N. W. corner of the Acropolis ; it was dedicated to
Apollo and Pan. 13. ανακτε? : owners, ix. inhabitants. 15. διήνεγκδ :
6 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
Τ€κουσ ip οίκους παιδ' άπηνεγκεν βρέφος
€19 rauTOl•' αντρον ovnep ηννάσθη θβω
Κρέουσα, κακτίθησυν ως θανονμβνον
κοίλης iv άντίττηγος βντρόχω κύκλω,
προγόνων νομον σώζουσα του Τ€ γτ^γει/ους 2 ο
^Έ,ρυχθονίου' κείνω γαρ η Αιος κόρη
φρουρώ παραζβύζασα φύλακβ σώματος
Βισσώ SpaKovre, παρθένους ^Κγλαυρίσιν
διδωσι σωζευν όθεν ^Ερεχ^θεί^αις έκέι
νόμος τις έστυν οφεσυν iv γρυσηλάτοις 25
τρέφευν τέκν ' αλλ' ην είχε παρθένος χλυΒην
τέκνω προσοίφασ ελυπεν, ώς θανουμένω.
καί μ ων αδελφός Φοίβος αΐτεΐταυ τάδε*
ω συγγον, ελθών λαον εΙς αυτόχθονα
κλεινών Αθηνών, οΧσθα γαρ θέας πόλιν, 3^
λαβών βρέφος νεογνόν εκ κοίλης πέτρας,
αύτω συν αγγει σπαργάνοισί θ* οΧς έχει,
ένεγκε Αελφών τάμα προς χρηστηρια,
καΐ θες προς αύται? εΙσόΒοις Βόμων εμών.
τά δ' αλλ', εμος γάρ εστίν, ώς ειδι^ς, ο παις, 35
ημΐν μελησει, Αοζία δ' εγώ χάριν
πράσσων άΖελφω, πλεκτον εζάρας κύτος
ηνεγκα, καΐ τον τταιδα κρηπ&ων έπι
τίθημι ναού του^^ y άναπτύζας κύτος
ελικτόν άντίπηγος, ώς όρωθ' ο παΙς. ^Ο
κνρεί δ' αμ ιππεύοντος ηλίου κύκλω
προφητις εισβαίνουσα μαντεΐον θεού'
oxjjiv 8ε προσβαλουσα παιδί νηπίω
ε'^αύ/χασ-' ει τις ΑελφιΒων τλαίη κόρη
λαθραΐον ώ81ν εις θεού /όιψαι Βόμον, 45
6are to the end. 19. άντίπηγοβ : a cradle, made of a curved top or lid (see
V. 39) and a curved bottom, on which it could rock, the two parts more or less
symmetrical, whence the name ; cf. αντίστροφος etc. The second part of the
word (see πη-γρυμι) suggests that they were originally made of wood or bark,
but this was of basket-work. €ύτρ6χω κύκλ*^ points to the curved under-
side. 23. *Αγραυλί<Γΐν : daughters of Agraulos (Cecrops). See a full
discussion of the genealogy and the story by Miss Harrison, Mythology etc.
of Ancient Athens, Intr. p. xxii. 24. 4κ€ί, in Athens. 25: see v,
1431. 26. χλιδήν: her girlish weaving; see v. 1417; hence παρθένος here.
27. ώ$ θανουμίνφ. It was customary to place ornaments on those about
ΙΩΝ
Delivered then in secret of a babe
She did convey it to that very cave,
Wherein the god embraced her, and exposed,
As unto death, within a cradle round,
Neglecting not the custom of her race
From earth-born Erichthonius down. (To him,
What time she gave him to the Agraulid maids,
Athena bound for watch two guardian snakes ;
In memory whereof Erechtheus' sons
In Athens still upon their nursing babes
Put serpents wrought of gold.) What maiden gawds
She had, she fastened, ere she left her babe,
Upon it, as for death. Then brotherly
My brother Phoebus made request of me:
" Go now, I pray thee, to that glorious land
Which from all time is Athens; well thou know'st
The sacred town ; and in a cavern find
A new-born child, which with the cradle bear
And tokens in it to mine oracle
Of Delphi. At the entrance of my house
Lay it, and leave the rest (for thou must know
The boy is mine) to me." Then I, to please
My prophet-brother, took my burden up.
The osier cradle, and I set the child
Here, on the temple-steps, and turned the lid
Full open, that the infant might be seen.
It chanced that as the sun rode forth in heaven,
The interpretress went in unto the fane.
Casting a glance upon the tender babe
She marvelled if perchance some Delphian maid
Dared with exposure of a secret birth
to be buried. 29. αυτόχθονα : grown actually upon the soil, as boasting
to have held it from times beyond memory and to have been the first
inhabitants. For the same reason their heroes (see v. 20) are sons of
earth. 32. άγγ€ΐ (and κντος, v. 2)7) '• general words for a vessel of any
form. 40. Ιλικτόν : turiiable upon hinges, see on v. 19. 41. αμ,α κύκλω :
with the wheel. κυρ£ί. , .άσβαίνουσ-α : was by coincidence entering, it being so
ordered that the infant should be placed there at sunrise, the hour of her
ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
vwep δε θνμίλας hiopiaai πρόθυμος ην,
οΐκτω δ' άφηκβν ωμότητα, καΙ ^eos
συνβργος ην τω παιδί μη 'κπβσβϊν Βόμων.
τρέφει δε νυν λαβονσα• τον σπείραντα δε
ουκ οίδε Φοΐβον, ούδε μητέρα ης εφυ' ζΟ
ό παις τε τους τεκόντας ουκ εττίσταται.
νέος μεν ουν ων, άμφΐ βωμίους τροφας
ηλατ άθύρων ως δ' άπηνΒρωθη δε/χας,
Αελφοί σφ' εθεντο χρυσοφύλακα του θεού
ταμίαν τε πάντων πιστον, εν δ' άνακτόροις 55
θεού καταζη δευρ' άεΐ σεμνον βίον.
Κρέουσα δ' η τεκουσα τον ι^εαι^ιαζ/
αούθω γαμεΐται συμφοράς τοιασδ* ϋπο.
ην τάίς Άθηναυς τοϊς τε ΧαλκωΒοντίΒαυς,
οΐ γην εγρυσ Εΰ)8οΓδα, πολέμιος κλύΒων 6θ
ον συμπονησας και ξυνεζελών 8ο ρΐ
γάμων Κρεούσης άξίωμ εδε^ατο,
ουκ εγγενής ων, Αιόλου δε του Δ to 9
γεγως Αραιός* -χρόνια δε σπείρας λεχη
άτεκνός εστί, και Κρεουσ' ων ουνεκα 65
ηκουσι προς μαντεΤ Απόλλωνος τάδε
ερωτι παίδων. Κοξίας δε την τύχην
εις τουτ ελαΰ^ει, κού λεληθεν ως 8οκεΖ
δώσει γαρ εισελθόντι μαντεΐον τό8ε
αούθω τον αύτοΰ παιδα, και πεφυκεναι JO
κείνου σφε φησει, μητρός ως ελθών δόμους
γνωσθη Κρεούση, και γάμοι τε Αοζίου
κρυπτοί γενωνται, παις τ εχτ) τα πρόσφορα.
entrance. 46. νΐΓ^ρ...θυμΛα8: beyond the place of sacrifice, i.e. more
properly the platform in front of the temple {v. 114), with the great altar
etc. But the plural marks that the word is here used in a wide sense, for the
whole sanctuary. 47. because of pity she dismissed her cruelty. 48. μή
iKircactv: not to be cast out; consecutive. 52. τροφάε: place of rearing.
Ρωμ£ου5: consecrated by altars, from which {v. 323) he was actually fed,
though this is not here directly in view. 53. άττηνδρώθη. Cf. σποπ-λ?;-
ρόω. 56. KttTtttf : live through, live on, down to the present, as we also
say. 59. Χαλκ. : the Chalcidians, from their hero Chalcodon. 60.
κλΰ8ων: a happy metaphor, suggesting at once a natural comparison of the
war between the peoples to the flowing Euripus actually parting them, and
ΙΩΝ
Affront the sacred place. Her will was quick
To put it o'er the pale ; but pity took
Her cruel purpose from her, and the god
Aided to keep his child within his house.
She took the babe and reared it, knowing not
The mother still, nor Phoebus for the sire,
More than the infant knows from whom he came.
So round the altars of this holy home
His playful childhood strayed ; and when he came
To man, the Delphians made him treasure-ward
And keeper to the god in general trust.
Thus in the precinct to this day he leads
A sacred life. Meanwhile Creusa, she
Whose son he is, hath wedded Xuthus, won
Upon occasion of a war which ran
High between Athens and Euboean folk,
Sons of Chalcodon. Xuthus, lending aid
To close the trouble, for his good desert
Received her hand, though not Athenian born,
But tracing an Achaean pedigree
Through Aeolus to Zeus. But, wedded long,
He and his wife are childless still ; and this.
Their longing for a child, hath brought them here
To seek Apollo. He with subtle hand,
Not blind as he may seem, guides the event.
And means that Xuthus, entering at his door,
Shall from Apollo take Apollo's son
And be declared the father: thus the lad
Shall reach his mother's house, be known to her.
And thus obtain, without discovery
Of what Apollo did, his proper rights.
the effect of it in carrying Xuthus to greatness. 61. ov : πόλίμον, rather
than κλν8ωνα,Ϊ5 the substantive to which the phrases are adapted. |υν€|€λών :
az'ded to finish it, do it away. 64. Άχαιόδ, i.e. of the northern branch,
Phthiaii (Paley). The home of Xuthus was laid, like that of the Achaean
Achilles, in Phthia. The pedigree was given, as usual, variously. 68. ού
λ€ληθίν : it has not escaped his observation^ as it seems to have done. 71.
ώ5 : with the intention that. 72. τ€...τ€: that the two desirable results may
ΙΟ ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
'Ίωνα δ' αντορ κτίστορ Άσιάδος χθονος
όνομα ΚζκΚησθαι θησεταυ καθ* Έλλαδα. 75
αλλ' €19, 8αφρώ8η γΰαλα βησομαι τάδε,
το κρανθίν ώς αν βκμάθω παιδος ττφι.
ορω γαρ Ικβαίνοντα Αοζίον yovov
τ6ν8\ ως προ ναοΰ λαμπρά Θύ) πνλώματα
Βάφνης κΚά^οισιν. όνομα δ' ου μελλευ τνγύν 8θ
Ιων €γώ σφε πρώτος ονομάζω θεών.
Exit.
Enter ^ from the temple, I ON and certain Delphians employed in
the service of Apollo,
ION.
'^Αρματα μεν τά8ε λαμπρά τεθρίππων
ηλίος 7)Sr) λάμπει κατά γην
άστρα δε φεύγει πυρί τώδ' αιθέρος
εις ννγθ* ίεράν. 85
ΊΙαριτησιά^ες δ' άβατοι κορυφαι
καταλαμπόμεναι την ημερίαν
άψΓδα βροτοίσι Βεχονται.
σμνρνης δ' avvSpov καπνός εις ορόφους
Φοίβου πετεται, qO
θάσσει δε γυνή τρίποδα ζάθεον
ΑελφΙς, άειδουσ' '^Ελλησι βοάς^
άς αν Απόλλων κελαΒηση.
Άλλ', ω Φοίβου ΑελφοΙ θεραπες,
τάς Κασταλίας άργυροεώείς 95
be combined. 74. 'Ion is to be the eponymous hero of the Ionian
settlement in Asia Minor: see 7/. 1584'. B. 75. Θησ6ται: will cause.
76. γύαλα : the sanctuary of Delphi as a whole. See on v. 220. Here the
particular reference is to the enclosure, planted with laurels, by which the
whole collection of shrines, treasure-houses, etc. was surrounded. 77. τλ
κρανθ^ν : what is desiined to happen, the ensuing story. ^κμάθω. He knows
the general intention of Apollo, but is interested in ' seeing it out '. 79.
λαμττρά θή : make bright {clean) by sweeping. 82. τ€θρί'ΐηΓων. The stop
here is necessary if λά/Λπ?* be retained in v. 83. * Musgrave proposed
ica^Trret {turns home to the west) for λάμπΐΐ. This would be a great im-
provement and it is unfortunate that it lacks MSS. authority'. B. 84. oe/ore
yonder fire the stars flee into the great dark of space. The poetical conception
ΙΩΝ η
Ion the god will name him and renown
Through Hellas for the cities of his name
Which he shall plant in Asia. Now, to learn
The fuller working of his destiny,
I go aside into these laurel-groves.
For even now I see Apollo's son
Come forth, to cleanse the approaches of the fane
With branch of laurel. Be his destined name.
Ion, from Hermes first of gods received.
Exit.
Enter, from the temple, lON and certain Delphians employed in
the service of Apollo.
Io7i. See, the sun ! His chariot-light
O'er the earth already speeds,
While before his fiery steeds
Fly the stars into the vasty night.
See Parnassus' summits bright,
Pathless peaks, by day-break lit,
Which to the wide world welcome it !
Smoke of the unshowered frankincense
Soars to Phoebus' roof divine ;
The priestess waits Apollo's sign,
On the tripod waits Apollo,
There to hear his voice and follow
Forth in public chant his secret sense.
Go, his Delphian servants, ye
To the silver eddies of Castaly,
is that of a dark region outside of day, into which the stars retire. irvpl.
The dative, freely used in poetry, may here be regarded either as causal or,
perhaps rather, modelled on such phrases as ei/ceii/ nvl, χωρ^ΐν tlvL etc. 85.
ί€ράν: sacred, a vague term of reverence. It is applied to all the great
elements of nature (fire, water, light, darkness, earth, rain, rivers etc.)
as such. 86. άβατοι : not inaccessible, but haunted by Apollo, Bacchus,
and other deities, and feared accordingly. 89. άνύ8ρου, because grown in
the desert. 90. θάσσ-ci τρίττοδα : i.e. it is a day on which the oracle is
open. 92. ά€ίδου<Γα. The answers of the Pythia were delivered in a
musical tone and cadence, and were frequently in metre. 95. Kao-raXCas:
the sacred spring which flowed down from the cliffs (Phaedriades) on the
12 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
βαίρ€Τ€ διζ^α?, καθαραΐς 8e Βρόσους
άφυ8ρανοίμ€ΐΌί στβίχετε ναούς,
στόμα τ ενφημον φρονρζΐτ αγαθοί,
φημας τ άγαμοι? τοΐς ίθέΧουσιν
μαντβύβσθαί ΙΟΟ
γλώσσης ISias άποφαίνειν.
ημζίς δε, πορονς ους €κ παιδος
μογθονμ€ν aet, τττόρθοισι δάφνης
στεφβσίν ff Ιβροΐς εσόΒονς Φοίβου
καθαρας θησομεν, νγραϊς re neSov 1 05
ρανίσιν vorepov πτηνών τ άγέΧας,
αΐ βλάπτονσιν
σ4μν αναθήματα, τοζοισιν έμοίς
φνγάΒας θησομεν ώς γαρ άμητωρ
άπάτωρ τε γεγώς τους θρε\\ίαντας Ι ΙΟ
Φοίβου ναούς θεραπεύω.
Exeunt all, except Ion, He takes his broom of bay
and begins to sweep.
*Ay', ώ νεηθαλες, ώ στ ρ.
north side of Delphi. 96. δρόσοι?. Sprinkling would be ritually suf-
ficient, and the use of 8ρόσυι is perhaps intended to suggest this, although it
is sometimes used in poetry with no meaning more special than water.
98 — 101. According to the ancient belief a religious function would be
hindered of its efficiency, and not merely disturbed, by unfavourable words
used during the performance of it. Abstinence from such words {(ύφημία)
was therefore the duty of all present, and more particularly of those
ministering. The construction is obscure and there is probably some
small error in the reading. For αγαθόν (mss.), which is not satisfactory,
Mr Bayfield gives αγαθοί, guard your lips religiously, noble as ye are (see the
Lexicon, s.v. oya^os), i.e. as your gentle birth and duty as Delphians {v. 94)
requires you. In the second clause άΐΓοφαίν€ΐν {utter) may be taken either
(l) with άγαθας τοΙς eSeX. μαντΐχχσθαι, keep {φρονρύτΐ supplied again) speech
proper, for the advantage of the intending inquirers, to utter from the tongue,
or (2) as an infinitive used in an imperative sense, such as is common in
legal forms, ritual directions, and the like : for such an infinitive following a
true imperative Mr Bayfield cites Herod. 6. 86 σν δι; μοι και τα χρήματα δίξαι
κα\ radf τα σύμβολα σώζ€ Χαβων' ος δ' αν (χων ταντα άπαιτίτ], τοντω airobovvai,
where however the change of construction is more natural, as the time
regarded changes from the present to recurring occasions in the future. On
the whole I incline to accept αγαθοί and to take άποφαίναν in the first way.-^ —
f
ΙΩΝ 13
And bathe yourselves, and come again,
Clean and made holy, to the fane.
Guard your speech, that never word
On your noble lips be heard
To mar their purpose, who resort
For question to this sacred court.
I the while the task fulfil
Which is mine from childhood still,
With laurel-bough in mystic tie
The portal here to purify,
To sprinkle o'er
The holy floor,
And banish far the feathered race,
That do our beauteous gifts disgrace,
With arrows. Father had I none.
Mother none, and thus alone
Love and service all I give
To Phoebus' house, whereby I live.
Exeunt all, except Ion. He takes his broom of bay
and begins to sweep.
Ion. Come, servant mine.
ISias, if correct, must be meant to suggest something of the same idea as the
' not speaking thine own words ' of the Prophet. On this solemn occasion
the individual tongue is to be restrained for the good of the public (ro
κοινόν). I have elsewhere suggested iXeay, feminine of ίλβω?, on the analogy
of ττλίως, nXia, which Mr Bayfield adopts. The form IXea is not actually
found, the adjective being generally of two terminations. This fact is not
conclusive against it by any means, and I still think it probable ; but as
ίδια? is perhaps not indefensible, I retain it under reserve. 102. -njicts : the
plural is constantly used, when (among other cases) a person speaks of him-
self in an official capacity. irovovs : in apposition to the notion of service
implied in θησομ€ν καθαράς etc. 104. σ-τ€'φ€σ-ίν θ* Upots: usually referred to
the putting of wreaths on the temple. But since in the following scene the
tasks here mentioned are exactly followed and in the same order, the
sweeping (vv. 112 — 141), the sprinkling {vv. 142 — 152), and the scaring of
the birds (vv. 153 — 183), a reference here to something else does not seem
probable. I think therefore that the whole phrase πτόρθοισι...ί€ροΐς should
be taken as describing the brush, which is made of branches of bay and
flocks of wool, tied together with a sacred tie of wool resembling the fillets
{στίφη, στέμματα) used in ritual. 108. άναθήμ.ατα: tripods, statues, etc..
14 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
καΧλίστας προπόλευμα δάφνας, ά τάν Φοίβου θνμβλαν
σαίρεις νπο ναοίς 115
κήπων ef αθανάτων,
ίνα δρόσοι τβγγονσ lepaly ρχπάν άέναον irayav
€κπροΪ€Ϊσαι
μνρσίνας, lepav φόβαν α σαίρω SdneSov Oeov 121
παναμβρως αμ άλίον τττέρνγι θοα λατρενων το κατ
ημαρ.
ί1 Tlaiavy ω ΤΙαιάν,
€ναίων, βναίων 1 25
€ίης, ω Αατονς παΓ.
καλόν γβ τον πόνον, ω άντ.
Φοίβε, σοΙ προ Βόμων λατρεύω, τιμών την μαντείον
ε8ραν.
κλεινός δ' ο πόνος μοι ΐβΟ
θεοΐσιν 8ονλαν ^ερ εχειν,
ου θνατοϊς, αλλ' αθάνατο ις' ενφάμοις δε πόνοις μο)(θεΐν
ουκ άποκάμνω'
Φοίβος μοι γενετωρ πατηρ' τον βόσκοντα yap
ευλογώ, 136
το δ' ώφελιμον εμοί πατέρος όνομα λέγω, Φοίβου του
κατά ναον.
ω ΤΙαιαν, ω TlaiaVy
ευαίων, ευαίων 140
είης, ω Αατους παΓ.
Άλλ' εκπαύσω γαρ μόγθους
8άφνας ολκοΐς' γρυσεων δ' εκ
τευχεων ρίχ^βω γαίας παγάν, 145
αν άπογεύονται Κασταλίας SivaL,
νοτερον υ8ωρ βάλλων,
όσιος απ' ευνάς ων.
in the precinct. 113. irpoiroXevjta : instrument of service. 114. κήττων
Ιξ άθ. is in syntax an adjective qualifying a, * laurel from the garden '.
116 : where the sacred stream, sending forth fro7n among the myrtle a free and
never failing spring, waters the sacred foliage etc. The expression is re-
dundant but sufficiently clear. 122. αμα άλίου πτ^ρυγι. Cf. v. 41.
128. γ€. If I am a slave, it is in a noble service. 134. €ύφά(ΐοι$, because
ΙΩΝ 15
Born of the tender bay, who sweepest fair
This holy place
Before the fane of Phoebus. Come, thou growth
Of groves eterne,
Whose springs, that from the myrtle-boskage pour
A never-failing stream,
Feed me the sacred leaves, wherewith I brush
The consecrated ground, and every dawn
Time by the flying sun the daily task.
Ο strong to save, Ο strong to save,
To thee, ΑΜβΚβ son, to thee,
Blessing, eternal blessing be !
A glorious task,
Phoebus, to labour at thy gate, and grace
Thy prophet-seat !
A glorious task, hand-service to a god,
No less a lord
Than an immortal god ! Of such a task
How should I ever tire ?
Phoebus my father is, my father. Who
Doth feed me else? I thank him by the name.
Apt for his love, the temple's lord, my sire !
Ο strong to save, Ο strong to save,
To the^^^eeeSS^eon, to thee
Blessing, eternal blessing, be !
Next, my part of sweeping o'er.
With a golden urn I pour
Rock-born water, issuing
From the bright Castalian spring,
I who cast it, clean myself and pure.
religious {v. 98), but here with second reference to the sense of good repute,
honourable', contrast δνσφημος scandalous. 139. Constr. το ωφίΚ. (μοί
Φοίβου λβγω πατέρος όνομα, the goodness (or service) to me of Phoebus I describe
by the name ^father \ For όνομα λίγω cf. v. 80. 145. όλκοι$ (that which
1 6ο
i6 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
€ΪΘ^ οΰτως alel Φοιβω 150
λατρενων μη παυσαι/Λαι^,
17 ττανσαίμαν aya^a μοίρα.
^Εα, εα•
φοιτωσ ηιδτ^, λείπονσίν Τ€
πται^οι Παρι^ασου κοιτάς. 155
αΰδώ /ιτ) γρίμτττειν θρυγκοΐς,
μη^ΐ* εΙς χρνσηρεις οίκους,
μάρχ^ω σ αν τόζοις, ω Ζηνος
κηρνζ, ορνίθων γαμφηλαΐς
Ισχυν νικών.
oSe προς Θυμ4\ας άλλος ίρέσσει
κύκνος' ουκ άλλα
φουνικοφαη πόδα κινήσεις ;
ovSev σ ά φόρμιγζ α Φοίβου
σύμμολτΓος τόξων ρύσαιτ αν. 1 65
παράγε πτέρυγας,
λίμνας επίβα τας Δτ^λιάδος*
αί/ιά^€ΐ9, el μη πείσει,
τάς καΧΚιφθόγγους ω8άς.
εα, εα• IJO
τις οδ' ορνίθων καινός προσίβα ;
/xcul•' υπο θριγκούς ευζ/αιας
καρφηράς θησων τέκνοις ;
χραλμοί σ είρξουσιν τόξων,
ου πείσει ; χωρών διι^αις
ταΓς Αλφειού παιΒουργει, Ι 75
-ι^ νάπος '^Ισθμιον,
ώς αναθήματα μη βλάπτηται
ναοί θ* οι Φοίβου.
ikKerai, the broom of laurel) depends as instrumental on μόχθους. 153. He
is thinking, with religious hope, of death, but unconsciously anticipates his
future greatness. 158. αυ. He had killed eagles on Hke occasions
before. 164. ά...σύ|ΐμιολ'ΤΓθ5 {ονσα): the fact that Phoebus^ lyre makes
music with thee. See the beautiful description of Apollo and the chorus of
swans in Aristophanes, Birds 769. 167. Xi^vas: a circular piece of water
{Κίμνη τροχοίώήί Herodotus) at the oracular sanctuary of Apollo in Delos.
168. at^(jl£cis...<pSas: ^ thou shalt raise, and in blood, if thou wilt not heed,
that sweet dirge of thine, ras, demonstrative. οΧμάσσαν ^day is an expression
ΙΩΝ jg
May the task unending so endure
Without a close,
Or ending find a blest repose !
There, see ! The birds are up : they fly
Their nests upon Parnassus high,
And hither tend. I warn you all,
To golden house and marble wall
Approach not. Once again my bow,
Zeus' herald-bird, will lay thee low,
Of all that fly the mightiest thou
In talon ! Lo, another now
Sails hitherward, a swan ! Away,
Away, thou red-foot ! Not the lay.
Which ye to Phoebus' music sing.
Should save thee from the fatal string.
Come, turn thy flight.
On Delos' mere alight ;
Or thou shalt shed thy sweetest note
And death-song from thy bleeding throat.
There, see again ! What stranger wing
Approaches ? Dost thou think indeed
Beneath our eaves to build and breed ?
Thou also, shun the sounding string.
Dost hear me } Choose, to nurse thy brood,
Alpheus or the Isthmian wood,
That so my patron's sacred fane
And votive treasure take no stain.
similar to μηκνναν βοήν to raise a loud cry, τήκ€ΐν οίμωγήι^ to utter a lajiguish-
ing lament, κΚίττηιν μύθους to speak deceitfully etc. The swan is not a
musical bird, but was fabled to sing at its death. Ion threatens that he will
give the bird cause to sing and to sing in a bloody death '. B. 172. «ύναία?,
i.e. (ννάς. For the form cf. τρόπαια (τροπή) change of wind (Aesch. Ag. '2.'2<^\
θνραία lb. 1039: it occurs also in Aesch. Sept. 1007, where see note.
175. τταιδούργ^. ' We should probably read παώονργίΐν (inf. for imperative) '.
B. But the lines are not here continuous. ^"Αλφειού... "Ισ-θμιον : the
sanctuaries of Zeus at Olympia by the Alpheus, and of Poseidon on the
Isthmus of Corinth, the places of the athletic festivals. 183. On the
arrangements here see the section of the Introduction on the Parodos.
V. I. 2
i6 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
KTeiveiv δ* νμα^ α&ονμαι
τους θβων άγγελΧοντας φημας ΐ8θ
θνατοΐς• οίς δ* ey/cei/χαι μ6γθοι<;
Φοίβω Βουλβνσω, κον ληζω
τους βόσκοντας θεραπβνων.
Exit.
Here probably was performed in pageant, by the ministers men-
tio7ied in v. 94, on the altar in front of the temple, the sacrifice
mentioned in v. 419. After the pageant^ the stage being clear,
enter the Chorus, ha^tdmaidens of Creusa, probably fifteen in
number according to usage. They converse with each other
as they pass up and down, admiring the buildings.
XOPOS.
QvK iv ταΐ9 ζα^εαις ^Αθά- στρ.
ναις €v κίονες ήσαν αύ- 185
λαι θέων μόνον, οΰδ* ayvi-
άτιδες θβραπβΐαί'
άλλα καΐ παρά Αοζία
τω Αατονς 8ί8νμων προσώ-
πων καλλιβλβφαρον φως. —
184 — 189. ονικ...η<Γαν..,μόνον: i.e. ^Ι find that there are such here also'. The
imperf. (with apa if surprise is to be expressed) is so used, when a
previous behef is corrected ; * it was not so, as I thought '. αύλαΐ θ€ών
sacred fore-courts or vestibules is the natural meaning. άγυιάτιδί? ecpairctai
* worship of the ayuifws', the protector of the ayvtat streets, symbolised by
conical pillars erected at the doors of the houses. In the anthropomorphic
hierology the name ayvuv^ was attached as a title to Apollo. άλλα καΐ ...:
at Loxias* house also is the fair-browed brightness of the double front. In
the arrangement of the approach to the temple of Delphi there was some
feature which an Athenian visitor would notice as specially reminding him of
his own town. What this was does not appear to be ascertainable. The
phrase δίδυμα πρόσωπα is commonly referred to the east and west faces of
the temple ; but attention could scarcely be attracted by a feature common
to almost every temple in Greece, and moreover the description should
naturally refer to what the visitors can now see or be supposed to see. The
use of avXat suggests a coiirt before the temple, enclosed by two colonnades^
ΙΩΝ 19
And yet to kill you, birds, who sign
To mortal men the will divine,
It pities me. But I must do,
As servant true,
My master's task, nor cease to give
Worship to him by whom I live.
Exit.
Here probably was performed in pageant^ by the ministers mentioned
in V. 94, on the altar ifi front of the tem,ple^ the sacrifice
mentioned in v. 419. After the pageant y the stage being clear,
enter the Chorus, handmaidens of Cretisa, probably fifteen in
number according to ttsage. Tliey converse with each ot/ier
as they pass 7ip and down, admiring the buildings.
Chorus.
Lo, as in our religious home
Are sacred fore-courts set with pillars fair
And symbols of the gate.
So likewise here the house of Loxias
Showeth symmetric front.
Bright as twin eyes beneath the brows.
resembling more or less those of St Peter's at Rome. There was an
enclosure, though not apparently a pillared enclosure, in front of the
Parthenon ; but it seems likely that the reference is to some custom or some
monument now unknown. Whether the epithet καλλιβλ4φαρον merely
emphasizes poetically the comparison between the symmetry of the
architectural face and that of a human face, or whether the orow points to
some special feature, must be left uncertain. καλλιβλέψαρον Brodaeus.
καλλίφαρον MSS. 190. The decorations described were probably in
painted sculpture. They refer to the destruction of earth-born monsters by
gods and heroes and were ' evidently chosen from their relation to the victory
of Apollo over the earth-born Python ' (Prof. Middleton ; article on the
temple of Delphi, Hellenic Journal Vol. 9). The description does not show
in what part of the architecture they were, but they are evidently supposed
to be easily visible by persons at some distance from the temple. They
may have belonged to the colonnades of the avkr\, if such there were. In
the want of exact knowledge of the place, as it was known to Euripides and •
2 — 2
20 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
Ιδού, τάι^δ' αθρησον 190
Kepvalov vhpav ivaipei
XpvaeaLS αρπαυζ ο Δ to? τταΓς.
φίλα, πρόσιδ' ocrcrot?. —
Ό ρω' και πίλας άλλος αύ- άντ,
τον ττανον πνρίφλβκτον αϊ- 195
pet τις ; άρ ος e/xatcrt /χυ-
OeijeTaL παρά ττήναίζ
άσπιστάς 'Ιόλαος, ο ς
κοινούς αΐρόμβνοζ πόνους
Αίω παίδι σνι^αζ^τλεΓ; — 2θθ
Και μάν τόν8' αθρησον
πτβρονντος ^φ^^ρον ϊππον •
ταν πνρπνέονσαν evaipei
τρισώματον αΚκάν. —
Πα^τα το ι βλβφαρον διώκω. 205
(TKexjjaL κλόνον έν τει^βσι λαίνουσυ Τιγάντων. —
^Ώδε δβρκό/Λβ^', ω φίλαι. —
Λευσσεις ούι^ επ Έγ/ίελάδω γοργωπον πάλλονσαν
ΐτυν; — 2 ΙΟ
Αενσσω Παλλάδ' βμάν θεον. —
Τι γαρ; κβραννον άμφίπνρον
ομβριμον εζ' Διός
έκηβόλοισί γβρσίν, —
'Ορώ- τόζ^ δάϊοι/ Μι/ιαι^τα ττυρί καταιθαΧοΖ — 215
Και Βρό/χιος αλλοι^ άπολε/χοισι κισσίνοισι βάκτροις
ivaipei Γας τ4κνων 6 'Άακγευς. —
Ι ON, with others, appears at the teviple.
his audience, nothing can be precisely determined. We can only presume
that the representation is fairly correct so far as it goes. 196. * Can it be
he whose story is being told at my weaving?^ i.e. to beguile their labours.
They were now in the middle of the story of Heracles. — 200. Δίφ: possessive
adjective in the sense of the genitive Lio^-, cf. Ύΐ\αμ<ύνιο% παί^ (Aias), Ίvvhapda
θχτγατηρ (Helen) etc. 201. tovSc: Bellerophon. 203. tcLv: the Chim-
aera. 206. τύκαιοην carved work (Hermann), *does not occur, but is
formed from τυκ- as ταφή from ταφ- (cf. τυ/cof, τύκισμα) '. The word gives a
better rhythm than Iv τ6ίχ€<Γΐ on the walls (mss.), but it is not metrically
necessary, as there are here no strophae\ and as to the sense, it must be
remembered that we do not know the true facts. 208. We see it here.
ΙΩΝ 21
Behold yon beast!
It is the snake of Lerna, perishing
Beneath the golden scythe of Heracles.
Look at it, look !
Aye, and behold his comrade near
Who raises high a fiery-flaming torch.
Say who ? Say is it he,
Whose tale I hear beside the running loom,
Brave lolaus, true
Partner in Heracles' emprise.
And oh, yon knight !
See how he rides his winged steed and slays
That monster belching fire, which hath the strength
And form of three 1
Fain would mine eye
Run every way. See there ! The marble wall
Showeth the giant rout.
We see it here.
And dost thou note
Her, who is shaking o'er Enceladus
Her Gorgon shield ?
Pallas, my Pallas !
And the bolt of Zeus
Twy-pointed, see'st thou, in his hurling hands ?
Aye. That is Mimas fighting him and smirched
Black with his fire.
And Bromius too, not armed, but laying low
With a mere ivy-wand his Titan foe !
Ion, zvit/i ot/iers, appears at the temple.
This speaker and the last are surveying the large subject (the battle of the
giants) from different places. 212. τί γάρ ; calls attention, like the Latin
qidd?^ to a fresh point. άμφίττυρον flaming at each end. 217. Bpojiios :
22 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
07ie of tJie Chorus.
Xe TOL τον πάρα ναον av-
δώ • Θ4μι<ζ γνάΚων νπ^ρβηναι λ^υκω πόδι — ;
ΙΩ. ου θβμις, ω f eWt. 2 2 I
ΧΟ. ovS" αν €κ aeOev αν πνθοίμαν — ;
Ιίΐ. αΰδα τι θβλευς,
ΧΟ. άρ όντως μ4σον ομφαλον
γοίς Φοίβου κατβχευ Βόμος;
ΙΩ. στέμμασί y ivSvTOV άμφΐ δβ Γοργόνες.
ΧΟ. οντω καΐ φατυς αυδα. 225
ΙΩ. €1 μ€ν έθνσατε πβλανον προ 86μων
και TL• ττνθέσθαι χργιζετε Φοίβου,
παριτ εις συμεΚας. ewL ο ασφακτοις
μ-ηΚοισι 8όμων μη παριτ €19 μυγον.
ΧΟ. εχω μαθουσα. θεού δε νόμον 230
ου παραβαινομεν
α ο eKTOS, όμμα Tepxpeu.
ΙΩ. πάντα θ€ασθ\ δ τι /cat Θέμις, ομμασι.
ΧΟ. μεθείσαν Ββσπόται με θεού
γυάλα ταδ' είσι^εΐν.
ΙΩ. δ/χωαΐ δε τίνων κληζεσθε 86μων ;
ΧΟ. Παλλάδος ενοικα τρόφιμα μελαθρα των εμων τυράν-
νων. 2 35
Dionysus. κισ-σ•. βάκτροι$ : the thyrsus. 218. τον τταρά ναόν : you who
are at the way to the temple. 220. γυάλων : here the temple. The word
is apphed to the sanctuary of Delphi in various connexions, the special sense
in each place being determined by the context. It seems to have meant
properly a cup-like hollow {Iph. Aul. 1052 eV κρατήρων γνάλοα). Mr Bayfield,
observing that 'it is used of no other temple than that of Delphi', finds the
explanation *in an almost unique characteristic of the Delphian sanctuary'.
The άδυτοι/, the place of inspiration and the nucleus of the whole establishment
and worship, 'was actually a pit or cavern in the earth, and nothing could be
more natural than that a name originally describing the primitive sanctuary
should afterwards be extended to the temple built over, and even to the
sacred precincts. Indeed αδντα is used in precisely the same manner,
V. 1 309'. ΊΓοδΙ. Hermann adds βηλόν {threshold) which completes the sense.
But possibly Ion interrupts this question, like the next, v. 222. The metre
would not be consecutive, but in such a case this would be no disadvantage.
223. So Hermann, ττνθοίμαν avdau; ΙΩ. τίνα 8e θίΚίΐς ; MSS., against
rhythm and sense. 225. Ves, clothed in wreaths, and there are Gorgons
on both sides of it, the temporary and the permanent decorations of the om-
ΙΩΝ 23
One of the Chonis.
Say, Sir, — thou hast the doorway — is it free
To enter, bare-footed, the sanctuary ?
Ion. Nay, ladies. Cho. Might I not then ask thee — ?
Ion, Aye :
Say what thou wilt. Cho. This temple, doth it lie
At earth's mid-centre truly, as we hear.!*
Ion, The stone, the wreaths, the Gorgons twain are here.
Cho. So it is e'en reported. Ion. If ye have
Burnt sacred oil before the fane, and crave
To enquire of Phoebus, this, the outer space,
Is open ; richer gifts win further grace.
Cho. I am answered, and obey the god's decree.
What may be seen without, well-pleased to see.
Ion. So far as lawful is, your eyes content.
Cho. By favour of our lady we are sent
To view this holy precinct. Ion. Ye are thralls .''
In whose obedience, pray } Cho. In Pallas' halls
phalos, which the geographer Strabo describes as having on it 'the two
figures of the legend', i.e. the two eagles which met there (see on v. 5). Her-
mann is probably right in supposing that Euripides here refers to the same
figures, by the name of Gorgons. Such very ancient and rude sculptures, as
these are likely to have been, may well have been variously identified and
explained. 226 — 229. els θυμΛα9, i.e. as far as where Ion himself is, the
top of the steps, representing the raised platform of the temple. els μυχόν
into the interior. ' It would appear from this passage that poorer worship-
pers received their response on the steps or platform of the temple. To
pass inside the temple was a privilege accorded only to those who could
offer a sheep'. B. ireXavov fragrant oil, thickened with meal, honey, etc.
ΙθύσάτΙ ΊΓδλάνον : a rhythm very rare even in Euripidean anapaests and
in the older dramatists almost unknown. kit άσ•φάκτοΐ5 μήλοισ-ι, 07i con-
dition of the non-slaughtering of sheep. 230. 2χω ρ,αθοΰσ-α : / have got
and hold viy information, i. e. / stand i?iformed ; so -^η\ια^ €χ(ΐ has to wife
Soph. O. T. $7y, τοιαύτα... κηρύξας €χ€ΐ such is his proclamatiofi. The form is
equivalent to the Greek perfect of condition. (Mr Bayfield here refers the
origin to the intransitive use οίϊγ^ιν {^χω μαθυΰσα = €ΐμΙ μαθονσα) but I agree
rather with Mr Whitelaw Classical Review, IV. 251. 232. ού τταραβαί-
νομι,ίν: we are not for transgressing. 233. δ€σ'7ΓΟται. Both here and in
V. 235 {τνράνι>ων) Creusa only is in thought, but the plural is used, as often,
when the character (the mistress as such) rather than the individual is meant.
μ€ θ€οΰ Hermann, θίον μί MSS. γύαλα. See on v. 220. 235. The
24 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
παρούσας δ' άμφΐ τάσδ' έρωτας.
Enter Creusa, attended.
Ιίΐ. VevvaiOTy]^ σοι, και τρόπων τεκμιηριον
το (τχτιρ^ h(.^^^ τόδ', τιτις el ποτ , ω yvvai.
yvoiT] δ' αν ώς τα πολλά y ανθρώπου πέρι
το (τχημ' Ι8ών τις, el πέφνκβν €vyevης. 240
εα.
αλλ' έζεπΧηζάς /χ', όμμα avyKXi^aaaa σον,
8ακρνοίς θ* -ιτγράνασ evyevrj παρηίΒα,
ώς είδες ayva Αοξίον χρηστηρυα.
τί ποτέ μερίμνης εΙς toS" ηλθβς, ω yvvai ;
ου πάντες άλλοι γυάλα λενσσοντες θεον 245
-χαίρονσυν, εντανθ^ ο/χ/χα σοζ/ 8ακρνρροεΙ.
ΚΡΕ0Τ2Α.
ί1 ^ει^ε, το μεν σον ουκ άπαιΒεύτως εχευ
εΙς θανματ εΚθείν δακρύων εμων περί.
εyω ο ιοονσα τουσο Απόλλωνος οομους,
μνήμην παλαιάΐ' άνεμετρησάμην τινά. 250
εAcε6 οε τοζ^ νουν εσγρν ενυαο ονσα περ.
ώ τΧημονες yvva'Lκες' ω τολμήματα
θεών τί 8ητα ; ποί 8ίκην άνοίσομεν,
εΐ των κρατούντων άΒίκίαυς ολούμεθα ;
Ιίΐ. τί -χρήμα δ' άνερεύνητα 8υσθνμεΙ, yύvaι ; 255
ΚΡ. ovhiv μεθηκα τοζα' τάπΧ τωδε δε
ετγώ τε σιγώ, κα\ συ μη φρόντίζ" ετι.
Ιίΐ. τίς δ' εΤ ; πόθεν γης ήλθες ; εκ ποίας πάτρας
πεφνκας ; όνομα τί σε καλεΐν ημάς γρεών ;
ΚΡ. Κρέουσα μεν μοι τουνομ , εκ δ' Έρεγ^θεως 200
πεφυκα, πατρίς yrj δ' ^Αθηναίων πόλις.
Ιίΐ. ω κλεινόν οίκούσ άστυ, γενναίων τ απο
τραφείσα πατέρων, ώς σε θαυμάζω^ γυζ^αι.
subject of the sentence is Παλλ. ΐνοικα μίλαθρα, the predicate τρόφιμα μίΚαθρα
κ.τ.λ. 236. τταρούσ-αβ : the predicate of the sentence. 237. γίνναιότη?
σοι (coTi). γ€νραι6τητος των Boissonade, Badham. 244. μ(ρ£μ.νη$ TOBe : t/u's
state or point of dubious thought. 247. Thy behaviour {rh <r6v) is not
uncourteous, na^nely, thy feeling of surprise, etc. She excuses graciously
the innocent naivetd of Ion's curiosity, perceiving that it does not proceed
from impertinence or want of breeding (άπαιδίυσ-ία), but is meant as a
courtesy. 249. ίγώ. Special circumstances accounted for her unusual be-
ΙΩΝ 25
They who command me have their royal home ;
But see and know; the queen herself is come.
Enter C REUS A, attended.
Ion. That thou art nobly charactered, thou bearest,
Ο dame unknown, proof in thine outward look.
In most of human kind it may be seen,
If they have gentle breeding, by the look.
But what surprise is this ! Thine eyes are closed,
The tears run down upon thy noble face,
To see the pure fane of the prophet-god !
Here, at the glad sight of the sanctuary.
Men always do rejoice, but thou dost weep.
Crensa. It showeth, Sir, but courtesy in thee
To marvel at my tears. But so it is.
That when I saw Apollo's temple here,
I went in memory to a certain past
Far off, and was in mind not here at all.
Alas ! what women may endure and gods
May dare ! But whither carry our appeal,
When the offender is the sovereign }
Ion. And what, Ο lady, means this plaint obscure }
Cre. Nothing ; my bolt is shot ; I would not say
More, and do thou dismiss it from thy thoughts.
Ion. Who art thou, and whence comest thou, and what
Thy family .'' Teach us how to call thy name.
Cre. Creusa I am called, Erechtheus was
My father, and my country Athens is.
Ion. A glorious city and an ancestry
Sublime ! And I revere them both in thee.
haviour. 250. άν€μ€τρησ•άμην 'retraced the path of.' 251. Ικ€ΐ...'ΤΓ€ρ : /
was thinking of something else than the place where I was. Cf. Phoen. 141 8
rov vovv προς αυτόν ουκ €χων eKelae be, his attention being thus distracted from
himself €Κ€ΐ Burgess, οίκοι MSS., i.e. at Athens ; the correction is perhaps
not necessary, but the vaguer expression is a great improvement. 253.
δίκην άνοίσ-ομδν : refer the suit or action. 254. όλοΰμίθα ' we are to suffer,
must suffer'. 255. άν€ρ€ύνητα imsearchably^ inexplicably. 257. τβ.,.καΐ
'dismiss it as I do'. 258. iroias irarpas ; Of what clan? Creusa answers
the question by naming the father from whom her family ('Epe;^^ei§ai) are
called ; but it seems needless for this reason to substitute ποίου πατρός;
26 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. τοσαντα κβντνχουμβν, ώ ζέν , ον πέρα.
1Ω. 77/309 θέων, αληθώς, ως μεμ^ύθενται βροτοίς, — 265
ΚΡ. τι χρημ' έρωτας, ώ ξέν ; έκμαθείν θέλω,
ΙΩ. €κ γης πατρός σου πρόγονος έβλαστεν πατήρ ;
ΚΡ. Έρι^^οζ^ί,ός ye* το δε γένος μ ουκ ώφεΚεΐ.
ΙΩ. η και σή> Ά^οίι/α γηθβν έζανβίλβτο ;
ΚΡ. €19 παρθένους γβ -χ^είρας, ου τεκουσά νιν, 270
ΙΩ. διδωσ-ί, δ', ωσπερ έν γραφή νομίζεται ;
ΚΡ. Κέκροπός γε σωζειν παυσίν οΰ^ όρώμενον.
ΙΩ. ηκουσα λυσαυ παρθένους τευ-χ^ος θέας.
ΚΡ. τοιγαρ θανουσαι σκόπελον τ^/χα^αζ^ πέτρας.
ΙΩ. εΐεν
TL Sal tOS' ; αρ αληθές, η μάτην λόγο 9 ; 275
ΚΡ. τι χρημ έρωτας ; και γαρ ου κάμνω σχολή.
Ι Ω. πατήρ ^Έρεχθεύς σας έθυσε συγγόνους ;
ΚΡ. ετλη προ yata9 σφάγια παρθένους κτανεΐν.
ΙΩ. συ δ' έξεσωθης πως κασιγνητων μόνη ;
ΚΡ. βρέφος νεογνον μητρός ην έν άγκάλαις. 28ο
ΙΩ. πατέρα δ' αληθώς χάσμα σον κρύπτει χθονός ;
ΚΡ. πληγοΧ τριαίνης ποντίου σφ^ απώλεσαν.
ΙΩ. Μ,ακραΙ δε χώρος έστ έκεΐ κεκλημένος ;
ΚΡ. τι Ο ιστορείς τοο ; ως μ ανεμνησας τίνος.
ΙΩ. τίμα σφε Ώύθιος άστραπαί τε Τίύθιαι ; 285
(L. Dindorf). 264. ' Thus far I ai7i happy' ; και gives the emphasis.
265. He pauses between curiosity and respect. Creusa encourages him to
proceed. 267. For a full discussion of these legends see the reference on
V. 23. •ΐΓρόγονο5 ττατηρ. The common genealogy was Erichthonius —
Pandion — Erechtheus. 270. Creusa thinks of her own story, which is in
her mind from the first. 272. σώζίΐν.-.ούχ όρώμ€νον to keep (in the basket
or cradle in which he was delivered to them) but not to see. 273—275 : an
exquisite turn of dialogue. However the myth of the daughters of Cecrops
may have originated (there is reason to connect it with the mysteries of the
Hersephoria ; see reference above) the obvious moral of it, as a story, is that
children must not be too curious; for which use, unless the young Athenians
were very different from their elders, the nurses of Athens must often have
wanted it. Now Ion is just displaying this characteristic of his age and
temperament in the strongest light, and Creusa (see v. 276) is beginning to
be a little impatient. The gentle malice of her τοιγαρ θανονσαί dashes the
questioner for a moment ; but he is too eager to be stopped. o-koitcXov
«ir^Tpas. According to the story which Euripides seems to follow, they flung
themselves from the cliffs of the Acropolis in horror at the sight of the snakes
ΙΩΝ 27
Cre. These are my happiness, and these are all.
Ion. Oh tell me, is it true ? — it is averred —
Cre. Sir, I await the question. Ion. That thy sire
Had for his forefather a son of Earth ?
Cre. Yes, Erichthonius ; little good of it
Have I ! Ion. And did Athena truly take
The babe from Earth ? Cre. In virgin arms, and not
As mother might, she did. Ion. And trusted him,
As painters use to show us, to be kept.
Not seen, by Cecrops' daughters t Cre. Even so.
Ion. And they, like maidens, opened, I have heard,
The goddess' gift. Cre. And dying for it spilt
Their blood upon the precipice. Ion. Ah ! (A pause.) But
now
Another story, is it true or false "i
Cre. What, pray? My time does not hang heavy. Ion, Did
Thy sire Erechtheus slay in sacrifice
Thy sisters.? Cre. Aye, for Athens' sake he bore
To shed their virgin blood. Ion. And thou wast saved.
Thou only, how .-* Cre. Being a new-born babe
Then in my mother's arms. Ion. And was thy sire
Whelmed in the yawning earth 1 Is't true "i Cre. He sank
Where the sea-trident smote. loti. And have you there
A place called the Long Cliffs.? Cre. What !... Wherefore
this.?...
O, thou hast touched a memory! Ion. 'Tis a place
Dear to our god, graced by his lightning-fire !
by which the infant was guarded. 278. irpo yaias : being at war with
Eumolpus, king of Eleusis and son of Poseidon. Poseidon afterwards (see
vv. 280 — 82) slew Erechtheus by an earthquake. 283. Μακραί : see
V. 13. 285. Πΰθιο8 : Apollo. I cannot think it necessary or desirable
to alter this, in spite of the irregular metre. Even if we cannot (with
Paley) assume the pronunciation Πϋ^-yoy, the frequent admission of
anapaests, where necessary, in connexion with proper names, could easily
serve, as I think, to make one pass, though the form of the name did
not require it. And after all the observance of metrical rules is seldom
or never quite perfect. As to the repetition Ώ.νΘιος...ΙΙνθίαι, it seems
proper to the sense. Ion, amazed at Creusa's change of manner, observes
with emphasis that nothing could be more natural than his interest in a
28 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. Τίμα- τί fxaUi] μη ποτ ωφβλόν σή> Iheiv.
ΙΩ. τί he] arvyw συ τον θεοΰ τά φίλτατα;
ΚΡ. ovSev ^vvolS* αντροισιν αίσγννην τινά.
Ιίΐ. ποσι? δε rts σ ^γημ Αθηναίων, γύναυ;
ΚΡ. ουκ άστος, αλλ* έπακτος 4ζ αλλτ^ς ^Θονόζ» 2 90
Ιίΐ. τΐ9 ; evyevrj νυν δει πζφυκεναυ τινά.
ΚΡ. αονθος, π€φυκως Αίολου Διός τ απο.
Ifi. /cal πώς feVos cr' cSi^ εσχεν ovcrav έγγενη ;
ΚΡ. Έυβου ^Α.θηναι<ζ ecrrt τις γείτων πολις*
Ιίΐ. opOLS υγροίσυν, ώς Χεγονσ, ωρισμενη. 295
ΚΡ. ταύτην επερσε ΚεκροπίΒαυς κουνώ Sopi.
Ιίΐ. επίκουρος εΚθών, κατά σον γαμεΐ λεχος;
ΚΡ. φερνάς γε πολέμου καΐ 8ορ6ς λαβών γέρας.
Ιίΐ. συν dvSpl δ' ηκευς η μόνη χρηστηρυα ;
ΚΡ. σι>ν avSpi' σηκοΐς δ' υστερεί Ύροφωνίου. 300
ΙΩ. πότερα θεατής, η γαρυν μαντευμάτων ;
ΚΡ. κείνου τε Φοίβου θ^ εν θελων μαθεΐν έπος.
ΙΩ. καρπού δ' υττερ γης ηκετ, η παίδων περυ ;
ΚΡ. ατταιδες έσμεν χρόνυ εχοντ ευνήματα.
ΙΩ. οΰδ' ετεκες ου^εν πώποτ , αλλ' ατεκνος el ; 305
ΚΡ. ό Φοίβος οΐ8ε την εμην άπαιδιαι^.
ΙΩ. ώ τλημον, ώς τάλλ' ευτυ^^ουσ-* ουκ εύτυ-χεΐς.
ΚΡ. σύ δ' €1 τίς; ώς σου την τεκουσαν ώλ/βισα.
ΙΩ. του θεού καλοϋμαυ 8οΰλος ειμί τ', ώ yvi/ac.
place connected with his patron-god. Near the Long Rocks stood an
altar oi Zeus Astrapaios. From this altar on three days and nights of three
months in the year lightnings were watched for in the direction of a place
called Harma. When these lightnings were seen, a sacred embassy was sent
to Delphi. Apollo * honoured ' the place by causing the lightnings to be seen
from it. Strabo ix. p. 404 (Musgrave, Hermann, and others). 286. τ£
}iaUi, ; Why this eager questioning? (Bayfield) seems to me the best correc-
tion suggested for the MSS. τ'ψα τίμα ώς μήποτ. Creusa has not recovered from
the shock of painful surprise, and still suspects Ion of some motive for his
questions. Ά scribe might perhaps be excused for blundering over such a
sequence of letters as TIMAITIMAIEIMH'. 288. ξύνοιδα Tyrwhitt, |eV
olba MSS. 295. The desire of Ion for extending and correcting his infor-
mation is irrepressible. 297. elra, upon that, betrays a little surprise.
Ion finds the explanation not very satisfactory, and Creusa is not far from
agreeing with him. 298. λαβών : supply το \4χος. 299. σ-ύν άνδρΐ 8'
ήκ6ΐ5 : He is beginning to wonder (and no wonder) what is the history of the
ΙΩΝ 29
Cre. Dear to.., But urge me not! Ah, would that I
Had never seen it ! Ion. Phoebus loves it well ;
Thou lik'st it not ! Ah, why } Cre. 'Tis nought. I know
A certain shameful secret of the rocks. {A patcse.)
Ion. Hast thou a husband, an Athenian .?
Cre. No, I was wedded to a foreigner.
Ion. Who was he .'* Noble sure he must have been.
Cre. Xuthus, of Aeolus' race, the race of Zeus.
Ion. How could an alien win so proud a wife }
Cre. Euboea — 'tis a neighbouring land — Ion. Beyond
A parting sea, they say. Cre. To conquer it
The spear of Xuthus helped the Athenian arms. .
Ion. And for his meed the good soldado took y oV^ cxo^ )
Thy hand .'' Cre. His prize and guerdon. {A pause.) Ion. Is
thy spouse
Companion of thy pilgrimage or no }
Cre. He is ; I left him at Trophonius' cave.
Ion. To see or to enquire .-* Cre. In hope to win
One answer there and here. Ion. And what imports
The quest "ί Your lands } Or children } Cre. Children we
Have none in all these years. Ion. And thou hast borne
No babe, wast ne'er a mother .!* Cre. Phoebus knows
My childless state. Ion. Ο miserable state,
Ο fortune all for one misfortune crossed ! {A pattse.)
Cre. And who art thou "i Happy the woman is
Who bare thee ! Ion. Slave to Phoebus am I called,
family, and how far the husband and wife are in harmony. His questions
now are not those of mere curiosity, but connected with his position as an
officer of the temple. 300. σ-ηκοίβ δ* ■ϋστ€ρ6ΐ. He remains behind at the
precinct^ or rather he is detained by the precinct^ i.e. by the purpose of con-
sulting there. I follow Mr Bayfield in taking provisionally the correction
of Badham : σηκος (or σηκυνς) ev στρεφα MSS. : €νστ€φ€ται τω τον Τροφωνίου
σήκω schol., pointing to a traditional or conjectural reading ^νστρίφ^ι {quasi
eWrpe0erat), which however is inadmissible. σηκός (poet, σηκοί) is any
sacred enclosure, here the oracular cave and sanctuary of Trophonius at
Lebadea in Boeotia. 305. cltckvos sterile, as distinct from childless.
306. She turns the question by a form which, to those who know, conveys
the answer. 308. ότου : gen. of respect, / think or call her happy in
thee. ώλβιοτα : the tense is common in Greek with reference to sensations
30 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. άζ/α^τ^/Λα πόλεως, η τίνος πραθείς νπο; 3^0
ΙΩ. ουκ οΤδα, πλην ev' Αοζίον κεκλημεθα.
Kr. 7)μ€υς σ α ρ avt/LS, ω gev , αντοικτειρομεν.
ΙΩ. ως ^ατ) ειδό^ tJti? /χ' ετεκεν, εζ ότου τ εφνν,
ΚΡ. ι^αοισι δ' οΙκεΐς τουσί8\ η κατά στεγας;
ΙΩ. απαι/ ^eov /MOt 8ωμ\ Ιν αν λάβτ) μ ύπνος, 3^5
ΚΡ. παις δ' ών άφίκον ναον, r\ ι^εαι^ιας ;
ΙΩ. βρέφος λεγονσιν οΐ Βοκουντες εΙΒεναί'
ΚΡ. και τις γάλακτί σ εξεθρεφε ΑελφίΒων;
ΙΩ. ονπωποτ εγνων μαστόν η δ' εθρεχΙ^ε με, —
ΚΡ. τίς, ω ταλαίπωρ ) ως νοσονσ ηνρον νόσους. 3^0
ΙΩ. Φοίβου προφητις, μητερ ως νομίζομεν.
ΚΡ. εις δ' avhp άφίκου τίνα τροφην κεκτημένος;
ΙΩ. βωμοί μ* εφερβον, ουπιών τ αεί ζενος.
ΚΡ. τάλαιν αρ η τεκοΰσά σ, ήτις ην ποτέ,
ΙΩ. άΒίκημά του γυναικός εγενόμην ίσως. 3^5
ΚΡ. εχ^εις δβ βίοτον; ευ γαρ ησκησαι πέπλους.
ΙΩ. τοις του θεού κοσμούμεθ* ^ ω 8ουλεύομεν.
ΚΡ. οι5δ' ηζας εΙς ερευναν εξευρείν γονάς;
ΙΩ. €^ω γαρ ού8εν, ω γύναι, τεκμηριον.
ΚΡ. φευ-
πεπονθε τις ση μητρί ταυτ άλλη γυνή. 33^
ΙΩ. τίς ; ει πόνου μοι ξυλλάβοι, γαίροιμεν αν.
ΚΡ. ης ουνεκ ηλθον Βευρο πρΙν πόσιν μολεΐν.
ΙΩ. ποών τι γ^ρηζουσ, ως υπουργήσω^ ywat;
ΚΡ. μάντευμα κρυπτον Βεομενη Φοίβου μαθεϊν.
ΙΩ. λεγοις αν' ημεΐς ταλλα προζενήσομεν. 335
just felt : we should use the present. 310. Dedicated by a city ? As a
captive, for example, taken in war, and as part of the god's votive share in the
spoil. 318. The accentuation τις some one seems better for the sense than
Tiff, which? 320. How^ being in misery, have I fowid {other like) miseries!
νόσος is a common word in the poet, and used with a wide meaning.
323. ο ΙΐΓΐών άβί : succeeding from time to time. 324 — 5. This exclamation
and reply, with the subsequent return to the previous subject, break the
course of the dialogue, and various re-arrangements are accordingly pro-
posed. Mr Bayfield, for example, places these two lines after v. 329, where
they fit very well. Perhaps however the irregularity is in truth an advantage.
The subject of the unknown mother is associated with Creusa's secret
thoughts, and is really introduced by her to lead, as it eventually does
{,ν. 33o), to the case of her pretended friend. It belongs therefore to her
ΙΩΝ 31
Lady, and his I am. Cre. By purchase or
By public dedication ? Ion. That I bear
His name is all I know. Cre. Alas, 'tis now
Our turn to pity thee ! Ion, Who do not know
My mother, nor my father. Ah ! Cre. The fane,
Is it thy only home ? Ion. 'Tis all my home,
And where I fall asleep my chamber is.
Cre. Camest thou here a child ? Io7i. A babe, they say
Who claim to know. Cre. Some woman of the place
Gave thee to suck? Ion. I never knew the breast;
A woman reared me ; her — Cre. What woman ? {aside) Ah !
How do these sorrows match with mine ! Ion. And her
I hold for mother, Phoebus' prophetess.
Cre. From babe to man Avho hath supported thee ?
loit. The altar and succeeding visitants.
These gave me food. {A pause?) Cre. Thy wretched mother!
Ah!
Who might she be? Ion. A woman's wrong belike
Gave me my birth. {A pause?) Cre. And hast thou wealth?
Thy robe
Is rich. Ion. We wear the garniture of him
We serve. {A patcse.) Cre. And didst thou never try to seek
Thy parentage ? Ion. I have no clue. Cre. How sad ! {A
long pause.)
Cre. Thy mother's case... There was another such.
Ion. How glad were I if she would share my grief!
Who was it? Cre. She whose business brought me here ^
Before my husband. Ion. Let me know the need,
That I may help. Cre. The counsel of the god
Upon a secret matter. Ion. Speak, and we
natural hesitation and difficulty in bringing this on {v. 336), that she should
thus approach and suddenly retreat from the topic. With action, the
passage would not, I think, offer any difficulty. 324. rakaiva σ ή rcKova
ήτις ποτ rjv apa MSS. corr. by Dobree. 325. That he iyevcTo {was
produced), and that his mother ήδικηθη, were aspects of one fact ; this is
expressed in Greek by β-γβνόμψ αδίκημα, I was begot a violence, Anglice, my
begetting was a violeiice. 326. βίοτον : wealth, substance, as opposed to
mere τροφή. 335. •π•ρο|€νιισ-ομ€ν will manage your case, but with some
reference to the Delphic use of the word for the service rendered to visitors
32 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. oLKOve Srj τον μνθον' αλλ' αΐ^ονμεθα.
Ιί2. ου τάρα πράξβυς ovhev' άργος η θεός.
ΚΡ. Φοιβω μυγηναί φησί τις φίλων ίμων —
ΙΩ. Φοίβω γννη γεγωσα; μτ) \iy , ώ ζενη.
ΚΡ. καί παΓδα γ ετεκβ τω θβω λάθρα πατρός. 34^
Ιίΐ. ουκ εστίν άνΒρος ά8ίκίαν αίοτχννεταυ,
ΚΡ. ο φησυν αντη, καΐ πέπονθεν άθλυα.
ΙΩ. τί γρημα Spdaacr, εΐ θεω σννεζνγη ;
ΚΡ. τον τταΓδ' ον ετεκεν εζεθηκε Βωμάτων.
ΙΩ. ο δ' εκτεθείς τταΐς ττον ^στιν; είσορα φάος; 345
ΚΡ. ουκ 6ΐ8εν οΰδβις* ταύτα καΐ μαντενομαυ.
ΙΩ.. €1 δ' ονκετ εστί, τίνι τρόπω Βίεφθάρη \
ΚΡ. θηράς σφε τον 8νστηνον ελπίζει κτανεΐν.
ΙΩ. ποίω τόδ* εγνω -χρω μένη τεκμηρίω ;
ΚΡ. ελθονσ Ιν αντον εξεθηκ ονχ ην ρ ετι. 35^
ΙΩ. ην δε σταλαγμός εν στίβω τις αίματος;
ΚΡ. ον φησί' καίτοι πολλ' επεστράφη πεΒον.
ΙΩ. -χ^ρόνος δε τις τω παίδι Βιαπεπραγμενω;
ΚΡ. σοι ταντον ήβης, ειπερ ην, ει^ αν μετρον.
ΙΩ. ονκονν ετ άλλον νστερον τίκτει γόνον ; 35^
in introducing them (npo^eueh) to the god. Cf. Androrn. 1103, where a
consulter presents himself σνν πμοξ4νοισι μάντζσίν re ΊΙυθίκοίς. 337. αργό?
unproductive^ earning nothing. The word in this sense was connected with
commerce (see on Med. 296), and probably άργόί r\ ^eos is or imitates a
proverb of business. ή θίό? : Αιδώ?. 338. Note that the words, which,
we must suppose, are spoken slowly and with great difficulty, are carefully
so constructed, that their meaning does not appear, till they are followed by a
pause sufficient to show that there is no more to come. The subject of
μιγηναι is in suspense ; the words may be the beginning of a long story, and
may relate merely to some legend with which it is connected. A moment
therefore must intervene before Ion can grasp the astounding purport, which
in the situation is a good dramatic point. 342. ο φησ-ιν αυτή. 'The relative
clause is anticipatory. Cf Lysias, Eratosth. § 43 oBiv τής στάσεως ηρξαρ, πίρπ
avdpes (φόροι κατέστησαν : the appointment of the ephors was the first step
in the revolution'. B. καΐ: atso. Creusa passes in silence the foregoing
suggestion. 343. τ£ χρήμα δράσ-ασ-α ; On what occasion f The circum-
stances of the fact conveyed in ττίπονθ^ν άθλια would have been naturally
given, if the story had been continued, by some participle, e.g. τον τταίδ'
€κθ€7σα, when she exposed her child. But, as Creusa pauses again, Ion asks
for the participle (if it may be so expressed) using a form of question which
simply implies that such is the grammatical form of the expected answer.
ΙΩΝ 33
Will forward it. Cre. This is her story then —
If shame will let me tell it. Ion. Otherwise
Thou failest. Never business sped with shame L
Cre. Phoebus... and she... she tells it of herself...
Ion. Phoebus ! A mortal woman ! Say it not !
Cre. Yes, and unknown she bare the god a child.
Ion. False, false ! It was a man, and she is loth /
To own the rape. Cre. She hath had wrong beside
By her account. Ion. Her tale supposed, wherein ?
Cre. The babe she bore she cast away. Ion. And where
Now is this castaway ? Alive ? Cre. None knows :
'Tis that I come to ask. Ion. If not alive.
How did he perish? Cre. Slain, as she believes.
By beasts. Ion. What reason had she so to think?
Cre. She came where he was cast, and found him not.
Ion. Was any trace of blood upon the ground ?
Cre. Nothing, she says, although she searched the place
Over and over. Ion. Since the boy was lost
How long is it? Cre. His age, were he alive,
Would equal thine. Ion. Then hath she never since
Creusa's reply takes a slightly different shape. €l θβώ (τυνβζύγη. Ion, who
is still incredulous, wishes to mark that in asking for further details he does
not accept the main allegation. To be clear, the sentence requires the help
of pronunciation. 1 prefer this to the received interpretation, For what
offence did she suffer^ if the god was her lover? (' Ion means that if she had
won a god's favour, any subsequent suffering must have been caused by her
own fault ') as more consistent with Ion's view of the case (see v. 437). But
the verse is (for Euripides) unusually obscure. 346. καΐ : expressed in
English by an emphasis, 'That is what I come to ask^ 348. Ιλπίζει:
supposes : cf. the English uses of expect. 352. καίτοι and^ you must know.
353. Cf. Thuc. 3. 29 ήμ€ραι μάλιστα ήσαν ttj Μντίλήντ} βαλωκυία €πτά.
354. This verse and Mr Bayfield's note on it have been the subject
of a controversy, whether in this form of hypothesis the non-reality of
the supposition is necessarily conveyed by the words. See Classical
Review^ Vol. IV. pp. 200, 251, 297. It is impossible to discuss the
question here, as the decision, one way or the other, does not materially
affect the sense. My feeling is that here Creusa does, for the purpose of
this particular observation, suppose the death of the child, and would be
so understood in Greek as in the English translation. είχ' αν. The
elision is irregular, βιχβζ/ αν being the regular form. ηβη?• The full sense is
V. I. 3
34 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. ά8υκ€Ϊ νιν 6 θβος, ου τεκονσα δ' άθ\ία. 355
Ιίΐ. τί δ' €1 λάθρα νιν Φοΐβος έκτρεφευ λαβών; 357
ΚΡ. τα κοινά -χαίρων ου δίκαια Spa μόνος.
Ιίΐ. ώμοί' ττροσωδος τ) τΰ^τ^ τω 'μω πάθει, —
ΚΡ. και σ, ω ζεν, οΧμαι μητερ άθλίαν ποθείν. 2>^0
ΙΩ. καΧ μη y in οΧκτον μ εξαγ\ ου ^λελησμεθα.
ΚΡ. <τιγώ• πέραινε δ' ων σ ανιστορώ περί.
ΙΩ. οίσθ* ονν δ κάμνει τον λόγου μάλιστα σοι ;
ΚΡ. τί δ' ουκ εκείντ) τύ) ταλαιπωρώ νοσεί;
Ιίΐ. πώς 6 θεός δ λαθείν βούλεται μαντεύσεται ; 3^5
ΚΡ. εΐπερ καθίζει τρίποδα κοινόν 'Ελλάδος.
Ιίΐ. αισχυνεται το πράγμα' μη ^ζελεγχε νιν.
ΚΡ. άλγύνεται δε γ' η παθουσα τη τύ-χτ).
ΙΩ. ουκ εστίν όστις σοι προφητεύσει τάδε.
iv τοις γαρ αντου δω/χασιζ^ κακός φανείς ^yo
Φοίβος Βικαίως τον θεμιστεύοντά σοι
8ράσειεν αν τι πημ ' άπαλλάσσου, γυναν
τω γαρ θεώ τάναντΓ ου μαντευτεον.
εις γαρ τοσούτον ά/χα^ιας ελθοιμεν avy
ει τους θεούς άκοντας εκπονησομεν 375
φράζειν α μη θελουσιν η προβωμίοις
σφαγαίσι μήλων η Si οιωνών πτεροΐς.
αν γαρ βία σπεύ8ωμεν ακόντων θεών^
άκοντα κεκτημεσθα τάγάθ\ ώ y^j^at,
ά δ' αν διδώσ' έκόντες, ώφελούμεθα. 3^0
ΧΟ. πολλαί γε πολλοίς εισΐ συμφοραΐ βροτών.
He would have been of your adult age. 355. ού τίκοΰσ-α. η τ€κουσα MSS.
The correction and transference of the line to follow v. 356 (Hermann) seem
necessary, though it is not easy to account for the error. 358. I/e acts
unfairly itt enjoying alone what belongs to both (the pleasure of the
child), /ioi/of, joined in sense with χαίρων, is displaced for emphasis.
359. The story harmonizes with what I have experienced (δ η^πονθα), i.e. not
merely is like it, but by the likeness awakes my self-pity, as a string or a
glass will respond to its own note when sounded near. 361. καΐ μη γβ.
Yes, and do not force me, or Yes, and you must not force me. The και {and
so) connects this with v. 359; the ye recognizes Creusa's comment a* μη
μ en οίκτον t^ay Nauck. 363. του \6yov plea, cause : Creusa represents her
absent 'friend', as an advocate, in which connexion λόγος was technical.
373. ' We must not enquire against deiiy\ a condensed, epigrammatic turn of
ΙΩΝ 35
Borne child ? Cre. Alas, the god is cruel ! None.
Io7i. But what if Phoebus took him and has reared
In secret? Cre. Then his solitary joy
Defrauds his lawful partner! (A pause?) Ion. Ah, this tale
Echoes my inner woe ! Cre. For thee too, thee
Doubtless a mother sighs. Ion. Compel me not
To sorrows which I had forgot to feel.
Cre. Pardon!... My question, let us speak of that.
Ion. I mark a point wherein thy cause is weak:
Dost thou ? Cre. Alas, I plead for one whose cause
Is nought but weakness. Ion. May the god be asked
What he would have a secret .-* Cre. That he may !
His oracle is open ! Ion. Would'st thou bare
His tender honour? Cre. Truly, when I see
His tender victim suffer worse than he !
Io7t. No man alive will put thy question ! No !
How justly would the god, dishonoured so
Here in his proper temple, wreak his ire
On him who did thine office ! Nay, retire ;
And seek no divination which offends
Divinity. (To this the error tends.
If we would urge the gods against their will.
To give us answer by the priestly skill
Of sacrifices slain or birds in air.)
It profits nought to win reluctant prayer
In their despite, whose blessings only bless
When freely they consent to our success.
Chorus. Wide is the world and diversely designed,
expression, expanded in the following parenthesis. 374. Our indecency
would be no less (than τω ^«ώ τάναρτία μαντ^νίσθαι). For άμαθία, which
signifies want of moral rather than of intellectual perception, see on Med.
223. 375. €κτΓονή<Γομ€ν : see on 7/. 1355• 377. <Γφαγαισι...'ΐΓΤ€ροΐ5: join
with φράζβιν. δι* οΙωνών irTcpois Omens (given) through birds'; see on
7/. 143. Mr Bayfield marks the parenthesis as probably spurious, and
it perhaps wants the terseness and clearness of Euripides. I do not how-
ever see any likely motive for the insertion. 379. άκοντα... τάγαθά: l/ie
blessings, when we get them, are reluctant blessings, i.e. blessings which
do not mean to be such, and therefore in the end do not prove such.
ουκ οντά Wakefield (for άκοντα), άνόνητα Η. Stephens; but surely άκοντα is
3—2
36 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
μορφαΐ δε ^ιαφέρονσιν tv δ' αν ευτυχές
/χολις ποτ έζενροι ης ανθρώπων βί(ο.
ΚΡ. ω ΦοΙββ, κάκ€υ κάνθάΒ' ον δίκαιος ει
εις την άπονσαν, ηζ πάρεισιν οΐ λόγοι. 3^5
συ δ' ονκ εσωσας τον σον ον σωσαί σ ^Xpy)Vi
ονθ^ Ιστορονστι μητρί μάντυς ων ερεΓς*
ως, ει μεν ονκετ ίστιν, ογκωθη τάφω,
el δ' βστυν, ίλθτ) μητρός εις oxpLv ποτέ.
αλλ' -f iav Ί* \ρη τάδ', el προς τον Oeov 39^
κωλνόμεσθα μη μαθείν α βονλομαι.
αλλ', ω ζεν, είσορω γαρ evyevrj πόσιν
Έονθον πίΚας δτ} Tovhe τας Τροφωνίου
Χυπόντα ^αλοί/ιας, τους ΧεΧεγμενονς λόγους
σίγα προς avSpa, μη τιν αίσχυνην λάβω 395
διαΑίοΐΌυσα κρυπτά, καΐ προβη λόγος
οΰχ ηττερ ημεϊς αυτόν ίζειλίσσομεν.
τά γάρ γυναικών Βυσχερη προς άρσενας,
καν ταΐς κακαίσιν αγαθοί μεμιγμεναυ
μισονμεθ^' ούτω δυστυχείς πεφύκαμεν. / 400
Enter XUTHUS, attended by servants and Delphians.
ΗΟΤΘΟΣ.
Πρώτοι^ μεν ο θεός των εμών προσφθεγμάτων
λαβών άπαργάς γαιρετω, συ τ, ω γυι/αι.
μών -χ^ρόνως ελθών σ εξέπληξα ορρωΒία ;
ΚΡ. ούΒεν γ'• άφίκου δ' εις μεριμναν αλλά μοι
λεζον τί θέσπισμ εκ Τροφωνίου φέρεις, 4^5
παίδων όπως νων σπέρμα συγκραθησεται.
both more poetical and more epigrammatic. 385. oi λύγοι: see on
V. 363. 388. όγκωθη τάψω : that a grave-7noimd may be made him.
This would be done, for the repose and honour of the spirit, when he was
known to be dead, but could not, for fear of the omen and of ritual
impropriety, be done before. 390. Ιάν χρη τάδ* 'probably gives the
correct sense, but affords no sufficient data for emendation'. B. 398. "τίι
γαρ γυναικών : ' the Condition of women is hard as compared with men '
(that of men) ; z.e. a woman is more likely to be misjudged than a man in
the matter of acquaintances. This is better than to take προς apatvas
* with regard to men ', meaning that men judge women harshly, since women
ΙΩΝ 37
And fortunes manifold, but shall you find
One single happiness in all mankind ?
Creiisa. Ο Phoebus, tyrant still, now and before,
To her, who here presents her absent plea,
A father careless then to save his child,
A prophet now deaf to the mother's prayer,
To know it dead, and heap a grave for it,
Or know it lives, and hope to see it yet !
Enough ! Apollo crosses us, and bars
My question: let it fall. And I request
You (for I see. Sir, from Trophonius' cave
My noble spouse arrived and now at hand)
That nothing of this converse may be told ^
To Xuthus; lest I suffer some reproach
For such a delicate office, and the cause
Wind to some issue other than we meant.
The matters of our sex will hardly bear
Men's judging; since the good and bad of us
Unhappily are joined in one dislike.
Enter XUTHUS, attended by servants and Delphians.
Xtithiis. My happy salutation, and my first.
To Phoebus, and the next, my wife, to thee !
He notices her distress.
What ! Did my stay too long disquiet thee .•*
Cre. Scarcely before thy coming met the thought.
But say, what oracle from Trophonius .-*
Is there a means to make our union blest.!*
are judged quite as harshly by their own sex". B. I prefer however the
other view ; as to the truth of Creusa's plea, it seems either way to have as
much truth, and no more, as serves for an excuse. 401. μ4ν...τ€ differs
slightly from μΙν.,Μ in throwing more emphasis on the second branch, so
that often the nearest EngHsh is not only... but also. 404. // was but
little {a mere nothing) at any rate; you met my anxiety, άφίκου els μί'ριμναν
is modelled on such phrases as eXOeTp els xpeiav or βλθίϊν els καιρόν to come
when one is wanted, at the right moment. Only the context explains the
sense ; the words might and commonly would mean you became anxious. Se
bict is opposed to the negative ouSeV, My anxiety was not serious, but (we
38 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
So. ουκ ηζίωσ€ του Oeov προΧαμβάΐ'βίν
μαντβνμαθ* ' e^» δ* ούν βίπερ, ουκ ατταιδά /χ€
προς οίκον ηζ^ιν ovhe σ έκ χρηστηρίωρ.
ΚΡ. ώ πότνία Φοίβου μητβρ, el γαρ αΙσίως 4^0
€λθοίμ€ν. α τ€ νων συμβόλαια ττροσθεν ην
is τταΓδα τον σον, μεταπέσοι βελτίονα.
SO. εσται τάδ'• άλλα τις προφητεύει θεού',
ΙΩ. ημείς τά y εζω' των εσω δ' άλλοΐ9 μέλει,
οι πλησίον θάσσουσι τρίπο^ος^ ω ζενε, 4^5
Αελφών άριστης ους εκληρωσεν πάλος.
SO. καλώς' έχων 8η πάνθ^ όσων εχρηζομεν
στείχοιμ! αν εΐσω' καΐ γοίρ, ώς εγώ κλύω,
χρηστηριον πεπτωκε τοις επηλυσιν
κοινον προ ναού' βούλομαι δ' εν ήμερα 4^0
τ^δ', αίσια yap, θεού λαβείν μαντεύματα.
συ δ' άμφΐ βωμούς, ώ yuz^at, Βαφνηφόρους .
λαβοΰσα κλώνας, εύτεκνους ευγου θεοΐς
χρησμούς μ ενεγκεΐν εζ ^Κπόλλωνος 8όμων.
Xuthus enters tlie temple.
ΚΡ. eicrrai τάδ', ecrrat. Κοζίας δ' εάν θελη 4^5
νυν αλλά τάς πριν άναλαβείν αμαρτίας,
άπας μεν ου yivoiT αν εις ημάς φίλος,
όσον δε χρήζει^ θεός yap εστί, Χέζομαι.
Exit, to the outer precinct.
lil. τι ποτέ λόγοισιν η ζενη προς τον θεον
κρυπτοΊσιν άεΐ λοι8οροΰσ αΐνίσσεται, 43^
ήτοι φιλούσα γ ης ύπερ jULai^Teuerat,
η και τι σιγώσ ών σιωπάσ^αι χρεών;
άτάρ θυγατρος της ^Ερεχθέως τι μοι
should say /or) you came to prevent it. 411. σ-υμβόλαια relations, a
metaphor originally taken from commerce. 413. ιτροφ. θβοΰ : * Who serves
as intermediary to the god?' 417. 2χων Badham, ίχ<ύ MSS. 419. rots
ίΐΓτ|λυ<Γΐν κοινόν : OH behalf of the visitors in general, to ascertain from the
omens exhibited by the victim, whether the day was favourable (αΙσία) for
consultation. 421. αίσ-ία γάρ : as the omens had declared. As to the
place of the sacrifice and its relation to the play, see Introd., on The
Parodos. 422. άμφΐ βωμ,ούβ €δχου: go praying roumi the altars.
δαφνηφόρουδ κλώνας branches of laurel carried, to lay on the altars in sign of
ΙΩΝ 39
XiUh. His modesty refused to anticipate ^
Apollo's answer ; only this he said,
Neither should I, nor thou, go childless home.
Cre. Oh blessed Lady, Phoebus' Mother, bless
Our pilgrimage, that past displeasure end
Between thy Son and us in happy change !
Xuth. So shall it be ! But which is he who doth
The sacred office? Ion. That is ours, at least
Without the temple; others serve within.
Whose seat is nearer to the tripod, Sir,
Princes of Delphi, chosen by the lot. ^
Xuth. My thanks ! I know enough, and would at once
Enter. I hear, that sacrifice for all,
Offered before the fane, hath marked the day
Proper for foreign comers to consult :
And I would use the occasion. Thou the while
Take laurel-boughs, my wife, and go the round
Of the altars, praying heaven that I may bring
Promise of children from Apollo's house.
Cre. Aye, and Amen !
Xuthus enters the temple.
Cre. This day if Loxias will
Make some amends at least for wrong before ;
Though perfect love he cannot show, whate'er
He grants, as from a god, I will accept!
Exit^ to the outer precinct.
Ion. What means the lady, that in covert speech
Still at the god she points a dark reproach }
Is it pure love for the unknown her, whose quest
She doth attorney t Is it that she hides ^"
Something not wordable t But what care I
For daughter of Erechtheus, nought to me }
supplication : in δαφνηφόρονς the• two parts of the compound Imcrel-carried
apply to κΚωνας separately. 425. ίσ-ται τάδ', ^σ-ται : expressing obedience
to his command and also (see v, 413) confidence in his prayer. 426. άλλα
at least. άναλαβ€ΐν retrieve. 428. o<rov χρήζει: 'so much love as he is
willing to show'. 431. ήτοι...γ€. ' The particles mark this alternative as
the more probable of the two. The καί marks the other suggestion as just
/
40 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
/xeAei; προσήκει δ' ovSev αλλά γ^ρνσίαι^
πρόγρνσιν ίΚθών et9 άπορραντηρια 435
8ρόσον καθησω. νονθετητεος δε /λοι
Φοίβος, TL πά(τγ€ί. παρθένους βία γάμων
7Γ/)οδίδωσι• τταιδας εκτεκνονμενος λάθρα
θντ^σκοντας αμελεί, μη συ γ'• αλλ' επεί κρατείς^
άρετάς 8ίωκε./ καΐ γαρ όσης αν βροτων 44^
κακός πεφύκΎ) ζημιουσιν οΐ θεοί•
πως ουν δίκαιον τους νόμους υμάς βροτοίς
γρωΙίαντας αυτούς άνομίαν 6φλισκάνειν\
εΐ δ', — ου γαρ εσταν, τω λόγω 8ε χρησομαι, —
8ίκας βιαίων 8ώσετ ανθρώπους γάμων, 445
συ καΐ ΙΙοσευ8ων Ζευς θ\ ος ουρανού κρατεΐ,
ναοΐίς τίνοντες άΒίκίας κενώσετε.
τάς η8ονάς γαρ της προμηθίας πάρος
σπεύ8οντες ά8ίκεΐτ' ούκετ ανθρώπους κακώς
λέγειν 8ίκαιον, ει τα των θέων καλά 45^
μιμούμεθ", άλλα τους 8ι8άσκοντας τά8ε.
Exit.
ΧΟ. Se τάν ώ8ίνων λοχιάν άί'ειλβι^υιαζ^ εμάν στρ.
Ά^άι^αι^ ικετεύω,
ΐΐρομηθεΐ Ύιτάνι λογευθεΐσαν κατ άκροτάτας
κορυφάς Διός, ω μάκαιρα Νίκα, 457
^όλ€ Τΐύθιον οίκον,
^Ολύμπου χρυσεων θαλάμων
πταμενα προς αγυιάς, 4^0
Φοιβηϊος ένθα γάς
μεσόμφαλος εστία
παρά -χορευομενω τρίπο8ι
μαντεύματα κ ραίνει*
possible'. Β. 434. ττροσ-ήκ^ δ* ούδ^ν Bayfield, προσπηκον ούδ^ν (accus.
absolute) Wakefield, προσήκα τ ονδας MSS. 435. ^πρόχουσιν is given by
the MSS. both here and in Ar. Nu6. 272 for the more regular 7Γρόχοισιν\
437. τί Ίτάσχίΐ: (τυϋ/ί the question) what has come to him. 448. τήβ
προ(ΐηθ(α$ irapos before prevision, i.e. without staying to consider the
consequences. 450. τά των θίών καλά: what the gods admire. 452.
ώδ£νων λοχιάν άν€ΐλ6£θυιαν : not delivered from the womb with pangs of child-
birth. ΥΧκάβνια : the personification of birth. For the dependence of the
genitive ωΒίρων on the privative dv-, cf. the construction of 3ι^υ. 455.
ΙΩΝ 41
Rather with golden ewer will I go
Put lustral water in each holy vase.
But there is need, methinks, to expostulate
With Phoebus. What is this ? To force a maid
And then abandon ! Leave the helpless fruit
Of stolen joys to perish ! Nay, Ο Lord,
Seek rather to be good as thou art strong.
For wickedness in man the gods chastise :
What justice then that ye, who set the law
To mortal man, should sin against the law .'*
If, if (to feign a thing impossible)
For such-like thefts upon humanity
Thou, or Poseidon, or the King of Heaven,
Should be amerced ; to quit the fines would leave
Your temples empty. Ye, to have your will,
Do thoughtless wrong : then just it is to blame
Not imitative man, but them whose taste
Instructs our admiration what to ape.
Exit.
Chorus.
Goddess Athena, mine own, born not of the travailing womb.
Born by Promethean aid from the crown of the Father and
King,
Hear me and come !
Angel of Victory, come out of heaven.
Forth from the palaces golden, and wing
Thy way to the house of Apollo, the Pythian fane,
Where from the centre of earth, from the tripod of worship
is given
Prophecy never in vain !
Προμ.ηθ€ί;: instrumental. 457. ^Ί<!ίκα...πταμ€να: cp. v. iS^g, Soph. F/iz7.
134 NiKj; τ Άθάνα Πολιάς, ή σωζα μ del• Athene... as a Wingless Victory
(Nik^ Apteros) had a temple on the Acropolis, just at the top of the
Propylaea. This temple was adorned with winged victories'. B. 461.
γαδ μ€σό[ΐ.φαλο5 together. 463. χορ€υομ€νω : round which are performed
religious rites {of dancing and singing), i.e. object of worship. Cf. Soph.
O. T. 896 τί δεί /Α€ χορ^ϋ^ιν ; Why should I worship ? 464. * μ,αντεύματα
Kpaiv€t : a brachylogy for δι'δωσι μαντίύματα a Kpaiverai. See on v. 168'. B.
42 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
σν re και παις ά Αατογει^τ)?, 4^5
δυο θεαΐ, δυο παρθένου
κασίγιτηταυ σεμναΧ Φοίβου.
ίκ€Τ€νσατ€ δ', ω κοραι,
το TraXatol•' ^Ερεχθβως
γένος εντεκνίας γ^ρονιου καθαροΐς 47^
μαντενμασι κνρσαι.
υπερβάλλουσας γαρ έχει θνατοΖς ευδαιμονίας άντ.
ακινητον αφορμαν,
τέκνων οΐς αν καρποτρόφοι λάμπωσιν εν θαλάμους /\.j6
πατρίοισι νεανίδες ^ySat,
ΒυαΒεκτορα πλουτον
ως εζοντες εκ πάτερων
έτερους επυ τέκνοις. 4^θ
άλκά τε γαρ εν κακοίς,
συν τ ευτυ^ίαις φίλον,
8ορί τε γα πατρία φερευ
σωτηρυον άκμάν.
εμοί μεν πλούτου τε πάρος 4^5
βασιλικών τ ειεν θαλάμων
τροφοί κηΒειοι κεΒνών τέκνων.
τον ατταιδα δ' άποστυγω
βίον' ω τε δο/cet, ψεγω*
μετά δε κτεάνων μετρίων βυοτάς 49^
ευπαι^ος εχοίμαν.
465. Artemis, daughter of Lato, is invoked as patron of birth and of all
things young. 468. ώ κόραι: being, as pure maidens, powerful in
supplication. 469 — 471. T/iai by means of a clear response the ancient
race of Erechtheus may obtai7i the long-delayed blessing of a child.
472. ' 6^61 means involves^ carries with it^ and the word should have had
for its subject το λαμπών ηβας, but this is changed by a common idiom into
the personal form ols av Χάμπωσι [quasi όταν αύτοίς λάμπωσι]. Cp. Here.
Fur. 162 dvdpos δ' ΤΚ^γχος ονχι τό^ (ΰψνχίας, αλλ os μ^νων β\€π(ΐ...δορος
αλοκα\ β. 474. Kivelv άφορμήν is to spend a fund or capital : ακίνητος
αφορμή is a capital which, producing infinitely, need never be touched,
inexhaustible. 475. καρττοτρόφοι productive, because they reproduce them-
selves. καρΐΓοτρ6φοΐ9 (Badham) would be preferable, from the position of the
word in the sentence. 476. λάμιτωσιν: throughout this passage the
children are compared and contrasted, as a preferable treasure, with the
ΙΩΝ 43
Come then, Athena, come Artemis, glorious pair.
Sisters of Phoebus alike, both virgin, goddesses both :
Come, and put up your innocent prayer ;
Long hath Erechtheus pined for an heir ;
Pray that the promise of life may come to the barren growth.
Hoard of delight have they, more deep than the utmost
deeps,
Fathomless fund of bliss, whose populous dwelling-place
Covers and keeps
Shining treasure, increasing treasure,
Self-inheriting, seed of the race,
Children, promise of children's children to be,
Children to help their sorrow, to make more sweet their pleasure,
To speak with their enemy !
Rather, I say, than gold, than a palace of pride
Give me children at home, right heritors of my blood.
Let the miser plead for the childless side :
I will none of it ! Wealth denied.
Children given, I bless them, and cleave to the better good.
gold of the childless miser. See the same comparison treated, somewhat
from the other point of view, in frag. 287, 8, where the rich childless man,
whose wealth stands to him for wife and family, is said o\^ov dioiyeiv θάλαμορ
ήδιστον χ€ρί. 478 — 480. ώζ ^|ovt€s : because they will afford, e^ovres follows
in gender the meaning of ήβαι, i.e. naldes. διαδίκτορα ιτλοΰτον Ικ ττατ^ρων a
wealth that can inherit from (or succeed to) the fathers. διαδ6κτορα has its
proper transitive sense, which contains the point; children are a living
wealth which inherits itself Ιτφοις lirl tckvois upon {i.e. by) the production
of other children. 481. Supply «Vrl τα τίκνα. 484. 6.κ^6.ν force (see L.
and Sc. s.v.) here specially appropriate in connexion with hop'i'. αΚκάν MSS.
which following αΚκά can hardly be right : ακ/χάί/, which I suggest, is closely
similar, alykav Herwerden. 487. τροφαΐ τ€κνων = τρεφό/χβνα τίκνα.
κήδ6ΐοι of my bloody born from the /c^Sos {wedlock) : true-begotten is, I think,
near the meaning, but suggests an antithesis to νόβος which the Greek does
not. The epithet merely emphasizes the parental relation. 489. ω δοκ€ί:
him who approves it., preferring to hoard; see the sequel. 490. μ,€τά...
μ.6τρίων though therewith my wealth be small. 491. έχοίμαν: 'let me cleave
to'. 492 — 508. The form of this piece, a bare apostrophe, without sequel,
is in Greek very common. The point of the whole is to contrast the two
pictures beginning similarly with the words Iva χορούς and ΐνα re καν σα. The
translation endeavours to put this in an English shape. 492, For the
44 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
"^ίΐ ΐΐανος θακηματα καΐ incoS.
παραυλίζονσα πέτρα
μυχωΒεσυ Μακραίς,
ϊνα γορον<ζ στείβονσι πο^οίν 495
Άγλανρον κόραί τρίγονοι στάδί,α γλοερα προ Παλ-
λάδος
ναών συριγγών
υπ' αιολας Ιαχας
ύμνων, δταν αύλίοις 500
σνρίζΎ)ς, ω ΤΙαν,
τοίσι σοΐζ iv αντρους'
ίνα τ€κονσά ης
παρθένος, ω μεΧεα, βρέφος
Φοίβω πτανοίς εζώρισε θοίναν
θηρσί τε φοινίαν δαΓτα, πίκρων γάμων 5^5
υβριν. οντ επΙ κερκίσιν ούτε λόγους
φάτίν αϊον, ευτυχίας μετεχειν
θεόθεν τέκνα θνατοίς, y/^ 508
Enter ΙΟΝ, from the precinct.
\ΐί. Προσ-πολοι γνναχκες, at των^ άμφΐ κρηπΐΒας 86μων
θυο8όκων φρονρημ εχονσαι Βεσπότην φυλάσσετε,
εκλέλοίπ' ηοη τον ίερον τρίποΒα καΐ γ^ρηστηριον
αουθος, η μίμνει κατ οίκον Ιστορων άπαιδιαΐ' ;
ΧΟ. εν Βόμους έστ , ώ ξεν ' ουπω 8ώμ υπερβαίνει τ68ε.
ως δ' επ' εξόΒοισιν οντος, tcovS" άκούομεν πυλών
^ουπον' εζίοντα τ τδη 8εσπ6την οραν πάρα. 5^^
Enter XUTHUS, from the temple. Seeing lON he rushes to
him and tries to embrace him.
topography and mythology see the prologue and notes there. 495. 'χορούς
is cognate ace, and στάδια direct object of χορούς στ^ίβονσι taken together '.
B. 496: haunting the place of their death. — -499. wo: to the
accompaniment of . 500. αύλίοιε: on the pipes^ from avkiov, diminutive of
αυλό?. This synonym of σνριγγβρ should, I think, be included in the
Lexicon on the evidence of this passage. The frequency of av\iov (from
avkr\) is no objection, where the sense is clear. Thus beside the common
•n^hiov (from neSov), there was also nediov (from πίδη), of which also one only
example remains. The epithet ανλιος gives no sense, nor should any
epithet of avrpois be so placed in the sentence. or' avdkiots Herwerden.
ΙΩΝ 45
Ο Athens^ what thy cliff hath seen !
The northward scar, Pan's cavern-seat,
With rocks before and grassy floor,
Where dancing tread the Aglaurids' feet
Their triple measure on the green
Neath Pallas' fane.
Whene'er the god in his retreat
Times on the reed a quavering strain :
Ο Athens, what thy cliff hath seen !
It saw the ravished maiden's pang,
The babe she bare to Phoebus there
Cast to the talon and the fang,
There, on the same insulting scene !
Of any born
'Twixt god and man none ever sang.
None ever told but tales forlorn.
Ο Athens, what thy cliff hath seen !
Enter lON, from the precinct.
Ion. Tell me, ye maids, who, posted at the stair
Before this house of sacrifice, await
Your lord with faithful watch, say, hath he passed
Forth from the tripod yet, or is he still
Within, consulting of his childless state ?
Cho. Sir, he is yet within ; he hath not passed.
But even now a footfall near the door
Announces some approach ; and see, he comes.
Enter Xuthus, from the temple. Seeing lON he rushes to
him and tries to embrace him.
505. ΊΓίκρών γάμων υβριν : in mockery of her cruel ravish7nent, this stands in
apposition to the whole preceding description of the exposure of the child,
which had in it the special cruelty, that she was brought to do it in the very
place of the first outrage. γάμων is gen. of that to which the νβρις
related. 506. at the shuttles^ i.e. where tales were told to beguile the
loom-work. See v. 196. λόγοΐ5: 'in literature', recitations, plays etc.
508. Both θ€0θ6ν and θνατοί? depend upon τίκνα (γιγνόμ^να). See v. 143.
510. I have continued here the ordinary metre, though the Greek has the
trochaic rhythm sometimes used for exciting scenes. The corresponding
English metre has a different effect, and is not tolerable for any length with-
46 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
Ho. ^Ω Τ€κνον, χαΓρ'• η yap οίρ-χη τον λόγου πρέπουσα
μοι.
. γαιρομεν συ ο ευ φρονεί ye, και ου opt ευ πρα-
ζομεν.
ΒΟ. δος χ^ρο? φίλημα μοι σης σώματος τ άμφυπτυχάς.
ΙΩ. ευ φρονείς μεν, η σ εμηνε θεού τις, ω ζενε, βλάβη ;
ΗΟ. σωφρονω, τα φίλταθ^ εύρων εΐ φιλείν εφίεμαι. ^21
ΙΩ. τταυε* μη ψαυσας τά του θεού στέμματα ρηζης χφΐ.
ΒΟ. α\\ίομαΐ' κού ρυσυάζω, τάμα δ' ευρίσκω φίλα.
ΙΩ. ουκ απαλλάζευ πρΙν εϊσω τόζα πνευμόνων λαβείν;
ΒΟ. ως τί Srj φεύγεις με, σαυτού γνωρίσας τα φίλτατα; 525
ΙΩ. ου φιλώ φρενοΰν άμούσους κα\ μεμηνότας ξένους.
ΒΟ. κτεΐνε, καΐ πίμπρη. πατρός yap, ην κτάνης, εσει φονεύς.
ΙΩ. πού δε μοι πατήρ συ; ταύτ ούν ού γελως κλύειν εμοί;
ΒΟ. ού' τρέχων ο μύθος αν σοι τάμα σημηνειεν αν.
ΙΩ. καΐ τί μοι λέξεις ;
ΒΟ. πατήρ σός εΙμι, και συ παΙς εμός. 53^
ΙΩ. τις λέγει τάδ' ;
ΒΟ. ός σ εθρε\\}εν όντα Αοξίας εμόν.
Ι Ω. μαρτυρείς σαυτω.
Β Ο. τά του θεού γ εκ μαθών γρηστηρια.
Ι Ω. εσφάλης αιζ^ιγ/^ι' άκουσας.
αΟ. ουκ αρ ορσ ακουομεν.
ΙΩ. ό δε λόγος τις εστί Φοίβου;
Β Ο. τον συναντησαντά μοι —
ΙΩ. τίνα συνάντησιν;
ΒΟ. Βόμων τώζ/δ' εξιόντι του θεού — 535
ΙΩ. συμφοράς τίνος κυρησαι;
Βθ. παιδ' εμόν πεφυκεναι.
ΙΩ. σον γεγώτ', 17 δωροζ^ άλλως;
ΒΟ. ScopoVy οντά δ' ε^ εμού.
ΙΩ. πρώτα ^ητ εμοι ξυνάπτεις πόδα σον;
out rhyme, which would not be suitable at all. 517. for the beginjiing of
7Jiy speaking is suitable {for saying so), i.e. ' my impatience to bless my child
will not wait for explanations '. The Greeks used the appellation τ€κνον^
from elder to younger, much more freely than we that of son or child, so that
Xuthus' full meaning is not yet apparent. 518. He accepts the blessing
(χαίρομ€ν), but replies to it with €v φρόνα instead of xaipe. 520. μίν with
a question makes a doubtful assumption, preliminary to further question.
Stt on Med. 11 29. 525. τί stands for a future participle to be supplied
ΙΩΝ 47
XuthtLS. My child!... Oh take at once (what hour so fit.?)
My blessing ! Ion. Sir, I wish you in return,
For both our sakes, recovery of your wits !
Xuth, Let me embrace thee, let me kiss thy hand.
Ion. Must I suppose you sane, or reft of sense
By supernatural stroke ! Xuth. Nay, sane enough,
Finding my heart's desire, to crave a kiss!
Ion. Off, off! Your violent arms are like to rend
These holy bands, Xtith. Nay, I will cleave to thee I
It is no robbery to find mine own.
Ion. Away, before an arrow find your heart !
Xuth. Oh fly me not ! Thou see'st revealed in me
The nearest to thy love. Ion. I do not love
To teach his duty to a senseless boor.
Xuth. Slay then, and bury too ; for thou wilt slay
Thy father ! Ion. Father ! Thou ? 'Tis mockery !
Xuth. 'Tis none ! The simple current of my tale
Is one plain word. Ion. The word ? Xuth. I am thy sire ;
Thou art my son. Io7t. Who saith it? Xuth. Loxias,
Who reared thee, being mine. Ion. Thine own report
Attests it ! Xuth. And I vouch the inspiring god !
Ion. His rede was dark, and thou hast missed the sense.
Xuth. Not if mine ears hear truly. Ion. Give me then
The wording. Xuth. 'He that should encounter me'.
Io7i. Encounter ! How encounter } Xuth. ' As I came
Forth from the temple'. Ion. What should come to him
Of this encounter? Xuth. 'He should be my son'.
Ion. Son of thy loins, or given thee ? Xuth. ' Given indeed,
Yet of my flesh'. Ion. And I was then the first
by the answer, ώ? with such a participle expressing purpose : with what
purpose? 527. ktcivc καΐ ττίμιτρη : i.e. slay me if thou wilt, and then {since
thai will be then thy duty) light my funeral pyre. To perform the funeral
rites of the parent was the special duty of the child, and this was held a
chief reason for having children (see Ale. 662). In the Philoctetes (1199)
Heracles compels his son Hyllus to perform this duty (πρησαι) to his yet
living body. The expression here, or something like it, was probably pro-
verbial. 528. ουν: is it then really ?neantf 529. τρέχων 6 μ,ΰθο? : The
speech, which will convey my meaning, is a ' running speech ', probably a
colloquial phrase for words which go directly and plainly to their point.
48 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
BO. ουκ αλλω, τέκνον,
Ιίΐ. Yj τύγΎ] πόθεν ττοθ" η κει ;
SO. δυο μίαν θανμάζομεν.
Ιίΐ. e/c τίνος δε σου πβφνκα μητρός ;
So. ουκ εχω φράσαι. 54^
ΙΩ. οτ?δ€ Φοίβος είπε;
So. τερφθείς τοντο κείν ονκ ηρόμην,
Ιίΐ. y:^^ ^ρ' εκπεφνκα μητρός.
SO. ου Trehov τίκτει τβκνα.
Ιίΐ. 7Γω9 αι^ οΰΐ' ειτ^ζ^ σ"09;
SO. ονκ οΓδ', άναφζρω δ' et? roi/ ^εόϊ'.
Ιίΐ. φέρε, \όγων άφωμεθ^ οίλΧων.
SO. ταντ άμεινον, ώ τεκνον.
ΙΩ. ήλθες εΙς νόθον τι λεκτρον;
SO. μωρία γε τον νέον, 545
ΙΩ. π/οιι^ κόρην λαβεΐν ^Ερεχ^θεως;
So. ου γα/) νστερόν yi πω.
ΙΩ. α/)α δ-ϊ^τ' εκεΐ μ' εφνσας;
SO. τω χρόνω γε σνντρέχει.
ΙΩ. /cara πώς άφικόμεσθα Βενρο —
SO. τοντ άμη-χανω,
ΙΩ. δί,ά μακράς ελθων κελενθον ;
SO. τοντο καμ άπαιο\α.
ΙΩ. ΤΙνθίαν δ' ήλθες πετραν πρίν ;
So. €19 φανάς γε Βακ^ίον. 55^
ΙΩ. προζενων δ' ei^ του κατεσ^ες;
SO. 09 /xe Αελφίσυν κόραις —
ΙΩ. εθίάσενσ\ η πως τάδ' αυδα9;
SO. MaLvdauv γε Βακχίον,
ΙΩ. εμφρον, η κάτοινον οντά;
SO. Βακχ^ίον προς η8οναΐς,
ΙΩ. τοντ εκεΐν, ϊν εσπάρημεν.
So. 6 πότμος εζηνρεν^ τεκνον.
536. ^must meet with what inishap? Ion is still incredulous and speaks
sarcastically'. D. Note also that the meeting could itself be called, as
such, a συμφορά, from σνμφ€ρ(ΐν to meet. 537. &λλω$ 7nerely. 540.
Ik τίνος Hermann, ta' τίρος MSS. 544. Ion, seeing that the god must
be right, changes his tone, and proposes to enquire seriously. 545.
TO v€ov youth. 550. φανάς : /ofch-mysierieSy celebrated by bacchanal
ΙΩΝ 49
To cross the path ! Xuth. Thou , and none else, my son.
Ion. But how explain the chance? Xuth. The strange-
ness of it
Perplexes me no less. Ion. Of whom was I,
Thy son, begot ? Xnth. I know not. Ion. Nor the god
Declared? Xtith. I failed to ask it for delight
In what was told. Ion. Then we must think the earth
My mother ! Xnth. Children grow not on the ground !
Ion. How can I then be thine? Xnth. My ignorance
Can but appeal the god. {A pause.) Ion. Come, let us try
Rather to reason. Xuth. Better said, my son.
Io7i. Hadst thou to do with woman otherwise
Than in the way of marriage ? Xuth. Yes, in youth
And wildness. Ion. Ere thou tookest to thy wife
Thy princely dame. Xuth. Not since I wedded ever.
Io7i. Might I be offspring of that careless love ?
Xiith. The time agrees. Ion. But how brought hither?
Xuth. How?
I cannot see. Ion. So long a way ! Xuth. The doubt
Confounds me also. Ion. Wast thou e'er before
In Delphi? Xuth. Once, to be initiate
On Bacchus' night. Ion. Thine entertainer then
Was of the Hostel Office? Xuth. By his aid
Some women of the city made me free —
Io7t. Of the ritual, say'st thou ? Xtith. And their company,
The god possessing them. Ion. And thee? Xuth. My heart
Was full of wine and ready to be won.
Ion. And I was got ! Xuth. Fate found the hour, my son.
women and others in honour of Bacchus upon Parnassus, which he was
supposed to haunt; one of the performers represented the god; see v. 714.
551, Ίτροξίνων : persons appointed to receive and direct the visitors.
hf του in the house of. Δ€λφί<Γΐν, and therefore entitled to perform the
ceremonies ; of course of free birth. 552. Ιθιάσ-ίυσ-6. Xuthus pauses at
the crisis of the scandalous story. Ion, forced to understand, supplies the
ritual term for introduction to a θίασος or company of Bacchanal worship-
pers. It is not perhaps needless to observe that the disorders of the worship
were no part of the professed religious intention {Bacch. 686). 554. Here
is the matter in question., the occasion of viy begetting (the when I was begot).
ίκίίν* ϊν Elmsley, Uu vvv mss. ό ττότμο? €ξηυρ€ν {αντο) '. fate itivented it
V. I. 4
50 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
Ιίΐ. ττώς δ* άφικ6μ€σθα ναούς ;
Ηθ. €κβολον κόρης ίσως. 555
ΙΩ. ζκπζφεύγαμεν το SovXov.
So. ττατφα iwu Se^ov, τ4κνον.
I Ω. τω θ^ω yovv ουκ άπιστείν et/cos.
HO. ev φρονείς αρα.
ΙΩ. καΙ τί βονλόμεσθά γ* άλλο —
Ηθ. νυν οράς, α γ^ρη σ οραν,
ΙΩ. 1^ Διός τταιδός γενέσθαι παΙς;
Ηθ. όπερ σοΙ γίγνεται.
Ι Ω. η θίγω Βηθ* οΐ μ εφνσαν ;
ΞΟ. ττίθομενος ye τω ^€ω. 5^0
ΙΩ. χοίρε μοι, πάτερ,
Ηθ. φίλον το φθεγμ εΒεζάμην τ68ε.
ΙΩ. ήμερα θ* η νυν παρούσα.
Ηθ. μακάρυόν y εθηκε με.
ΙΩ. ώ φίλτ; μητερ, ποτ άρα καΐ σον όψο/χαι 8εμας;
νυν ποθώ σε μάλλον η πρΙν, ήτις εΐ ποτ\ είσυ^εΐν.
αλλ' ϊσως τεθνηκας, ημείς δ' ovSkv αν 8νναίμεθα.
ΧΟ. KOLval μεν ημίν δωμάτων ενπραζίαι' ^66
όμως 8ε καΐ 8εσπουναν εΙς τεκν εΰτνχείν
εβονλόμην αν, τονς τ ^Έιρετχθεως Βόμονς.
Ξ Ο. ώ τεκνον, εΙς μεν σην άνενρεσιν θεός
ορθώς εκρανε, καΐ σννηχΙ/ εμοί τε σε, 57^
συ τ αν τα ψιΚταυ ηύρες ουκ ευοως παρος.
Ο Ο ηςας ορυως τούτο καμ έχει πόσος,
όπως συ τ, ώ παΐ, μητερ* ευρησεις σεθεν,
εγω θ* όποιας μου γυναικός εζεφυς '
γβόνω hk Κόντες ταυτ Ισως ευροιμεν αν. 575
αλλ' εκλιπών θεού δάπ€δ' άλητείαν τε σην
(the occasion, τό Χν €σπάρης). Xuthus is too joyous to acknowledge any
drawback ; but Ion, whose delicate and religious mind naturally finds such
a certainty but doubtfully preferable to his former state of happy ignorance
and fond imaginations, simply goes on to raise a last remaining doubt. 6
πότμος σ MSS., due to mistake of the sense, corr. by Heath. 556 — 561.
Ion stifles his disappointment and reasons himself into a more cheerful view.
556. I α?η now clear of slave-qtiality ! Both his parents seem to have
been free. This is the best point in the discovery. Note that he does not
refer to his office as a servant of the temple, which he never regards other-
wise than with affection and reverence. 558. γ€ after• all. Note this as
ΙΩΝ 51
Ion. How came I to the fane? XutJi. Belike the girl
Exposed her child. {A pause?) Ion {to himself). There is no
slave in me !
Xnth. Take now thy father to thee, Ο my son.
Ion (as before). I may not doubt the god. Xuth. In
reason, no !
Ion {as before). And then what would I better? Xuth. Ah,
thine eyes
Begin to open ! Ion {as before). Than be proved the son
To a son of Zeus ? Xttth. And thou art proved no less !
Ion. And may I touch indeed the flesh whereof
My own was made? Xtith. If thou believe the god!
Ion. My father ! Xuth. Sweet and welcome name ! . Ion.
Ο let
This day be blest ! Xuth. As it hath blessed me !
{They embrace.)
Ion. Ah, mother dear, and shall I ever see
Thee also? More than ever now mine eyes
Desire thee, whosoe'er thou be. But oh,
Thou art dead perchance, and we might seek in vain !
Cho. {aside). We are of the house, and partners of its weal :
Yet if the child had been our lady's too,
Erechtheus' heir, the boon had pleased me more.
Xuth. My son, so far the god hath proved his word,
By this discovery giving thee to me,
And showing thee thy sire, unknown before.
And though, as by a natural impulse thou,
So also I desire that thou may'st find
Thy mother, I the mother of my boy ;
Trust but to time, and that perchance may be.
Now, quit thy cloistered refuge for a home,
marking the tone. 560. θίγω deliberative, am I to take hold of? 562.
ή[ΐ4ρα : supply χαφ^τω. 564. νυν μάλλον, because only through her could
anything be discovered which might better the present aspect of his parent-
age. 572. -nlas : intransitive : both ο and rovro are accusatives marking
the matter and extent of the verbal action. 575. χρόνω 8ovt£s zf we yield
(prose eVSoires) to time^ i.e. 'are not impatient'. Cf. Phoen. 2i ό δ' τ^δον^ δοιίί.
576. άλητίίαν: condition of homelessness, of a 'waif and stray'. See τ/.
1089. SaireSa λητίίαν Reiske and Prof. Ridgeway; λτ^τβι'α (cf. X^reipa), the
4—2
52 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
€ΐς τας ^ Κθηνα^ζ στείχβ κουνόφρων πατρί,
ου σ ολβίον μίν σκηπτρον άναμενβυ πατρός
πολνς δε πλούτος' ovBe, θάτερον νόσων
hvolv, Κ€κ\ησ€ί Βνσγενης πένης θ" α/χα, 5^0
αλλ' ευγενής τε καΙ πολυκτήμων βίου.
συγας ; τι προς γην όμμα σον βαΧων έχεις
εΙς φροντίδας τ απήλθες, εκ δε χαρμονης /
πάλιν μεταστάς δεΓ/ια προσβάλλεις πατρί;/
ΙΩ. ου ταυτον εΐδος φαίνεται των πραγμάτων 5^5
προσωθεν όντων εγγυθεν θ* ορωμενων.
εγώ Βε την μεν συμφοράν ασπάζομαι
πάτερα σ άνευρων' ων δε γιγνώσκω περί
άκουσον, εΐναί φασι τάς αύτόχθονας
κλεινάς ^ΚΘηνας ουκ επείσακτον γένος ^ 59^
Ιν εισπεσουμαι δυο νοσώ κεκτημένος,
πατρός τ επακτου καυτός ων νοθ αγενής.
κα\ τουτ έχων τουνει8ος, ασθενής μεν ων
f μηΒεν καΐ ού8εν ων f κεκλτησομαι.
ην δ' εις το πρώτον πόλεος ορμηθείς ζυγον 595
ζητώ τις εΤι^αι, τών μεν άΒυνάτων υπο
μισησόμεσθα' λυπρά γαρ τα κρείσσονα'
όσοι δε, χρηστοί Βυνάμενοί τ εΤ^αι, σοφοί
σιγώσι κοΰ σπεύΒουσιν εις τα πράγματα,
γελωτ εν αυτοίς μωρίαν τε ληχ^ομαι, 6θΟ
ονχ ησυχάζων εν πόλει ψόγου πλεα.
position of a temple-officer or religious minister. The MSS. tradition is
equally good for both readings, but the depreciatory better suits the speaker's
purpose. 579. θάτ€ρον νοσ-ών δυοιν, namely dvayeveiav, his bastardy and
disreputable origin. Xuthus, seeing what is in Ion's mind, makes a kindly
meant but blundering attempt to console him, by saying that his wealth will
protect him from insult and secure him respect. If he had been poor, as
well as a bastard, it would have been another thing ; as it is, he will be
allowed to pass not only for rich, which he is, but also (r< και) for well-
bom. Ion, who sees only that even his father cannot forget his reproach
or deny that it exists, relapses instantly into gloom. — The meaning here
seems to have been missed, through the error of taking βάτ^ρον νόσων hvoiv
as falling under the negative ου. 581. ιτολυκτιΐμ,ων βίου: 'The gen. de-
pends on the sense of fullness contained in -ηοΧνκτημων \ cp. Soph. O. T. 83,
ηολνστίφηί 8άφνης\ Β. 587. σ-υμφοράν: here neutral; he withdraws by
ΙΩΝ S3
Adopt thy father's purposes, and come
To Athens. There a father's royalty,
A father's wealth awaits thee. If thou hast
The one defect, they shall not call thee poor,
And base withal, but rich, and noble too.
What, dumb ? Why downcast ? Why so lost in thought,
Dashing with sad relapse thy father's joy ?
Ion. Things wear a different aspect in the view
As they are far away or near to sight.
And though I greet the happy chance that finds
My father, yet I ponder certain doubts.
Which I would let thee know. Athens, they boast.
Grew ever where it grows, a nation proud.
On native soil. And I must carry there
My tivo defects, my sire an alien,
Myself a bastard ! This my shame, so long
As I lack power, leaves me the name of nought.
And should I enter in the ambitious race,
So to be some one ; then unable men
Will hate me for superiority;
Men capable enough, who, wisely mute,
Avoid to rush upon the public stage.
Will scorn the restless fool, that in a place
So full of censure could not keep his seat ;
change of tone the injurious expression of v. 536. 588. ών. ..-n-epi : i.e. άκουσον
Trept €Κ€ίρων a -γιγνωσκω [am judging). — Trarep for Tre'pt, Dobree. 589. €lvai
...γ€νο5 exists (note the emphasis) as a race\ it was not brought there, but
simply has existed there (see v. 49). 591. δύο νόσω : see v. 579. Ion's
controlled vexation finds vent in this touch of repartee. He reminds
Xuthus that his own birth would not everywhere be thought unexcep-
tionable. 594. The exact reading uncertain. 595. ΐΓρώτον...ζυγόν : 'the
high-raised thwart, on which the κίΚ^νστη^ sat at the stern of the ship,
steering and giving time to the rowers'. B. 596. αδυνάτων {τινα^ elvat).
598. χρησ-τοί sei'viceable^ capable. δυνάμίνοί τ* «ϊναί (rii'es, supplied by anti-
thesis to Ti% ehai and ά8ννάτων preceding), those who could attain public
position, if they would. σ-οφοί σ-ιγώσ-ι: are in their ''wisdom'' silent ., σοφία
(culture) being the watch-word and mark of that educated class, averse from
politics and devoted to self-improvement, which was just beginning to be
important. — The connexion of the passage demands, I think, this construe-
54 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
των δ' αν λόγω τ€ γ^ρωμενων τ€ rrj πολει
€19 ολ^ιω/χα ^άς ττ\έον φρονρησομαυ
φηφουσίν οντω γαρ ταδ', ώ πάτβρ, φίλεΐ'
ot τάς πολβίς βχονσί κάξυωματα, 605
rois άνθαμίλλοί^ elal πολβμιωτατοί.
ίΚθων δ* €9 oT/coz/ άλλότρων, βττηλυς ων,
γυναίκα θ* ως άτβκνον, η κυινονμενη
τάς συμφοράς σοι πρόσθεν, άπο\αγουσα νυν
αύτη καθ" αύτην την τύχην otcret πυκρως, 6 ΙΟ
πώς δ' ούχ υπ αύτης εΐκότως μισησομαι,
όταν παραστώ σοΙ μεν εγγύθεν ποδός,
η δ' ουσ ατεκνος τά σα φιλ^ είσορα πικρως,
κατ η προΒούς συ μ ες ^αμαρτα σήν βλεπΎ)ς,
η τάμα τιμών δώ/χα συγχεας εχτις ; 615
όσας σφαγάς δτ) φαρμάκων τε θανάσιμων
γυναίκες ηϋρον άν8ράσιν διαφθοράς.
άλλως τε την σήν αλο^ον οίκτείρω, πάτερ,
απαιδα γηράσκουσαν ου γαρ ά^ια,
πάτερων άπ εσθλων ούσ , άπαιδια νοσεΐν. 620
τυραννικός 8ε της μάτην αΐνουμενης
το μεν πρόσωπον ήΒύ, τάν Βόμοισι δέ
λυπηρά' τις γαρ μακάριος, τις ευτυχής,
όστις 8ε8οικώς και παραβλεπων βίαν
tion, and not 8υνάμ€νοί τ tlvai σοφοί together. 602. λ6γω...ττ6λ€ΐ i.e. χρω-
μίνωρ λόγω re ττόλει re. λόγος, thought, learning in the widest sense, in-
cluding literature, science, philosophy etc., in fact, another word for σοφία.
This third class, men of trained intellect who do enter politics, will naturally
be the actual holders of office. λόγω : λογίων, MSS. Badham's σοφών gives
the required sense, but I offer λόγω as nearer, λογίων learned, a word later
than Euripides, derived from the above sense of λόγος, was originally written
as a correct explanation of λόγω {χρωμίνων). τών δ* iy λόγω (Matthiae) gives
the same sense, but with more change. 603. €ΐ5...'π•λ^ον : if I invade their
occupied privilege, i.e. official administration, which is already full or filled
up. ττλ^ον: the common 'Attic' form is τνλίων (from ιτλίως), which, if it
were necessary, we might replace, as our MSS. scarcely enable us to distin-
guish between the two. But in Euripides' time and in poetry the older
(so-called 'Ionic') forms πλίος and tiKiov may well have been still ad-
missible : cf πόλίοί in v. 595. τίλίον more, however construed, gives no
good sense. ψρουρήσομαι ψηφοισιν : / shall be guarded off by their (com-
bined) votes (or pieces). The point of this passage, which has not been
explained, turns on a comparison between politics, as a game between the
ΙΩΝ 55
And men of mind, who yet are public men,
Will play against the invader of the board
The placeman's game of check. 'Tis ever so !
They most, who hold the place of privilege,
Wage ever war with those who covet it.
Then, I must enter on a house not mine,
A stranger, where the childless wife, who shared
Her grief before with thee, will now rebel
Against the load assigned to her alone,
And hate me (ah, with cause enough to hate !)
The childless queen, seeing with bitter eye
Thy throne attended by thy proper son;
While I am slighted if thou look on her.
Or I preferred and household peace destroyed.
How many a wife with poison or with steel
Hath sought her husband's life ! Nay, that apart.
She hath my pity, father, for herself.
Aging, and heirless still, though shame it is
Her glorious blood should lack a heritor.
As for the idle praise of royalty,
The outward face is fair, the life within
Torment. What bliss, what happiness hath he.
Who watching for a dagger must prolong
*ins' and the 'outs', and the game of draughts. The comparison, which is
very apt, was suggested by the accident that the same word {ψήφοι calculi)
meant both pieces (in the game) and suffrages. The particular form of the
game here referred to is that in which the player's object is to get his
enemy's pieces out of the square or part of the board where they are first
placed, and to replace them by his own. " It may be said to represent a
party of soldiers engaged in the attack and defence of a fortified position "
(Rich; Diet, of A?tt. s. v. latro)\ hence the Latin name oi latrones {soldiers),
and hence the miHtary terms of this passage, φρονρησομαι, ras nokeis {the
places or forts), and πολίμιωτατοι. There is a play, not only on the senses
of ψήφος, but also on πάλας €χ€ΐν, hold the forts and fill administrations (in
prose πολιτ€ΐα$•). I have made use in the translation of check, an old name
for chess. 606. άνθαμίλλοΐδ in the full sense, those who strive to become
their substitutes. 608. «is : παρά. 609. άττολαχοΰσα : χωρ\ς \αχονσα.
611. hi : resumptive after the parenthesis. 612. €γγύθ€ν iroSos : i.e. at thy
footstool. 616. T6 added by Heath. Perhaps vv. 6i6 — 617 are spurious
56 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
αΙωνα τείι/βυ; Βημότης δ' αν €ντνχτις 625
ζην αν θίΚοιμι μάλλον η τύραννος ων,
ω τους πονηρούς njSovrj φίλους ^χβίν,
έσθλούς δβ μισεί, κατθανείν φοβούμενος,
είποις αν ως ό -χρυσός εκνικα τάδε,
πλουτείν τε τερπνόν, ου φυλώ φόγους κλύειν 630
εν γερσι σώζων ολβον, ουδ* εχευν πόνους'
είη ο εμοιγε μέτρια μη λυπουμενω.
α ο ενσαο ειγον ayau άκουσον μου, πάτερ '
την φιλτατην μεν πρώτον άνθρώποις σχολην,
οχλον τε μέτρων, ού8ε μ* εξέπληξα ο^ού 635
πονηρός ούόείς* — κείνο δ' ουκ άνασγετόν,
είκειν ohox) χαλωντα τοίς κακίοσιν —
θέων δ* εν εύγαίς η λόγοισιν ην βροτων
υπηρετών γαίρουσιν, ου γοωμενοις.
καΐ τους μεν εζέπεμπον, οΐ δ' ηκον ξένοι' 640
ωσθ* η^ύς άεΐ καινός ων καινοίσιν ην.
ο δ' εύκτόν άνθρώποισι, καν ακουσιν η,
Βίκαιον είναί μ" ό νόμος η φύσις θ^ α/χα
παρείχε τω θεω. ταύτα συννοού μένος
κρείσσω νομίζω τάνθάΒ^ ή τάκεί, πάτερ. 645
εα δ' εμαυτω ζην μ'' ίση γαρ τη χάρις,
μεγαλοισι χαίρειν σμικρά θ* τβεως έγειν.^
ΧΟ. καλώ? έλεζας, εΐπερ ους εγώ φιλώ f
εν τοίσι σοίσιν εύτυχησουσιν φίλοις.
Εθ. τταίίσαι λόγων τώι^δ'* εύτυχείν δ' επίστασο' 650
θέλω γαρ ούπέρ σ ηύρον άρζασθαι, τεκνον,
κοινής τραπέζης δαΓτα προς κοινην πεσών,
θύσαί ff α σου πριν γενέθλι ούκ εθύσαμεν.
καϊ νυν μεν ως 8η ζενον άγων σ εφεστιον
(W. Dindorf). 632. Λη y c'/xot MSS. corr. Lenting. 634. (τχολην : the
* day-long blessed idleness' (Browning) of the cloister. 635. ohovfro?n the
way. 639. ΰττηρίτών : this is, according to English expression, the principal
clause. 646. μ* : added by Dindorf and, I think, requisite. 648. καλώς
2Xc|as 6l'ir€p. The ex parte plea for unambitious indolence, which Ion has pro-
nounced, receives from the Athenians a strictly qualified approval. Indeed
it is, in Ion's mouth, only half sincere. His primary motives are such as, in
addressing his father, he must put in the background. oOs indefinite;
Creusa. 649. kv toIs σ-οΓς φίλοιβ : l>y means of thy liking or of what thou
ΙΩΝ 57
His fearful hours ? Give me, I say, for life
The plain man's happiness and not the king's,
Who loves to have base creatures for his friends
But shuns the noble sort for dread of death !
Say'st thou, the gold outweighs it all, the wealth ?
Methinks the pleasure of a hoard to gripe
Would ill repay the scandal and the pains.
Nay, modest means for me, and ease withal !
And I have had, my father, blessings here.
As I would show; sweet idlesse (is there aught
Men love more dearly ?), troubles little, none
To jostle me (oh shame, to give the wall
To baser folk !) from his discourteous path.
Whether I prayed to god or talked with man,
I saw not grief but always joy, and still
So changed the parting for the coming guest
That I was ever pleasing, ever new.
And innocent, as man must pray to be,
Though 'twere without his will, my nature was
And custom made me for Apollo's sake.
All this together weighed, I put this life
Above that other. Oh father, let my life
Be still, be only mine ! The joys of pride
Are worth no more than lowness, if it please.
Cho. {aside). Well hast thou pleaded, if the happiness
Of her I love may profit by thy tastes !
Xiith. Reason the case no more, but learn thy part
Of greatness, which shall here begin, my son.
E'en where I found thee, with a public feast
And sacrifice, neglected at thy birth.
Here I will banquet thee as one I wish
likesty dative of τα σα φίλα. Cf. τα των θ^ων καλά the admiration of the gods,
or what the gods admii'e {v. 450). The Athenian women do not approve
'his taste', but in the circumstances gladly wish that he may have it.-^
The correction \oyots for φίλοις, suggested in one of the MSB., spoils the
play between ovs eyt» φιλώ and τά σά φίλα. 651. θέλω αρξασ-θαι : ' Ι mean
to make a (religious) beginning of the new life'. See 7'. 653. 654. ώζ...
«φ^στιον : on the ground that I have made friends with you and am taking
you home ; the feast at Delphi was to be represented as the beginning of a
58 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
SeinpoLaL τερχρω- της δ' ^ΚΘηναίων γθονος 655
αζω θεατην Βηθβν, ώς ουκ οντ Ιμόν.
καΐ yap γυναίκα την έμην ου βούλομαι
Χυπβίν ατ€κνον ούσαν αυτός €υτυγων.
^ρόνω δε καιρόν λαμβάνων ττροσάζομαι
Βάμαρτ idv σε σκήπτρα ταμ ^χειν γθονος. 66θ
Ιωζ^α δ' ονομάζω σ€ τη τύχτ) πρέπον,
οθούνεκ άδυτων Ιξιοντι μοί θεοΰ
ίχνος συνη\\ίας πρώτος' ^ άλλα των φίλων
πληρωμή άθροίσας βουθύτω συν ήδονη
πρόσβίπβ, μέλλων Δελφιδ' έκλιπεΐν πόλυν. 665
ύμΐν Se συγάν, δ/χωίδες, λέγω τάδε, .
η θάνατον είπούσαισι προς Βάμαρτ Ιμην. J
ΙΩ. στείχοιμ αν' %.ν δε της τύχης άπεστί μοι'
ει μη γαρ ήτις μ* ετεκβν εύρησω, πάτερ,
άβίωτον ημΖν' ει δ' επεύξασθαι χρεών y 670
εκ των * Αθηνών μ* η τεκουσ εΐη γυνή,
ώς μοι γενηται μητροθεν παρρησία.
καθαράν γαρ ην τις εις πόλί,ι/ ττεση ζενος,
καν τοις λόγοισιν άστος η, το γε στόμα
8ουλον πεπαται κούκ έχει παρρησίαν. Exettnt.
ΧΟ. *Ορώ 8άκρυα καΐ πενθίμους στρ. 6y6
άλαΧαγάς στεναγμών τ εισβολάς,
όταν εμά τύραννος εΰτταιδιαζ/
πόσιν εχοντ ΐ8η,
αύτη δ' άπαις η καΐ λελειμμενη τέκνων. 68θ
τίν, ω παΐ πρόμαντι Αατούς, εχρησας ύμνωΒίαν ;
πόθεν 6 παις οδ* άμφΐ ναούς σεθεν
τρόφιμος εζεβα, γυναικών τίνος',
proposed acquaintance. 655. rfjs δ*...χθον08: 'and the alleged reason
for taking you there shall be that you may see the town '. 665. irpoo-ei-ire
say farewell to. 666. λέγω νμίν aiyav τάδζ η (λβγω) θάνατον : / fit'd you
hush this matter, or {threate?i) death.— — 670. ΙΐΓ-€ύξα<Γθαι : to be particular
in prayer, to choose a boon, literally to pray something over and aboT.>e («Vi)
the general prayer that he may find his mother, which he has made or
implied already. 674. iv rois λόγοισιν on the lists or list. The technical
name for the burgess-roll at Athens was καταΚο-^ο^, for which Xoyoi {account,
reckoning, number) is here used as a more poetical synonym. 675. ir^ira-
Tcu: κ(κτηται: see πάομαι. 676. 'π'6νθίμου9...€ΐσβολά5 : the substantives and
epithets are contrasted: άλαλαγαί and (Ισβολαί together mean entry amid
ΙΩΝ 59
To visit me in Athens, thither brought
Not as mine own, but to admire the town.
I would not that my single happiness
Should give a heart-ache to my childless wife.
In some good hour hereafter will I win
Her leave that thou shalt have my royalty.
Thy name, to fit the chance which led thy foot
First to meet mine forth coming from the fane,
Thy name is Ion. Now be all thy friends
Convoked, and mid the pleasures of the feast
Bid them farewell upon thy parting hence.
Ye women, keep the secret, under pain,
If ye reveal it to my wife, of death !
Ion. Father, I go; but ah, for happiness
One thing I lack, my mother known; till then
There is no life for me ! And, might I choose,
I pray that she may prove Athenian born
And give her child the freeman's right of speech.
An alien in a folk of pure descent
By law may be a burgess, but his lips
Are slave; he cannot speak the thing he will. Exeunt.
Chorus,
What tearful triumph will there be
At Athens' gate, what cheer and groan.
When that unhappy queen shall see
Her lord a father proud, and she
Is lone and childless, childless and alone !
Oh prophet-god, 3s3l0fik^s Son,
What strange reply thy chant hath made !
A cloister-child, whose mother none
cheers^ such as would naturally welcome the return of Xuthus and Creuso,
bringing Ion Avith them ; in this case, for Creusa and those who loved her,
there would be cheers of jnoiirning aiid a?i entrattce of grief. άλαλαγάβ
(Hermann excellently, for MSS. αΚΚα^ ye) cheers^ cries of triumph. It will
be found on investigation very doubtful whether this word ever had any
other than this its regular sense. €ΐσβολά5 : see v. 721 and L. and
Sc. S. VV. ίίσβολή, εισβάλλω. 682. άμφι ναού5...τρόφιμθ5 together.
6ο ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ου yap με cratVei θέσφατα, 685
μη τιν εχτ) Βόλοι^.
Βευμαίνω συμφοραν
εφ' ο ποτέ βάσεται,
άτοπος άτοπα γαρ παραΒίΒωσί μοι. 69Ο
εγει h6\ov τνγαν θ* 6 ποίς
αΧΚων τραφείς εζ αιμάτων.
τις ου τά8ε ξννοίσεται ;
φίλαι, πότερ εμα δέσποινα αντ, 695
τάδε τορώς ες ους γεγωι/ησομερ
πόσιν, εν ω τα πάντ εχουσ ελπίΒων
μέτοχος ην τλάμων;
νυν δ' η μεν ερρει συμφοραΐς, 6 δ' εύτυχεΐ,
πολίον είσπεσουσα γήρας, πόσις δ' άτίετος φίλων.
μελεος, ος θυραίος εΚθών 8όμους yoi
μεγαν ες ολβον ουκ εσωσεν τύχας.
ολουτ', ολοιθ' ο πότνιαν
εζαπαφων έμάν,
καΐ θεοίσιν μη τύχοι 705
καλλίφλογα πελανον επΙ
πυρί καθαγνίσας. το δ' εμον είσεται
τυραννικός φίλα. f 7 ΙΟ
η8η πελας 8είπνων κυρεί
παις καΐ πατήρ νέος νέων.
Ίώ 8είρά8ες ΐίαρνασου πέτρας επω8.
687. σ-υμφοράν ; the encounter, hap, of Ion and Xuthus, in which they suspect
fraud, not perhaps disallowed by the god himself. 690. for it (the event)
dubiously brings a dubious message, ιταραδίδωσ-ι : the metaphor is taken
from the delivery of a letter or credential, such as a messenger might bring
with him to attest his mission. See L. and Sc. s. v. παρα8ί8ωμι. After
μοι the MSS. have t68c τ εύφημα or TO di ποτ (νφημα, whence Nauck ra5«
θ€ον φήμα. In the uncertainty of the antistrophe {v. 710) it is impossible to
say whether there is only corruption here or interpolation too. 700.
aricTos ψίλων negligent of his nearest love. 702. ουκ Ισ-ωσ-cv τύχας : diffi-
cult: "has not acted consistently with his fortune, i.e. has proved base,
though he received the honour of a foreign alliance as a reward for virtue or
valour, v. 62: compare Η el. 613. το μόρσιμον σώσασα [obsennng or keeping
to my destinyW Paley: "has not preserved its fortunes, i.e. those of the
house ", Bayfield. The first is nearer what the context suggests, but is more
like a rendering of «σωσίν τρόιτουί or, as Badham would read, φμίνα^. 1
ΙΩΝ 6ι
Can tell, nor how his life begun !
A doubtful oracle ! Oh, are we betrayed ?
I fear this opportune event,
With such unclear credential sent,
To what intent, to what intent ?
Not chance alone, but treason too
Befriends the waif, the casual brew
Of alien bloods. Who doubts it, w^ho ?
Ο women, shall we, shall we rend
Our lady's ear with such report
Of him on whom did all depend
Her freight of common hopes ? The port
Divides them, his alive, and her's amort !
Now to the grey her aging brows
Decline ; her lord neglects to love ;
The stranger, whom her wealth endows,
Neglects in her distress to prove
His wretched faith ! Ο curse him, powers above !
Ο do not hear the traitor pray,
Though incense to the fire he lay !
Ah, he shall know whom I obey.
Whom I adore ! — The minutes run ;
By this the new-found sire and son
Their welcome-feast have nigh begun. —
Ο cliffs of bare Parnassus, who embrace
think however Paley so far right, that the phrase is modelled on σωζ€ΐν νόμους,
€φ(τμάς etc. fo observe customs^ injunctions, etc. : hath not observed its for-
tunes is a brachylogy for hath not observed the restrictions, which its fortjmes
impose ιφοη him : this, having accepted them, he was in honesty bound to
do. 705. μή τύχοι: mayhefail,ncA. obtain his prayer. 710: beyond
restoration ; see on v. 690. The translation gives the probable sense.
711. κυρ€ΐ: must be, is probably. The uses of Kvpfiv are all derived from the
original meaning of coincidence. See on Med. i(i^. 713. Ιώ Badham.
Xva MSS. The protest against the intrusion of the stranger lad into the
62 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
εχ^ονσαί σκόπεΚον ο-υράνιον θ* eSpav, 7^5
LPa Βάκ^ιος άμφιπύρονς άνέγων πενκας
\aLxjn)pa πη8α νυκτυπόλοίς α/χα συν Βάκχ^οας.
μη TL ποτ εΙς €μαν πόλιν Ικοιθ" 6 παΐς,
νέαν δ' άμ4ραν άποΚιπων Θάνοι. 7^0
στενομενα γαρ αν πόλις βχ^οί σκηχΐιυν ζενικον είσβο-
λαν. .
άλίσας 6 πάρος άρχαγος ωρ Έρεχθενς ai^af. f Ι
Enter Creusa from the precincty accompanied by an
aged slave.
KP. Ω Ίτρεσβν, παιδαγωγ' Έρβ^^εως ττατρο^ 7^5
τονμον ποτ οντος, ηνίκ ην ετ εν φάει,
επαιρε σαυτον προς θεού γ^ρηστηρια^
ως μοι σννησθης, ει τι Αοξίας ai/af
θεσπίσμα παίδων εΙ<; γονα^ζ εφθεγξατο.
συν τοϊς φιλοις γαρ η8ν μεν πράσσειν καλώς' yT^O
city of Erechtheus is introduced with an apostrophe to the place of his
origin: see v. 550. 720. v^av... Θάνοι: may he dying qtdt his new day, i.e.
quit day {die) on this his new day. The day is called new to Ion, not merely
because Ion is young, but because his finding by his father is in a sense, as
Xuthus has put it, his birth-day, and is about to be so celebrated. See v.
712 beiiTva via the feast of discovery. So in Med. 648 άμάραν ravb' (ξανύσασα
means in full ending viy day {life) to-day. 721. For it would be a hard
constraint upon our town to receive this descent of foreigners into her gates.
(Γτίνομ^να: probably from the primitive sense of στήνομαι, or στήνομαι, be
pressed^ narrowed (Matthiae), not from the derived sense groan. However,
the two are substantially the same for the present purpose. σ-κήψιν descent
from σκήπτ€ΐν descend, applied to such things as a missile, a plague, a punish-
ment ; see L. and Sc. s. v. σκήτττω. It is a very natural word to apply to an
irruption, as it might be rhetorically called, of bacchanals from their moun-
tain. It is admitted (see Mr Bayfield's note) that no satisfactory interpre-
tation of this has been suggested upon the assumption that σκή\Ιης has its
common meaning of excuse. The context shows, I think, that it has not,
and explains the exceptional, but equally legitimate, meaning clearly enough.
cl<rpo\av: gen. plural. If we retain ^Ισβολάν (mss.), $€pikov ίίσβολάν
stands in apposition to σκ^ψιι/, the descent, the intrusion of foreigners. But
the other accentuation is better. 723 is again defective. The transla-
tion assumes the reading Skis άλίσας 6 πόρος i.e., akis 6 πάρος {πάλιν) άλίσας,
αρχαγος ων, sufficietit is he who of old brought her folk together and founded
her (see αΚΊζω). The poet has vaguely before his mind the συνοικισμός
ρ
ΙΩΝ 63
Yon sky-enthroned height and trysting-place,
Where, each high holding a two-fold fire,
Bacchus and all the bacchanal rout
Dance in the darkness lightly about :
Let Ion ne'er see Athens ! Let the lad
This very day, his day of birth, expire 1
She hath not room enough for such descent
Of foreigners within her gates, content
With them she ever had
Since she begun,
Since old Erechtheus made her people into one !
Enter Creusa from tJie precinct^ accompanied by an
aged slave.
Creusa. What cheer, mine aged servant, to whose care
Erechtheus, our dead father, trusted us.
What cheer? Look up, toward the oracle,
To share my gladness, if Apollo's word
Announces us the prospect of a child.
How sweet in bliss to share with those we love,
of Athens, more commonly attributed to the democratic hero and founder
Theseus. — oKi^ αλι? 6 napos Scaliger, but the rare and significant άλίσας can
hardly be a mere error.— The sense is that the Athenians (Erechtheidae)
want no foreign addition. 725. irpcVpv does not mean merely o/d ?nan,
but reverend^ and also suggests that he was the father's repi'esentative. It
was the highest post of trust which a slave could hold. Here, as in the
Hippolytiis^ the former guardian proves tempter. Probably the σοφοί, who
were deeply interested in education, looked with no favourable eye upon the
careless confidence reposed by parents in those who could not be in all
respects fit for the charge. At any rate that is the moral. τταιδαγωγ^
irarpos : child-ward or child-keeper to my father, i.e. tutor of his children.
ττατρό? τούμοΰ ττοτ* ovtos my late father. 726. ήνίκα.,.φάίΐ : with
παιδαγωγοί (ώΐ'). Affection is due from the daughter of Erechtheus to
one, to whom, while he could, Erechtheus himself gave such proof of
esteem. 727. iiraipe σ-αυτόν: cheer thyself and (literally) raise thyself-.
the phrase covers both. 729. τταίδων els ^ovas: {poiitting) towards
birth of children. 730. ή8ύ... γλυκύ pleasajit... honey-sweet. ykvKX) is
much the stronger and less common epithet. 732. έμβλίψαι : carefully
distinguish from ζίσβλ^^αι. The full sense is ' to look in the eyes and see
in them what is there'. The Mss. have άσ^ί^αι, but several ancient
citations (see Dindorf) support e/M/SXe^at, and the other is an obvious
64 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ο μη yivoiTo δ', €ΐ τι τνγγάνοί κακόν,
et9 ομματ. evvov φωτο<; ^/Λ^λεψαι γΧνκν.
€γω δε cr', ωσπ^ρ και συ πάτερ" Ιμόν ποτέ,
SeanoLV όμως ονσ άντίκη^ευω πατρός.
ΠΑΙΔΑΓΩΓΟΣ,
'^ίΐ θνγατβρ, αζι άξιων γεννητόρων 735
ηθη φυλάσσεις, κου καταισχύνασ έχεις
τους σους παλαιούς, εκγόνονς αντόγθονας.
ελχ, έλκε προς μελαθρα και κόμιζε με.
αιπειι^α τοι μαντεία' τον γηρως δε μοι
σννεκπονονσα κωλον ιατρός γενον. 74^
ΚΡ. επον νυν ίχνος δ* εκφνλασσ όπου τίθης.
ΠΑ. ιδού *
το τον ποΒός μεν βρα8ν, το τον δε νον ταχύ.
ΚΡ. βάκτρω δ' ερειΒον περιφερή στίβον χρονός.
ΠΑ. και τοντο τνφλόν, όταν εγώ βλέπω βραχύ.
ΚΡ. ορθώς ελεξας. άλλα μη παρης κόπω. 745
ΠΑ. ονκονν εκών γε' Toif δ' απόντος ον κρατώ.
ΚΡ. γυναίκες. Ιστών τών εμών καΐ κερκιΒος
Βούλενμα πιστόν, τίνα τύχην λαβών πόσις
βεβηκε παίδων, ώνπερ οννεχ' ηκομεν ;
σημηνατ ' ει γαρ αγαθά μοι μηνύσετε, y^O
ονκ εις απίστους δέσποτας βαλεΐς χαράν.
ΧΟ. ιώ δαΐμον.
ΠΑ. το φροίμιον μεν τών λόγων ουκ ευτυχές.
Χ Ο. ιώ τλάμον.
ΠΑ. άλλα τι θεσφάτοισι δεσποτών νόσω. 755
ΧΟ. εΐεν' τί δρώμεν, θάνατος ων κείται περί;
error.— — 737. τούδ-,,-τταλαιού?: οί παλαιοί {rnaiores, ancestors) is treated as a
substantive. 739. alifciva τοι μχιντίία : a metaphorical proverb (roi as we
know), meaning that oracles are difficult to understand ; here proved, as it
were, literally by the steepness of the ascent. 740. (τννίκτΓονοΰσα κώλον :
* serving as a completing (eV) limb together with mine': κώλοι/ is a limiting
accusative, defining the nature of the •αόνας or task performed. 741. ίττου
keep with me (not follow). 742. i.e. ' I think I am going to step further
than I do'. 743. 'Try the ground with the stick before you step*.
π(ριφ(ρ(ϊ Badham ; but π€ριφ(ρή is passive, στίβον π(ρ\ ou φίρ^ται το
fiUKTpov. 746. / am not master of what I lack. 749. ΐΓα£8ων. . .ήκομ€ν :
what for tune... as to the cause of our coviing, children. 751. ' In giving
ΙΩΝ 65
How exquisite, if sorrow needs must fall,
To look at sorrow then in loyal eyes !
Thou wast a son unto my sire, and I
■As tender, though thy mistress, unto thee.
Slave. Faithful thou art, my daughter, to the way
Thy virtuous fathers walked, nor sham'st in thee
Thy line of nobles, native sons of Earth.
Ο help toward the fane my lagging steps !
Steep is the pilgrim's path : and thou must lend
Thy limbs to mend the weakness of mine age.
Cre. So, step by step with me; {Jie stumbles) but heedfully!
Slave. My foot is still too slow for my intent.
Cre. Thrust with thy staff upon the path around.
Slave. Ah, when the sight is short, the staff is blind !
Cre. Too true ! {he totters) Oh, strive against thy weariness !
Slave. Aye, while I may, I will ; I can no more.
He seats himself upon the steps.
Cre. Now, maidens mine, my trusty servitors
At loom and shuttle, tell me what response
Touching a child, the matter of our quest.
My lord hath carried hence. Announce me good.
And count upon my faithful gratitude.
Cho. Alas, alas !
Slave. This is an ill beginning to the tale !
Cho. Ο miserable !
Slave. Again ! Some evil hath been told my lord }
Cho. {one to another). Lo now, what shall we do "i The threat
of death !
your mistress joy, you will have invested in good security \ This is the
metaphor implied in άπιστους, χάριν Elmsley ('your kindness will be
invested '). But the text (' you will have invested joy ', i.e. the giving of joy)
is an intentional variation upon the common phrase. 755. αλλά τι...νοσω\
MSB. αλλ' η τι...νοσω\ Musgrave, αλλ' η τι...νοσά\ Bayfield. Clearly
Musgrave's correction requires Mr Bayfield's too; but I think the MSB. are
substantially right. αλλα...νόσ-ω literally 'Two more things bad, one may
say, for the oracle!', ie. showing that the oracle is bad. The νόσω are the
two words Ζώ τλάμον, following the similar two Ιω 8αΊμον. For the adverbial
ri {in a way, i?i a 7nan7ier), which here softens the strong metaphor, cf.
Herod. 3. 12 at των Αιγυπτίων κίφαλαί ούτω 8ή τι Ισχυραί' μόγις αν \ίθω πα'ισας
V. Ι. 5
66 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. τίς TjSe μονσα^ χω φόβος τίνων irepL;
ΧΟ. εϊπωμβν η σιγωμ^ν rj τι S ράσο μεν ;
ΚΡ. €?φ*• ώς €χ€ίζ ye συμφοράν τιν et9 e/ie.
ΧΟ. είρησβταί tol, κεΙ θανβΐν μέλλω Βίπλτ)' y6o
ουκ εστυ σοι, ^εσττοιν , επ άγκάλαυς λαβείν
τεκν ονΒε μαστω σω προσαρμόσαι τάδβ.
ΚΡ. ωμοί θάνοιμι.
ΠΑ. θνγατερ, — ΚΡ. ω τάλαυν εγώ συμφοράς,
ελαβον ετταθον αχός αβων, ω φίλαυ.
ΠΑ. Βίουχόμεσθα, τεκνον, 7^5
ΚΡ. αίαΐ, αίαΐ'
Βιανταΐος ετνπεν oSvva με πνευμόνων tojvS' εσω.
ΠΑ. μηπω στέναζες) — ΚΡ. αλλά πάρεισι yoot.
ΠΑ. ττρίν αν μάθωμεν, — ΚΡ. άγγελίαν τίνα μοι; J JO
ΠΑ. εΐ ταύτα πράσσων Βεσπότης της συμφοράς
κοίνωνός εστίν, rj μόνη σίί 8υστυχεΐς.
ΧΟ. κείνω μεν, ω γεραυε, τταιδα Αοξίας
εΒωκεν' ίδια δ' ευτυχεί ταύτης ^ίχα, 775
ΚΡ. τ68* εττΐ τωοε κακόν άκρον ελακες ελακες
αχός εμοί στενειν.
ΠΑ. πότερα 8ε φύναι δει γυναικός εκ τίνος
τον τταΓδ' ον εΐπας, η γεγωτ εθεσπισεν ;
ΧΟ. η^η πεφυκότ εκτελη i^eai^iW 7^0
ϊ&ωσιν αύτω Αοζίας' παρην δ' εγω.
ΚΡ. πώς φης ; αφατον αφατον άναύ8ητον
λόγον εμοΙ θροείς.
ΠΑ. καμοίγε. ΚΡ. πως δ* ό χρησμός εκπεραίνεται ;
σαφεστερόν μοι φράζε^ χωστυς εσθ' 6 παΐς. yS6
Χ Ο. ότω ζυναντησευεν εκ θεού συθείς
πρωτω πόσυς σος, παΓδ' ε8ωκ αύτω θεός.
ΚΡ. OTOTOTOL ΤΟ ο εμον
άτεκνον άτεκνον ελαβεν αρα βίοτον, ερημιά δ' ορφα-
νούς ygo
Βόμους οικήσω.
8ιαρρήξ€ΐ<ις. The strength of the Egyptians^ heads one may express by saying,
you could scarcely beat them iti with a stone. 759. γ€ : * thou hast ill
news'. 762. ιτροσ-αρμιόσ-αι raBe lay them here \ they touch her breast as
they speak. ποτ( Wakefield. 764. άβιον Hermann ; ' woe that makes life
ΙΩΝ 6;
Cre. What tune is this ? Where lie your fears ?
Cho. {as before). To speak,
Or not to speak ? What shall we do ! Cre. Oh speak !
Thy thought is charged with ill and points to me.
Cho. It shall be spoken then, though I should die
Twice over! Lady, never shalt thou take
Child in thine arms, or lay it to thy breast.
Creusa sinks down beside the slave.
Cre. Oh let me die ! Slave. My darling ! Cre. Oh !
The pain, the agony ! Let me part,
Dear maids. Slave. We die for sorrow. Cre. For the blow
Hath stricken through this miserable heart.
Slave. Oh, patience yet! Cre. Not patient is my grief!
Slave. Nay, let us hear! Cre. Why listen.? What relief.?
Slave. It should be told us, if my lord must share
The burden, or thou only. Cho. Sir, on him
Apollo hath bestowed a son, the queen
Participating not his happiness.
Cre. Stricken again, one misery more,
Now and before, now and before!
Slave. And is he to be born of woman yet,
This son, according to the oracle.
Or born already.? Cho. Grown to man and given,
As witness I, by Loxias to my lord.
Cre. Ο strange, Ο wonderful, Ο incredible !
Slave. Miraculous indeed ! Cre. But oh explain.
How led the oracle to the destined son.?
Cho. The man that first thy husband met, being sped
Forth from the god, was given him for his child.
Cre. Alas, ah me ! And I must bear /^^^ LIBR^^
A childless fate, /!?^.τ^?^ϊ.'
A weary life to wear,
In solitary halls and chambers desolate.
UNIVERSITY
impossible', βίοτοι/ MSS. 769. πάρίίσι : ' they are here' ; there is nothing
to wait for. 782. άρρητον (for the second αφατον) Badham, for metrical
correspondence ; but it may be doubted whether any exact correspondence
is meant. 785. «κιτφαίνίται : is carried out. 787. \κ ^w\) from the house
of the god, as πάρα θ^ω in his house. 789. το Ιμόν : strictly ' my part, my
5—2
68 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ /
ΠΑ. τις ονν έχρησθη ; τω σννη\\ί^ ίχνος πο^ος
πόσις ταΧαίνης ; πως Be που νιν ζίσιοών ;
ΧΟ. οΐσθ*^ ω φίλη Βέσποινα, τον i^eai^tai^
09 τοι^δ' εσαιρε ναόν ; οντός ίσθ* 6 παις. 795
ΚΡ. αν νγρον αμπταίην
αΙθερα πόρσω γαίας Έλλαΐ'ίας
αστέρας έσπερους.
οίον, οίον άλγος επαθον, φίλαι.
ΠΑ. ovofxa δε ποίον αντον ονομάζει πατήρ \ 8θΟ
οΐσθ\ η σίωπτ) τοντ άκύρωτον μένει;
ΧΟ. Ιων, επείπερ πρώτος ηντησεν πατρί.
ΠΑ. μητρός 8ε ποίας εστίν;
ΧΟ. ουκ εχω φράσαι.
φρονΒος δ*, ΐν ειΒης πάντα τάπ' εμού, γερον,
παί,δος προΘνσων ^eVta καΧ yei/e^Xta 805
σκηνάς ες ιεράς τησΒε λαθραίως πόσις,
κοινή ξννά\Ι)ων δαΓτα παίδι τω νεω.
ΠΑ. Βεσποινα, προΒεΒόμεσθα, συν yap σοι νοσώ,
του σου προς άνΒρος καΐ μεμηγανημενως
ύβριζόμεσθα, Βωμάτων τ ^Ερεχθέως 8 ΙΟ
εκβαλλομεσθα' καΐ σον ου στυγων ποσιν
λέγω, σε μεντοι μάλλον ην κείνον φίλων
όστις σε γημας ζενος επεισελθών πόλιν,
καΐ 8ώμα καΐ σην παραλαβών παγκληρίαν,
άλλης γυναικός παΐ8ας εκκαρπούμενος 815
λάθρα πεφηνεν' ως λάθρα ο, εγώ φράσω.
επεί σ άτεκνον ησθετ\ ουκ εστεργε σοι
όμοιος eti^at της τύχης τ ίσον φερειν'
λαβών 8ε δούλα λεκτρα, νυμφεύσας λάθρα,
τον παΓδ* εφυσεν' εζενωμενον hi τω 820
Αελφών 8ί8ωσιν εκτρεφειν. 6 δ* εν θεού
Βόμοισιν άφετος, ως λάθοι, παιδεύεται.
ι/βαΐ'ίαι/ δ' ως ησθετ εκτεθραμμενον.
side'. 796. The interest which Ion had excited in Creusa makes this
a fresh blow. άμίΓταίην : * Would 1 could fly to Paradise !\ to which the
'gardens of the Hesperides' in the mythical west present the nearest ancient
analogy. See Hipp. 732. 803. They ignore the story of the Bacchanalia
as not yet proved and in any case not fixing the person. 805. ξ^νια
as pretended καΐ 'ycWOXia in reality. irai86s depends on ττρη- (vnfp) in
ΙΩΝ 69
Slave. And who was thus designed ? Whom did he meet,
My lady's lord (Alas !), how, where behold ?
Cho. He whom we saw, dear lady, if thou mindest,
Sweeping the temple here — he is the son.
Cre. Oh, to fly, to fly away
From earth and Hellas, to the melting sky
And stars of dying day !
Oh misery, oh misery !
Slave. And pray, what name bestowed he on his son,
If that is known and not uncertain yet ?
Cho. ' Ion ', because he first encountered him.
Slave. And pray, who is the mother } Clio. I cannot say :
But, to complete the tale, my lord is gone
To cheat my lady with a sacrifice.
Given for his friend or son, and pledge the youth
'Neath tented tapestries in public feast.
Slave. We are betrayed, dear lady, by thy spouse.
We, for thy griefs are mine. He hath contrived
To do us outrage, from Erechtheus' house
To expel us outcast ! Not in hate of him
I say it, but in better love to thee.
He took thee, he, a denizen, to wife,
Thy palace and thine heritage to his own,
And lo, he hath been raising him by stealth
Seed of another ! Let me show the plot.
He saw thee childless, and he did not brook
Childless alike to bear his equal part ;
But privily embracing with a slave
Begat this boy, and sent him to be reared
Abroad : a Delphian took him and consigned.
For more concealment, to be cloister-bred.
The father, when he knew him grown to man.
προθύσων. 806. σκηνά? • . . Upas : a tent consecrated for the purpose.
This is not specified either by Xuthus or by Ion, but the liberal intentions
of Xuthus (see v. 663) could not possibly be carried out otherwise; and
we may suppose also that such entertainments under canvas were frequently
given by visitors at the great religious centres in return for hospitality re-
ceived, so that the ' tent ' would be inferred as of course. 822. άφατος :
70 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
iXdeiv σ Ιπεκτε hevp άπαιδιας γαριν.
καθ" 6 θβος ουκ έφεύσαθ^ o8e δ' εψεΰσατο 825
ττάλαι τρέφων τον παΐδα καπλβκεν πλοκάς
το Laos' ' άλονς μίν άνέφερ eU τον Βαιμονα'
έλθών δε καΙ τον γρονον άμννεσθαι θ€λων,
TvpavviS* αύτω περίβαλζίν e/ieXXe γτ,ς.
καινον δε τοννομ ανά γ^ρονον π€πλασμ€νον^ 830
'^Ιων, Ιοντί hrjOev οτι συνηντετο,
ΧΟ. οΐμοι, κακούργους άνΒρας ώς del στνγω,
οΐ σνντίθεντες τα8ίκ είτα μη)(αναΐς
κοσμονσι' φανΧον γρηστόν άν λαβείν φίλον
θ4\οιμί μάλλον rj κακόν σοφώτερον. 835
ΠΑ. καΐ TcovS* απάντων ξ,σγατον ττεισει κακόν,
άμτιτορ άναρίθμητον €Κ 8ονλης τυνος
γνναυκος els orov 8ωμα δεσττότην άγειν.
άπλονν άν ήν γαρ το κακόν, el παρ* ευγενούς
μητρός, πίθων σε, σην λέγων άπαυΒίαν, 840
εσωκισ οίκους' εΐ δε σου toS* ήν πικρον, —
των Αιόλου νιν χρην ορεγθηναι γάμων,
εκ των^ε δει σε δτ} γυναικεΖόν τι hpav'
rj γάρ ζίφος λαβουσαν η δόλω tlvI
η φαρμάκουσί σον κατακτεΐναι πόσιν 845
καΧ παιδα, πριν σοι θάνατον εκ κείνων μολείν.
ει γάρ γ' ύφησεις τουΒ\ απαλλάξει βίου'
8υοΙν γάρ εχθροΐν εΙς εν ελθόντοιν στεγος
η θάτερον δει Βυστυχεΐν η θάτερον.
consecrated, primarily of sacred animals, at large, — ^-827. άν^ψ€ρ' els: he
was mijtded to throw the blame on. 828. The general sense here
is clear, the exact wording and interpretation, after much discussion,
extremely uncertain. I do not think it impossible that the MSS. reading is
right, though certainly far from elegant. — Translate literally, a7id, if he
attained his wish of protecting himself even against {Uit. detection of) time,
in that case he intended etc. Here θ(\ων is subordinate to (λθωρ. Upon
the analogy of ίΚΟ^ν €is rtXos to attain an end, θί\(ύν τυν χρόνον άμννίσθαι
ηλθ€ν {els τούτο) might certainly be written for ' wishing to escape time, he
attained that end'. Make this whole phrase participial, which is gram-
matically legitimate, and we have the text. "Καθων Musgrave (for eXSoiv) is
simple in itself, but leaves the rest harder than ever. καΐ τ6ν χρ6νον : e7>eH
time, as the great revealer of all secrets; sec v. 575 and Hipp. 105 1.
That τον χρόνοι/ άμννΐσθαι should mean ' to compensate_/i?r the time ' of Ion's
ΙΩΝ 71
Persuaded thee, because you had no child,
To come to Delphi. So was Phoebus' truth
Thy husband's lie, who reared the lad throughout
With double plan ; detected, to avouch
Apollo ; not detected after lapse
Of time, to clothe the lad with princely power.
And Ion, this belated name to suit
The alleged encounter, is pretended new.
Cho. Oh ! how I loathe the artists of deceit
Who with machinery of imposture cloke
A villain plot! An honest man for me
Rather, and plain withal, than subtle-false!
Slave. And this thou must endure, the worst of all,
To bring for lord into thy house the son
Of a slave, a motherless man, a no man's child !
Less ill it had been to recruit his race
Out of a lady born, with thy consent.
Pleading thy barrenness. And if refused —
Who bade him wed above his proper kin }
Now therefore thou must play a woman's part !
That is, with dagger, or by some surprise,
Or poison thou must take thy husband's life,
His and his son's, ere they can reach at thine.
Flinch, and thou diest ! For if hate and hate
Are brought together in one dwelling-place.
One must be broken, or the other must.
exile seems impossible : αμννΐσβαι has no such construction. 830. 'And
the name is anachronistically pretended new '. Note carefully that καινόν is
part of the predicate. The slave supposes that the name Ion had long ago been
chosen, given, and probably borne by the son ; but that to colour the present
deceit, it was pretended 'out of date' to be a new name, specially arising out
of the circumstances. 836. τών8* ^σχατον : worse than these. 837. not
coiuited in law for a person at all. 841. Ισ-ώκισ-β colonised. And if
you were not pleased to consent to this (he ought to have submitted, or
else) he ought to have contented his ambition with a wife from among
the Aeolidae. He chose to aspire to a daughter of Erechtheus, and taking
her was bound to take her fortunes 'for better for worse'. The inter-
mediate step is rhetorically suppressed. 844. Supply δβί.— — 847. el...
τοΰδί: 'for you must know (ye) that if you slack from this' i.e. 'do not
brace yourself to do it'. See L, and Sc. s. v. νφίημι. — el yap oii φβ/σ^ι
72 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
€γω μβρ ονν σοι καί σννεκπονβΐρ θέλω 850
κοΧ σνμφονβνειρ παιδ', Ιπζ,ισεΚθων 86μοις
ου 8αΐθ* οπλίζει, καί τροφεία δεσπόταυς
άποΒούς θανείν τε ζων τε φέγγος είσοραν.
h' γαρ TL τοις Βούλοισυν αίσχυνην φέρει,
τοννομα' τα δ' άλλα πάντα των ελευθέρων 855
ovSeis κακίων δούλος, όστις εσθλος rj,
ΧΟ. κάγω, φίλη δέσποινα, συμφοράν θέλω
κοινουμενη TijvS' η θανείν η ζην καλώς.
** After α pause Creusa rises, and coming to the front
begins to speak as if with Iter self
KP. ω φυχα, πως σιγάσω ;
πώς Se σκοτίας άναφηνω 86θ
εύνάς, αιΒοΰς δ' άπολειφθώ ;
τι γαρ εμποΒιον κώλυμα ετι μοι;
προς τίν άγώι/as τιθεμεσθ* αρετής ;
ου πόσις ημών προΒότης γεγονεν ;
στερο μαι δ' οίκων, στερο μαι παίδων, 865
φρουΒαι δ* ελπί8ες, ας δί,α^εοτ^αι
χρηζουσα καλώς ουκ εΒυνάθην
σιγώσα γάμους,
σιγώοτα τόκους πολυκλαύτους.
αλλ' ου το Αιος πολύαστρον ε8ος 870
και την hr εμοίς σκοπέλοισι θ εάν
λίμνης τ ένυδρου ΎριτωνιάΒος
πότνιαν άκτάν,
ουκετι κρύφω λεχος, ως στέρνων
άπονησαμενη ράων εσομαι. 875
{She turns to her servants^
Badham. 863. With whom am I to enter the lists of virtue, when my
husbatid etc. άγώνα$ τιθ^μ€<Γθα impose on myself a contest, metaphor from
athletic games. 866. &s κ.τ.λ. : which I desired, though I could not, to
compass with honour, by concealing etc. 8ιαθ^(Γθαι to arrange or manage for
myself. She had hoped to be made happy by receiving news of her child
from Apollo, and in this hope had guarded her reputation. Now, in her
despair, that motive for concealment is gone; and she will have the one
remaining satisfaction of exposing the god. 872. λίμνη?: near which
ΙΩΝ 73
For me, I will assist thee to the end,
And first to slay the lad; thither I go
Where he prepares the feast. For them, whose bread
I have eaten, I will die or I will live !
Save for the something shameful in the name,
The slave hath no disgrace, and but for that
May stand by virtue equal with the free.
Cho. And I, dear lady, too will share the fact,
Ready to live with honour, or to die.
After a pause Creusa rises ^ and comMg- to the front
begins to speak as if with herself.
Creusa. Tell me, my heart.
How can I hold my peace } Yet how disclose
My hidden shame, and strip
My modesty away }
Nay, what remains
To hinder now "i Whose virtue need I fear
To fall below.? My lord,
Is he not false to me "i
I am cut off from home and child ;
The hopes are gone, the unavailing hopes,
For which I kept mine honour safe,
Keeping the secret of my ravishment,
The woeful secret of my babe.
Now, by the starry throne of Zeus I swear.
By her who dwells on Athens' height
And lake Tritonis' holy shore.
My bosom shall not bear
That burden more.
If, telling, I may go more light !
{She turns to her servants^
Athena was born, commonly identified with a lake in Libya (Aesch. Eunu
293)• 874. ώ5 since. 875. άπονησ-αμ.€νη : (supply το κρνπτόν the secret)
74 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
στάζονσί κόραυ Βακρύουσυν €μαί,
φνχα δ' άλγβΐ κακοβουλβνθβΐσ
€κ τ ανυρωπων e/c τ ασανατων,
ους αποΒβίζω
\4κτρων προΒότας άγαρίστον<ζ, 88θ
{She turns to the temple^
Ώ τα? ίπταφθόγγον μέΧπων
κιθάρας ivonavy ατ dypavkoLS
κέρασίν ev άψυ^οις αχεΓ
Μουοται/ ύμνους €ναχτ]τονς^
σοΙ μομφάν, ω Αατονς παΐ, - 885
προς Toivh' ανγάν αιθέρος αυδάσω.
ήλθες μοι γρνσω -χαίταν
μαρμαίρων, evr βίς κόλπους
κρόκεα πέταλα φαρεσιν ε^ρεπον
άνθίζειν χρυσανταυγη, 890
-^ λευκοΐς S* εμφύς καρποίσιν
γειρων εις άντρου κοιτάς
κραυγάν, ώ ματερ, μ" αυδώσαΐ'
θεός ομευνετας άγες άι^αιδβια
ΚύπριΒί χάριν πράσσων, 895
τίκτω δ* α Βύστηνος σοι
κουρον, τον φρίκα ματρος
εις εύνάν βάλλω τ αν σαν.
ίνα με λεχεσι μελεαν μελεοις
εζεύζω τάν 8ύστανον. 900
having unloaded'. Valcknaer. αττονίσα/χει/?; MSS. — —877. κακοβουλ6υθ£ΐσα : an
irregular form. According to the laws of composition the verb should be
formed only through the noun-form κακόβουλος^ whence κακοβονλ^ω and
κακοβουΚηθύσα. But neither κακοβουΚηθϋσ nor κακά βουΚ(νθ(Ισ is satis-
factory. ' In favour of the MSS. it may be urged that the irregular forms
δυσθι^σκω, δυσοίζω are found, and that the poet may have intentionally
though incorrectly formed κακοβονΚίνω on the analogy of eVi^ouXf υω, wanting
a stronger word, and wishing at the same time to avoid the confusion of
sound with the pass. aor. of βονλομαι, which κακοβονληθύσα would cause'. B.
882. a-ypavXois to dwellers in lo7tely places^ in the country, shepherds
and the like, from whose report and superstition such beliefs spring up
(not epithet to κ(ρασιν). 883. κίρούτιν (the 'epic' quantity of old poetry):
'stands probably not for the two horn-like points of the lyre but for the
horn sounding-board. To express the maierial the plural was necessary.
Similarly Cicero Nat. Deor. 2. 59 (quoted by Musgrave) uses the plural :
ΙΩΝ 75
Mine eyes with tears run o'er,
My heart is aching, wroth
With god and man, maimed with their malice both,
Traitors to love and thankless both :
And they shall 'scape no more !
{S/ie turns to the temple.)
Ο thou, that from the seven-toned strings,
Greatest melody, whose music rings
Across the champaign from the voiceful horn,
I cry thee scorn,
Against the open sky,
I, Son of Lato, I !
Thou camest to me, thy hair
A blaze of gold.
When I was gathering flowers to wear.
Flowers as golden mirrors fair,
Into my bosom's fold ;
With clenched grasp
Upon my wrists, in the instant of my shriek,
' Help, mother, help ! ', didst hale me to the grot
To thine enforced clasp.
Thou... god, and sparedst not
Thy lust to wreak.
And then, Ο misery !
I bare to thee a son,
And shuddering from my mother's eye
I left him there, where thou didst lie,
Thou and the helpless I,
There, where the deed was done.
cornibus its quae ad iiervos resonant in cafitibtisJ B. άψύχοις. The horn
has been alive, is now dead^ and receives a new voice and life from the
music. 890. άνθίζ€ΐν: explanatory infinitive to πίταλα eSpenov, I was
gathering flowers to decorate {make a wreath) with: see L. and Sc. s. v.
χρνσ-ανταυγή : golden-reflecting^ a metaphor from mirrors of the metal. Cf.
Hec. 936 χρνσ^ωρ (νόπτρων λ^υσσουσ' eh ανγάς. The epithet points to that
brightness which, as in the buttercup, gives such delight to children :
probably some such flower is meant. 891. XcvKois: white, i.e. bloodless
ye ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ν
Όΐμοι μοί, και νυν eppei
πτανοϊς άρπασθβΐς θοίνα
παις μοι καΧ <to9, τλάμων'
συ δε κιθάρα κλάζζΐς παιάι^ας μίΚπων. 9^^
Ώτ), τον Λατους αυδώ,
OS γ' ομφάν κληροΐς,
προς χρνσβους θάκονς
καΐ γαίας μεσσηρ^ις ζΒρας gio
€is ους αύδάζ^ καρνξω'
Ιώ, κακός ευνάτωρ,
ος τω μίν έμω ρνμφβύτα
■χάριν ου προλαβών
παιδ* €ίς οίκους οΐκίζβις* 9^5
ο δ' έμος . . .γβνβτας . , , καΐ σός y ...άμαθης,,,
οίωνοΐς eppeu συλαθβΐς,
σπάργανα ματβρος έζαλλάζας.
μισ^ί σ α Δαλο? κα\ 8άφνας
ipvea φοίνικα παρ* άβροκόμαν, / 9^0
ίνθα Χογεύματα σβμν έλοχεύσατο
Λατώ Αίοισί σε κάρποις.
She flmgs hersdf down upon the steps,
her servmits gathering round Jier.
XO. ωμοί, μέγας θησαυρός ως άνοίγνυται
κακών, εφ" οϊσι πάς αν εκβάλοι 8άκρυ.
ΠΑ. ω θύγατε ρ, οίκτου σον βλέπων ε/χπιπλα/χαι 9^5
πρόσωπον, εζω δ' εγενόμην γνώμης εμης.
under the grip (not merely ornamental, fair). 908. os γ* όμφάν κληροί5 :
since (note ye) t/ioti allottest speech, i.e. adinittest any to speak with thee in
his allotted turn. The order of consultation among the applicants at Delphi
was determined by ballot. The point is the same as in v. 366, that Apollo,
by the tenure of his profitable office, is bound to hear. γ* is omitted by
one (P) of the two MSS., but is wanted. 914. χάριν ού ιτρολαβών: not for
favour before received. 916. Ycv^ras όμαθή$ father unfeeling. The frag-
ments of the appellation, which is attached in grammar to οΐκίζας, are inter-
jected in this sentence like sobs. For αμαθής see v. 374, //. Fur. 347 αμαθής
τις (I θ(ός, and my note on Med. 223. In Euripides the word almost always
denotes want of moral feeling. ό i^h^ καΐ σό? γ* he who was mine and,
after all, thine. — There is here at least no ground for giving to γ(ν(τας the
sense of son. σό$ γ' C, συς P. 919. d demonstrative, yon. δάψνα$
r
ΙΩΝ yj
And then, ah me, ah well-a-day !
The hungry birds pounced on the prey.
And he is gone, my baby, mine,
Thou wretch, and thine,
Thou to the harp the while chanting triumphant lay !
Ho, Son of Lato, hear !
To thee alone, ^
Not called to consult I, but fronting here
Thy centre-seat on earth and golden throne,
I say, and I will cry it in thine ear,
A false, false ravisher thou art !
To him who is my husband, though
No debt of kindness thou dost owe,
Thou giv'st a heritor of his hearth. And mine...
Father without a heart!...
My babe and thine... and thine!...
Torn from the tokens of a mother's care.
Glutted the ravagers of the air !
Abhorred thou art of Delos, of the bay
And delicate palm, that shot from earth
Where, fruitful unto Zeus,^^S2TTa lay
In state and gave thee birth !
She flings herself down upon the stepSy
her servants gathering round her.
One of the Chonis, Oh, is there any man that would not weep,
To see the hoard of sorrows opened here t
The Slave. The sight, my daughter, of thy face infects
Mine eyes with ruth, and would not let me think.
κ.τ.λ. When Latona gave birth in Delos to Apollo and Artemis a palm and
a bay-tree sprang up to make a canopy over her. 920. 2pv€a: young
tree. 922. KapTrots by the seed {i.e. the fructification) of Zeus ; a dative
instrumental. For the metaphor καρπό? applied to children see vv. 476,
815, and for the reverse metaphor from child-birth to corn-seed Aesch.
Ag. ly^i (Dind.) σπορητος καλνκος iv \οχ€νμασιν. κάποις {in the garden)
Badham, Kirchhofif and others, but without reason. 926. Ί was too
78 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
κακών γαρ άρτι κυμ νπβξαντλων φρβρί,
ττρνμιτηθβν αίρει μ άλλο σων \6γων νπο'
OVS έκβαλονσα των τταρεστώτων κακών
μετήλθες αλΧων πημάτων καινας 68ονς. 93^
τί φχις] τίνα \6yov Αοξίον κατηγορείς]
ποίον τεκεΐν φτ/ς παΓδα; πον θεΐναυ πόλεως
θηρσίν φίλον τύμβενμ ; ανελθε μοι πάλιν.
ΚΡ. αισχυνομαι μεν σ , ω γερον, λεζω δ' όμως.
ΠΑ. ως σνστενάζειν γ' olSa γενναίως φίλοις. 935
ΚΡ. ακονε τοίννν οΧσθα Κεκροπίας πέτρας
προσβορρον αντρον^ ας Μακράς κικλησκομεν ;
ΠΑ. οΙο\ ένθα ΐΐανος άδυτα καΐ βωμοί πελας.
ΚΡ. ενταυθ" άγωνα ^εινον ηγωνίσμεθα.
ΠΑ. τίν ; ως άπαικτα Βάκρνά μοι τοΐς σοΐς λόγοις, 94^
ΚΡ. Φοίβω ξυνη-^ιακονσα Βΰστηνον γάμον.
ΠΑ. ω σνγατερ,κα^ ην τανσ α γ ησυομην εγω\ —
ΚΡ. ονκ οΤδ'• αληθή δ' ει λέγεις, φαίημεν αν.
ΠΑ. νόσον κρνφαίαν ηνίκ εστενες λάθρα ;
ΚΡ. τοτ ην α νυν σοι φανερά σημαίνω κακά. 945
ΠΑ. κατ εζεκλεχ^ας πως Απόλλωνος γάμους,;
ΚΡ. ετεκον άνάσγον ταντ εμον κλνων, γερον.
ΠΑ. πον ; τίς λθ)(ενει σ ; η μόνη μογθείς τάδβ ;
ΚΡ. μόνη κατ άντρον, ονπερ εζεν^θην γάμοις.
ΠΑ. ο παΙς δβ πον 'στιν, ίνα σν μηκετ ης απαις ; 95^
ΚΡ. τεθνηκεν, ω γεραιε, θηρσιν εκτεθείς.
ΠΑ. τεθνηκ ; Άπόλλωΐ' δ* ο κακός ovhlv ηρκεσεν ;
ΚΡ. ονκ ηρκεσ ' "Άιδου δ' εν Βόμοις παιδεύεται.
ΠΑ. τις γάρ νιν εζεθηκεν; ον γάρ δτ) σν γε,
ΚΡ. ημείς, εν όρφνη σπαργανώσαντες πεπλοις. 955
much distressed to comprehend the story'. 927. ύτΓ€|αντλών,...αΙ'ρ€ΐ μ.(:
a colloquial irregularity ; the form of the sentence is changed ; cf. v.
1 1 30. 929. Both oCs (Koyovs) and όδού« are constructed as limiting or
defining accusatives with μ€τηλθ€5: the siory is the ?iew track which,
diverging from the distress of the present, Creusa has taken. 4κβαλοΰ<Γα,
intransitive, departing', cf. Eur. El. 96 Iv ίκβάλώ πόδι αλληρ «V αΐαρ (wrongly
altered to (κβαλώ πόδα), and for the application of the intransitive βάλλω to
roads, rivers etc., see L. and Sc. s. in/, βάλλω, (Ισβάλλω, €φάλλω and other
compounds. 931. λόγον : accusation : λΐ-^^ιν to argue a case. 932. irov
ΐΓ6λ€ω$ together. 933. φίλον : welcome. — ' To bury ' by devouring ; see
Aesch. Theb. 1020. 935. γ€. If his age art^ iong knowledge of her
ΙΩΝ 79
I was in act to bale my griefs, and lo,
Comes me this wave astern and floods again,
Thy story, branching wide from present grief
Into a novel track of sorrows past.
What is't, this accusation of the god ?
A babe of thine, somewhere in Athens left
For beasts to bury ? Tell it me again.
Creusa. Thou sham'st me ; yet I will. Slave. Mine age at least
Hath taught my heart to sympathize. Cre. Then list !
Thou knowest, northward of our citadel,
The cave and clifls, The Long we call them — Slave. Aye,
The grot of Pan with altars by it. Cre. There
I underwent a fearful thing. Slave. What thing.?
Say, for my tears are ready ere thou speak.
Cre. Phoebus. ..by force... Ο misery .'...made me his.
{A pause.)
Slave. Daughter, I knew... I saw. O, was it that.-*
Cre. Say what. If it be true, I will confess.
Slave. That time when something ailed thee, something tired.
Cre. That hidden woe was this which now I tell.
Slave. And how did'st thou conceal Apollo's love }
Cre. I bare a child... It is a dreadful tale.
Yet hear me. Slave. Where 1 Who aided thee .? Alone .?
Ci-e. Alone in that same cave. Slave. Where is the babe.?
Find him ; be thou not childless ! Cre. He is dead,
Given to the beasts of prey. Slave. Dead ! And the false
Apollo gave no help } Cre. No help, but left
The charge to Death. Slave. Who put the babe away "i
Not thou } Cre. I did it : in the dark I wrapped
makes exposure before him specially painful {v. 934), ai least he has learnt
to sympathize with her. 936. ircTpas (the Athenian Acropolis) genitive,
depending on the following substantives (cf. χθονός m v. 12 and πόλ^ω^ in
V. 932), the cave on {of) the Acropolis^ the place we call the * Long Cliffs' ;
not that the cave itself was so called, but the general description of the
place {what we call etc.) is substituted for the specific αντρον. — The fact
that this line breaks the alternation is suspicious, and many omit it. But
it seems indispensable : Κβκροπια? πίτμας (accus. plur.) is not a sufficient indi-
cation of the meaning. 939. αγώνα t7'ial, stiiiggle. 953. τΓαιδ€ύ€ται :
he was reared (nursed;, i.ie father's duty. 955. σπαργ. ir^irXois : Anglic^,
8ο ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΠΑ. ovSe ^vurjSeL σοι tls ^.κθεσιν τ4κνον ;
ΚΡ. at ζνμφοραί ye καΧ το XavOaveiv μόνον.
ΠΑ. καΧ πως iv αντρω παΓδα σον λυπείν ετλης;
ΚΡ. πώς δ'; οικτρά πολλά στόματος έκβαλουσ^ ίπη.
ΠΑ. φεν.
τλημων συ τόλμης' 6 8e θεός μάλλον σέθεν. 9^^
ΚΡ. €1 παί8ά y' βίΒβς -νεφας ίκτείνοντά μου.
ΠΑ. μαστον Βιωκοντ^, η προς άγκάλαυς πεσεΐν;
ΚΡ. εντανυ^ ιν ουκ ων αοικ επασχεν ες εμού.
ΠΑ. σο\ δ' €5 τί δό^' είσηλθεν εκβαλεΐν τεκνον;
ΚΡ. ως τον θεόν σωσοντα τόν y' αύτον γόνον. 9^5
ΠΑ. οΐμοί' 8όμων σων όλβος ως )(^είμάζεταυ.
ΚΡ. τί κράτα κ-ρΰψας, ώ γερον, 8ακρνρροεΐς;
ΠΑ. σε καΐ πάτερα σον Βνστνχονντας είσορω.
ΚΡ. τα θνητά τουαντ' ον8εν εν ταντω μένει.
( T/ie slave remaiiis for a time with his face covered, as if
ponderhtg, thefi suddenly draws Creusa down to tJie front
of the scency where he beghis again in a lower tone.)
Π A. μη νυν ετ οίκτων, θνγατερ, άντεγωμεθα. gyo
ΚΡ. τί γαρ με γρη Spav ; απορία το Βνστνχεϊν.
ΠΑ. τον πρώτον ά^ικησαντά σ άποτίνον θεόν.
ΚΡ. καΙ πώς τά κρείσσω θνητός ονσ νπερΒράμω ;
ΠΑ. πίμπρη τά σεμνά Αοζίου χρηστηρυα.
ΚΡ. δβδοι/ία, καΐ νυν πημάτων άΒην εχω. 975
ΠΑ. τά Βννατά ννν τόλμη σον, avSpa σον κτανεΐν.
ΚΡ. αΙΒονμεθ^ εύνάς τάς τόθ\ ηνίκ εσθλός ην,
ΠΑ. νυν δ' άλλα παιδα τόν επΙ σοΙ πεφηνότα,
ΚΡ. πώς; εΐ yap εΐη Βννατόν ως θελοιμί y αν,
ΠΑ. ξιφηφόρονς σους όπλίσασ όπάονας. 9^0
ΚΡ. στείχοιμ αν' αλλά που γενησεται τόδε;
ΠΑ. Ιεραΐσιν εν σκηναΤ,σιν ου θοινα φίλους,
ΚΡ. επίσημον ό φόνος καΐ το 8ουλον ασθενές,
dressing him in tokens. 962. ircaetv to be laid. 963. Ινταΰθα : supply
maiiv. ϊνα κ.τ.λ. ' where not being, he was wronged by me '. 964. is
t£; expecting what? 965. ώ5...σ•ώσοντα: ace. absolute, upon the belief
that etc. 967. κρύψαβ is in sense the principal verb. She asks, not why
he weeps, but why his attitude expresses humiliation. 968. πάτραν σην
δυστυχούσαν Badham, greatly improving both rhythm and sense. With the
text, is father put for family, or does τταΗρα σον (see v. 734) mean the slave
ΙΩΝ 8ι
Α token-cloth upon it... Slave. And no one knew? ^
Cre. My sorrows and my secrecy, none else.
Slave. ΗοΛν couldst thou bring thyself to leave him there ?
Cre. With many a broken word of sad farewell.
( They burst into tears ; a pause?)
Slave. Ah, cruel thou, but crueller the god !
Cre. If thou hadst seen the baby stretch to me
His hands ! Slave. To find thy heart, to feel thine arms !
Cre. To have his rightful place, by me refused ! {A pause?}
Slave. Upon what hope didst thou resolve the deed ?
Cre. The god, I thought, would save his child. Slave. Alas,
The fortune of thy house, how clouded o'er!
Cre. Old man, why cloke thy weeping face ? Slave. Because
Thou and thy race are fallen. Cre. It is the doom
Of mortals ; nought is constant nor abides.
( The slave remains for a time with his face covered^ as if
pondering, then suddenly draivs Creusa down to the front
of the scene, where he begins again in a lower tone.)
Slave. But now, my daughter, let us dwell no more
On thoughts of pity. Cre. What then should I do?
Misery is helpless. Slave. Vengeance on the god
Who wronged thee ! Cre. How may weak mortality
Conquer his might? Slave. Lay fire to the holy fane!
Cre. I dare not risk the penalty ; my pains
Are now enough. Slave. Thy husband then ! His life
Lies in thy danger. Cre. Nay, we have been one flesh
When he was true ! Slave. Slay then the son declared
In fraud of thee. Cre. Oh, how? Were 't possible!
Right gladly would I. Slave. Arm thy train with swords.
Cre. I go about it. Where shall it be done?
Slave. There at his solemn banquet in the tent.
Cre. To draw men's eyes upon us ; and our strength
himself i* 970. «χώμεθα: cleave to, continue: άντ- instead of what we
ought to do. 972. ιτρώτον, and therefore unprovoked. 975. καΐ vw :
eve7t now. 977. / respect our former union. 978. viv δέ, antithetic
to the foregoing τότ^. 'Attack one between whom and you there is no
past, but only a present', συ Hermann. άλλα at all events. eirl σοί:
'against (to injure) thee'. eVt with dat. expresses the object of an action.
V. I. 6
82 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΠΑ. ωμοί' κακίζβί, φ€ρ€, συ νυν βονΚευέ τι.
{Α pause, Creusa looks fearfully round, and then
speaks as in a whisper.)
KP. καΧ μην εχω ye δόλια καΐ Βραστή pLa, 9^5
ΠΑ. άμφοίν αν €Ϊην τοΐν8* νττηρβτης €γώ.
ΚΡ. ακονε τοίννν. οισθα γηγενή μάγην ;
ΠΑ. οΤδ', ην Φλεγρα Τιγαντες έστησαν θεοΐς,
ΚΡ. εντανθα Τοργόν ετεκε Τη^ Βεινον τέρας.
ΠΑ. η παυσίν αντης σύμμαχον, θέων πόνον ; 99^
ΚΡ. ναί' και νιν εκτειν η Διός Παλλάς θεά.
ΠΑ. τΓοίόν TL μορφής σχημ ίχονσαν αγρίας ;
Κ Ρ. θωρακ εχίΒνης περίβολο ις ώπλισμενον.
ΠΑ. άρ' ούτος εσθ* 6 μύθος ον κ\νω τταΚαι ;
ΚΡ. ταντης ^Κθάναν Βέρος επΙ στέρνους εχευν. 995
ΠΑ. ην αιγιδ' ονομάζονσι, Παλλάδος στολην ;
ΚΡ. τόδ' εσχεν όνομα θέων οτ ηζεν εΙς Βόρν.^
ΠΑ. τι Βήτα, θνγατερ, τοντο σοΓς εχθροΐς βλάβος;
ΚΡ. ^Έιριγθονιον οίσθ" η ον ; τ^δ' ον μελλευς, γερον ;
ΠΑ. ον πρώτον νμών πρόγονον εζανηκε γη ; ΙΟΟΟ
ΚΡ. τοντω ΒίΒωσι Παλλάς οντυ νεογόνω —
ΠΑ. TL χρήμα ; μέλλον γαρ τι προσφέρεις έπος.
ΚΡ. Βισσονς σταλαγμούς αίματος Τοργονς απο.
ΠΑ. Ισχνν εχοί y' αν τίνα προς άνθρωπον φνσυν ;
ΚΡ. τον μεν θανάσυμον, τον δ' άκεσφόρον νόσων. 1005
ΠΑ. εν τω καθάφασ άμφΐ παίδι σώματος;
ΚΡ. χρυσοίσι ΒεσμοΙς' 6 Βε ΒίΒωσ εμω πατρί.
988 — 997. The old man, perplexed by this far-away beginning upon an
ancient story, falls instinctively into a sort of catechizing, as if he and his
pupil were again Moing their lesson '. 993. Ιχίδνηβ : of snake, snaky. The
snakes {v. 1015) grew on the Gorgon and were wrapped as a defence about
her body. 997. ^ξίν. So Paley, on the suggestion of an anonymous
friend. The meaning clearly is that alyU was derived from άίσσ^ιν. This
could hardly be understood from ^\θ(ν, which is probably an interpretation.
In the legend Euripides varies considerably from the afterwards established
version, but the legend in itself is here of no importance. 998. τί δήτα ;
with sudden impatience. 999. οΪ<γΘ' ή οΰ; τί δ* Badham. οίσθ' η τί δ'
MSS. μΛλ€ΐ$ {tlhtvai). 1002. μάλλον. . .ϊ-ιτο? thoti Wilt add {art for adding)
a word that seems to hesitate. 1004. Ιχοι γ* άν τίνα κ.τ.λ. ; should not be
ΙΩΝ 83
Is only slaves! Slave. A coward thought! But thou,
Advise thyself.
[A pause, Creusa looks fearfully rounds and tlien
speaks as in a whisper^
Cre. Look you, I have a way
Secret and sure. Slave. And sure and secret I
Will aid ! Cre. Then list ! The Giant brood of Earth
Rebelled, thou know'st, in Phlegra 'gainst the gods.
{The slave assents)
Cre. Then the Earth-Mother teemed a monster-form.
Slave. To daunt the gods and aid her children. Cre. Aye,
The Gorgon, slain by Pallas child of Zeus.
Slave. A creature weirdly fashioned, was it not?
Cre. Armed with a girth of snake about the trunk.
Slave. Whose serpent slough, as I was ever told —
Cre. Athena wears upon her breast. Slave. Her aegis,
Is it not so they call it? Cre. Aye: it won
That title when it charged the warring gods.
Slave. And what is this, my daughter, what is this,
To wound thy enemies? Cre. Erichthonius,
Thou know'st — but ah, why ask? Slave. Thy ancestor.
First of thy house, the son of Earth! Cre. To him,
Being then an infant, Pallas gave — Slave. What gift ?
Thy legend pauses yet. What gift?
Cre. {slowly). Two drops
Of the Gorgon's blood. Slave. Which have some strong effect
On man ? Cre. Two operations, cure and death.
Slave. How was the vessel fastened to the babe?
Cre. With chain of gold. Inherited by my sire,
changed. The full force is '// (the blood) ifiust anyhow have some effect o?i
man; what is that effect?'' That it must have {βχοι αν) such an effect he
naturally now concludes, since otherwise the story would have no bearing on
the matter in hand, έχοντας Dobree. 1005. She continues her sentence
from 7'. 1003. 1006 : questions combined in the Greek manner: ' Did she
put the poison in a vessel? Did she fasten it on? In what, and how?'
1007. Note carefully that δίδωσ-ι does not imply direct gift from person to
person. An heir-loom could be said, according to Greek usage, to be given
to all or any of the descendants. See Med. 954 κήσ-μον, ov iroff "HXtos πατρός
6—2
84 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΠΑ. K€Lvov Se κατθανόντος eU σ άφικβτο ;
ΚΡ. ι^αι. κάπΐ καρπω γ* αντ εγώ χερος φβρω.
ΠΑ. πώς ονν κέκρανται Ζίπτνγον hwpov 0€a<; ; I Ο I Ο
ΚΡ. κοίλης μ^ν όσης φλεβός άπέσταξεν φονω, —
ΠΑ. τί τώδε γ^ρησθαι ; hvvaaiv Ικφ4ρ€ΐ τίνα ;
ΚΡ. νοσονς άττείργβί καΐ τροφάς εχβι βίου.
ΠΑ. ο Βεντβρος δ' αριθμός ον λεγβις τί 8ρα ;
ΚΡ. KTeivet, δρακόντων Ιος ων των Τοργόνος. ΙΟΙ 5
ΠΑ. €19 ei^ δε κραθέντ αντον η χωρίς φορείς ;
ΚΡ. χωρίς' κακω γαρ εσθλον ον συμμίγνυται.
ΠΑ. ω φιλτάτη παι, ττάντ έχεις όσων σε δει.
ΚΡ. τούτω θανείται παϊς' συ δ' ο κτείνων εσει.
ΠΑ. που, καΐ τί Βράσας ; σον λέγειν^ τολμαν δ' εμόν.
ΚΡ. εν ταΐς ^ Αθήναις ^ ^ωμ όταν τονμον μόλτ). Ι02Ι
ΠΑ. ουκ εν τόδ' εΐπας' καΐ συ γαρ τούμον ψεγει?.
ΚΡ. πώς; αρ υττεί?>ον . . .τουθ* ο καμ εισέρχεται;
ΠΑ. συ παΓδα δόσεις Βιολεσαι, κει μη κτενεΐς.
ΚΡ. ορθώς' φθονεΐν γαρ φασι μητρυιας τέκνοις. 1025
ΠΑ. ατ^Γου ιτνν αυτόν κτεΐν , ιν αρνησει φόνους.
ΚΡ. προλάζυμαι γουν τω χρόνω της τβονης.
ΠΑ. κοΧ σον γε λησεις πόσιν α σε σπεύδει λαθεΐν.β
ΚΡ. οίσθ" ουν ο Βρασον ; χειρός εξ εμης λαβών
χρύσωμα ^Κθάνας τόδε, παλαιοί^ όργανον, 1030
ελθών Ιν ημίν βουθυτεί λάθρα ττόσις,
Βείπνων όταν ληγωσι καΧ σπον8άς θεοίς
μελλωσι λείβειν, εν πεπλοις έχων τό8ε
κάθες βαλών εις ττωμα τω ι^εαί'ΐα,
πατήρ δίδωσιν {bequeathed) iicyovoiaLv oh. The genealogy most in vogue
made Erichthonius grandfather of Erechtheus, but Euripides in this play,
for reasons explained in the hitroductioji^ avoids this view (see v. 20).
1011. The vena cava^ by which the blood returns to the heart. ocnris
(not os) implies that the source of the drop was the cause of its effect.
ψόνφ φλίβοί by the bleeding of. 1012. χρήσ-θαι (imperatival infinitive,
with a question, what must one do with this?) L. Dindorf for χρησθ€.
1014. " So we say 'number 2 ', meaning the second thing". B. 1016. η
χωρΙ« φοράς Snape : ϊχωρ (Ισφορ^ϊς MSS. 1021. όταν : whenever for as soon
as, as formerly in English. 1022. γάρ. ' I may criticize,/i?r you did'.
1023. Her view changes as she speaks. She was about to say λρ vnflBov
Tt; €lWpx«Tai: is suggesting itse// to. 1027. τφ χρόνψ by the intefvnt,
ΙΩΝ 85
The jewel came upon his death — Slave, To thee?
Cre. It did; and see {pointing to Jier bracelet), I wear it on
my wrist.
Slave. And what determines then the gouts of blood
To their two-fold effect? Cre. That which distilled
From the hollow vein — Slave. The use and power of that?
Cre. It feedeth life and fends disease. Slave. And what
The working of the second drop ? Cre. It slays !
It is the poison of the Gorgon snakes.
Slave. Thou hast not mingled it with the other ? Cre. No :
We mix not good and ill. It is apart.
Slave. Complete, complete ! My blessed child ! Cre. By this
The boy shall die; and thine shall be the hand.
Slave. Say only when and how : the risk is mine.
Cre. At home, in Athens, whensoe'er he comes.
Slave. I like not thy proposal more than thou
Approvedst mine. Cre. But why? Thou spiest then
A danger ?... Ah ! Slave. The deed will be believed
Thine, though it be not. Cre. Aye, ' the stepmother ' !
We are a proverb. Slave. Slay him therefore here.
Thou canst disown it here. Cre. I taste the joy
The sooner ! Slave. Aye, and wilt deceive thy spouse
Even in his own deceit. Cre. Now therefore take
My orders. With this jewel from my hand
Wrought of old time in gold, Athena's gift,
{putting the bracelet upon his ivrist)
Go to the treacherous feast my husband holds ;
And after meat, when they prepare to make
Libation, have it in thy robe, and put
This... (pointing to the pyx ivJiicJi contains t/ie poison) in the
young man's drink, in his, not all,
dative of measure, joined with προ- {earlier) as commonly with a com-
parative. 1028. i.e. in the feast, ά : ace. of the sphere of action.
1029. Βρασ-ον. Know'st thou then what thou must do? The imperative in
such expressions was 'felt as an equivalent to you are to do' (J ebb on Soph.
O. T, 543). My note on Med. 6oo is wrong. 1030. όργανον : cpyoi/,
work. 1031. βουθυτ€ΐ λάθρα : holds deceptive feast; see 7/. 1027. 1034.
κάθ€5 βαλών : drop it, as distinct from pour it (κάθ^ς) : βολών marks the act as
S6 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ίδια δβ, μη τι πασι, γωρίσα^ ποτον, Ι035
τω των Ιμων μ^ΧΚοντι δεσπόζουν Βομων.
κανπερ ^ίελθτ) λαιμον, ουποθ* Ιζεται
κλβίνάς Άθηνας, κατθανων δ' αντου μενεΐ,
ΠΑ. συ μεν νυν εϊσω προξένων μεθες πόδα*
ημείς δ' εφ' ω τετάγμεθ' εκπονήσομεν. 1040
αγ\ ώ γεραιε πους, ι^βαι^ιας γενον
εργουσυ, κεί μη τω γρονω πάρεση σου
έχθρον δ' €π oivSpa στεΐχε 8εσποτων μετά,
και σνμφόνευε^ καΐ σννεξαίρει Βόμων.
την δ* εΰσεβειαν εύτνγρυσι μεν καλόν i045
τιμαν όταν hk πολεμίους Spdaau κακώς
θελη τις, ού8εΙς εμπο8ών κεϊταυ νόμος. Exeunt,
ΧΟ. Eti/οδια θύγατερ Αάματρος, α των στρ. α .
νυκτιπόλων εφ68ων άνάσσεις,
καΐ μεθαμερίων ο8ωσον 8νσθανατων 105^
κρατήρων πληρώ ματ εφ οίσυ πέμπει
πότνια, πότνι εμα χθόνιας
Τοργους λαιμοτομων από σταλαγμών, Ι055
τω τών Έρεχθεϊ^αν
8όμων εφαπτομενω.
μη8ε ποτ άλλος άλλων απ'
οίκων πόλεως άνάσσοι
πλην τών εύγενεταν^Έρεχ^θείδαν. ΐοόο
el δ' ατελής θάνατος, σπον^αί τε Βεσποί- άντ. α .
νας, δ τε καιρός απ€ί,σι τόλμας,
α τε νυν φερετ ελπίς, ή θηκτόν ζιφος η
λαι/χώι/ εξά\\ιει βρόχον άμφΐ Βειρην, 1065
πάθεσι πάθεα δ' εζανύτουσ
instantaneous. 1035. τι : lost in MSS. before ττ, added by Wakefield. The
line should certainly not be omitted. There is no fault in the language, and
the sense is wanted. 1038. αύτου |ji€v«i: she points to the ground of
Delphi, in which he will lie. 1039. €Ϊ<Γω προξένων ζηίο the house of our
entertainers; so παρά τφ, tv τον, etc. 1046. A terrible irony. It is
precisely on this ruthless principle that Creusa is put to the ban, and
hunted, unheard, almost to a fearful death: see v. 1254. 1048. ΕΙνοδία.
Hekate, identified with Kord, daughter of Demeter (7/. 1085), invoked here
(i) as the patron of black arts generally and poisons particularly (see Med.
396), and (2) as patron of the Eleusinian feast (see below), which Ion would
ΙΩΝ 8;
Only in his, who would usurp my home !
If this should pass his lips, he will not reach
Proud Athens ; he will stay in Delphi — dead !
Slave. Retire then thou to the Hostelry : and I
Will execute mine office. Oh my limbs,
Be for this errand young as ye are old,
Young in despite of time. On ! To the foe !
In the cause of the queen! Kill him and cast him forth !
Scruples of right look well, and prosperous folk
May prize them : but at war, and when you need
To wound a foe, there is no rule against!
Exeunt.
Chorus.
Queen of the Way, whose power controls
The assaulting visitations of the night,
Come now at noon ; and when they fill the bowls,
Guide thou the deadly potion right.
Which our beloved lady sends,
Wrought from the Gorgon throat, the gory drip,
To him, who lays his lawless grip
Upon Erechtheus' throne : Ο guide us to our ends,
Demeter's daughter ! Never any hold
Erechtheus' throne but they, who heir it from of old !
For should our lady's purpose fail,
The murder miss, the tidal hour of hope
Flow by and leave her, quick she will assail
Herself; the dagger or the rope
Will cleave or close her living breath ;
Finding sad end to sorrow she will pass
outrage by his presence. Her image stood at cross-roads (EiVoSia, η iv
obois). 1049. Ιφόδων : including ghosts^ which belonged to her as queen of
the dead, and all 'assaults of darkness'. 1050. και μ.€θαμΐ€ρίων diurnal
also, as the present enterprise is (better than ννκτιποΚων και μ^θαμ^ρίων
Dindorf). Sed qu. μ€σαμ€ρίων? It is now noon or thereabouts (see
V. 1 135) and it is natural to contrast 'the midnight hour'. 1052. χθονία?:
earth-born. 1055. άττό : derived from. 1064. φ6'ρ6τ(αι) she is borne,
carried along, as by a stream. η ξίφο? η 6|άψ€ΐ {fasten) βρόχον : a
88 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
€ts αλλάς βιότον μορφάς κάτ^ισιν.
ου γαρ 8όμων y' irepovs
άρχοντας αλλοδαπούς 1070
ζώσα ποτ ομμάτων iv φα-
«Ί^αις άν4γριτ αν αιτγαΐς
α των €νπατρώαν γζγώσ οίκων.
αίσχννομαυ τον πολννμνον στρ. β\
θεϋν, el παρά καλλυχόροίσι παγαΐς 1075
λα/χπάδα θ€ωρ6ν βΙκάΒων
οψ€ται Ιννν-χ^ίος άϋπνος ων,
οτ€ και Διός άστβρωπός
άν€)(όρ€νσ€ν αίθηρ,
-^opeveL Be σe\άva, 1080
καΐ πevτη κοντά κόραι
^-ηρέος αΐ κατά πόντον
άevάωv Τ€ ποταμών
Βίνας κopeυόμevaL,
τάν ')(pυσoστeφavov κόραν 1085
και ματέρα σeμvάv'
Ιν ekπίζeL• βaσLλeύσeLv
άλλων πόνον elσπeσώp
ό ΦoίβeLoς άλάτας. /
όράθ*, δσου hvσκeλάSoL•σLv άντ, β\ 1090
κατά μονσαν lovTe^ aeiheO* νμνοις
άμeτepa λeχea καΐ γάμους
Κύπρώος άθ4μιτας ανόσιους.
'zeugma'. Α proper verb to ξίφος is to be supplied. 1067. €ΐ8...μιορφά8:
i.e. to life in the lower world (κατά). 1074. A fine and delicate satire on
the prejudices of caste and of local religion. The most truly offensive point
in the origin of Ion, regarded religiously, would be the profanation of a
religious mystery, that of the Theban Bacchus. The Eleusinian rite, which
his presence is supposed to outrage, Avas also a torch-festival, and was
celebrated to lacchus, held commonly to be //le same god undei' another
name (note ττοΚννμνον). Though less orgiastic than that of Bromius, it was
by no means decent (Aristoph. Frogs 410) and probably not much less
dangerous. αίσ-χύνομαι: / am ashamed before the god. πολύνμνον:
because of his many titles. (So ττοΚνώννμο^ Soph. Ant. 11 15.) 1075.
Ίταγαΐβ: the spring Καλλ/χοροί at Eleusis. 1076. λαμ.ΐΓά8α...€ΐκάδων: the
torch-light procession to witness the feast of the Twentieth^ i.e. the 20th
day of the month Boedromion, the most sacred in the festival. 1077.
ΙΩΝ 89
To life in other form, to death !
One thing she will not brook, proud heiress, that the glass
Of those translucent eyes should witness there
Lords of another line and changelings in the chair!
Could we approach our god with prayer,
With hymn and torch on Hallow-Night,
If foreign eyes had leave to share
The vigil and the blessed sight ?
When the very stars in the solemn skies
Go round with the moon to the dancing hour,
And the fifty maidens of Nereus rise
From sea and river, their maiden-bower.
All together, one worship paid
To the golden crowns of the Mother and Maid !
And he would there be sacred king,
On others' labour entering.
That cloister-waif, that outcast thing !
Ye scandal-masters of the lyre,
That harping still upon the lust
Of losel woman never tire,
Her lewdness ever, now be just..
δψδται, i.e. Ion. 1078. καΐ. The very elements join in the Avorship.
1082 — 83. There is probably some error, as the metre shows, either here,
or in 7/7'. 1098 — 99, or in both. Here there is no difficulty of sense.
1084. κορ€υόμ6ναι, spend their 7fiaiden/wod, Musgrave. χορ^υόμίναι MSS.
Such a phrase as χορ^νουσι χορ€υόμ€Ραι (for χορ^νονσαή can scarcely be right.
To Musgrave's correction it has been objected that all the Nereids were not
always maidens. But surely κόραι Kopevovrai. 1085. τάν...σ•€μ.νάν: see on
V. 1048. The accus. depends on xopevei. 1087. βασ-ιλίύσ-ίΐν. The βασι-
λεύς of Athens, represented in Euripides' time by the second magistrate or
άρχων βασιλεύς, was chiefly Concerned with the state religion and had special
functions at the Mystery (see Smith, Did. Ant. s. v. Eleusinia). 1088.
See Ion's answer to this vv. 1296 — 98. 1090. o<roi: the reference is to
the tone of literature generally, not to any particular place. See a closely
similar passage in Med. 410. 1091. κατά...1όντ65 : 'going over, descanting'.
1093. γάμου?... άνοσίου5. If this is correct, Eur. here uses the name
Κυττρίί as importing in itself unlawful love, άθίμιτος (gen. sing.) Bayfield.
90 . ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
οσοΊ/ βνσββία κρατουμεν
οί8ικον αροτον άντρων, Ι095
παλίμφαμος άοιδά
καΐ Mover' εις avSpas ϊτω
8νσκ€\α8ος άμφΐ \4κτρων.
SeLKVvaL γαρ ό Διός e/ci*
παίδων άμνημοσύναν, Ι ΙΟΟ
ον KOLvav τβκβων τυχαν
οΐκοισι φυτεύσας
SeanoLva' προς δ' ^Αφρο8ίταν
άΧλαν θ4μ€.νος γαριν,
νόθου τταιδός eKvpcrev. Ι105
Enter a man, one of Creusa's servants, gasping and wildly agitated,
ΘΕ. KXeii^at yvi^aiAce?, ττον κόρην ^Έιρεγθβως
BeanoLvav βνρω ; πανταχτ) γαρ αστβως
ζητών νιν βζεπλησα κονκ ίχω λαββίν.
ΧΟ. TL δ' ίστιν, ώ ^vvSovXe; τις προθυμία
πο8ων €χ€ί ere καΐ λόγους τίνας φέρεις ; 1 1 1 0
ΘΕ. θηρωμβθ'' αρ^αΐ δ' άπιχωριοι φθόνος
ζητουσυν αυτήν, ως θάιητ) πβτρουμενη.
ΧΟ. οΐμοι, τί \.€.ζεις ; ου τι που λελημμεθα
κρυφαΐον εΙς παιδ' ίκπορίζουσαι φόνον;
ΘΕ. €γνως; μεθέξεις ουκ εν υστάτοις κάκου. ΙΙΙ5
ΧΟ. ωφθη δε πως τα κρυπτά μηχανήματα ;
ΘΕ. το μη Βίκαιον της Βίκης ησσώμενον ;
1095. αδικον αροτον άνΒρων : unlawful crop οχ field, i.e. unlawful plough-
ing and reaping. See Soph. O. T. 1485, 1497. 1098. See on 1082.
Perhaps δυσκλβαί (poet, for SuaicXeeay), a predicate to άνδρας: the rarity of
the form, and v. 1090, would explain the error. 1099. See on 1083. ό Ai6s
(K παίδων ('he that comes of the children of Zeus', i.e. Xuthus) is not only
unmetrical and clumsy, but does not fit the sense, which requires a description
not of Xuthus personally, but a man. I suggested {Journ. Hell. Soc. Vol. i.)
•€« (eic) for eV (εκ) : ΔιΟγ fis τταίδων one at least of the children of Zeus, i.e. of
men as opposed to women ; see Hesiod Theog. 47, and contrast Hesiod
Theog. 570 ff. This I still think probably right ; but as even so further
change is required, 1 leave the text as uncertain. 1101 — 03. Not sharing
my lady s fortune in the begetting of children. The negat. falls on κοινάν.
τύχαν : see on v. 702. 1103 — 04. With respect to love giving himself
ΙΩΝ • 91
How doth her faith superior show
Beside the lust of losel man !
See it, and change your music. Go
Another way than once ye ran,
Ye lyric libels, go, and vex
The faithless-found, the elder sex.
The 'son of Zeus' with her he wed
Disdains to suffer, comforted
Elsewhere and in a fruitful bed !
Enter a man,i7;/^ of Creiisd s servants, gasping and wildly agitated,
Man. Ladies, oh tell me, where shall I find the queen,
My mistress ? Everywhere throughout the town
I have made search for her, and no success.
Cho. What is it, fellow-servant } Why so pressed
Thy pace, and what the tidings t Man. We are chased !
The officers of Delphi seek to seize
My lady, that she die by stoning. CJio. Ah !
Horror ! Detected } Oh, it cannot be !
The secret death we planned against the lad t
Man. Thou knewest ! None is nearer to the peril
Than thou. Cho. But oh, how was the plot disclosed ?
Man. The enterprise of justice } 'Twas the god,
other pleasure. 1106. Noble ladies. If this is right, it implies that the
man, in his frantic haste, does not see at the first moment to whom he is
speaking but takes them for women of Delphi. In the mouth of a slave
icXfii/oy, illustrious, noble, would apply to any free person whom he wished
to propitiate. Perhaps this is the intention. If he recognizes them, κλςιναί
is absurd, and Greek usage would require a Avord meaning servant or slave.
But no satisfactory correction has been suggested. 1108. Ιξ^πλησ-α : /
liave completed. ττανταχ•? acrrews {all ways in the city) is treated as a
substantive. 1111. i.^\oS.\ officers. 1112. o.yyn\v'. herself, i.Q. our lady.
1115. ίγνω?; Thou wast aware of it? i.e. wast in the plot, ^γ^ω?•
μ(θ(ξ€ΐί δ' {thou art right, and wilt share) Hermann. The recovery of this
verse from the xMSS. Ι^νάσμ^β" €ξ ΐσον kcv νστάτοις kokoIs was the work of
Porson. Perhaps κακοϊς should be retained, and κακών supplied from it.
κακόν is here punishment, as often ; so malum in the slave-language of Latin
comedy. 1117. The attempt of right to defeat wrong? This whole phrase,
which describes the plot from the point of view of the speakers, stands
<\
92 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
€ζηυρ€Ί/ 6 θεός ου μυανΘηναυ θίΚων.
ΧΟ. πώς; άντιάζω σ Ικεης ίξειπείν rdSe'
πεπνσμεναι yap, el θανεΐν ημάς χρεωρ, Ι Τ 20
ηδίον αν θάνοιμεν^ εΐθ* οραν φάο<ζ.
ΘΕ. inel θεον μαντείον φχετ εκΚιπών
πόσις Κρεονσης, παΓδα τον καινον λαβών
προς δείπνα θυσίας θ" ας θεοίς ώπλίζετο,
'Βοΰθος μεν φχετ ένθα πυρ πήδα θεού 1125
βακχείον, ώς σφαγαΐσυ Alovvctov πέτρας
δενσευε δυασάς παώος άντ οπτηρίων,
λεζας' συ μεν νυν, τεκνον, άμφηρευς μένων
σκηνας άνίστη τεκτονων μοχθημασυν
θύσας δβ γενέταις θεοίσιν, ην μακρόν χρονον 1 1 30
μένω, παρουσι δαίτες εστωσαν φίλους.
λαβών δε μόσχους ψχεθ*' 6 δε ζ^εαζ^ιας
σεμνώς άτοίχους περιβολας σκηνωμάτων
ορθοστάταις 18ρύεθ\ ηλίου βολάς
καλώς φυλάζας, ούτε προς μεσας φλογός ΙΙ35
ακτίνας, ουτ αΰ προς τελευτώσας βίον,
πλεθρου σταθμησας μήκος εΙς εύγώνων, ^^37
ως πάντα Α,ελφών λαόι^ εΙς θοίνην καλών. 1 1 40
in apposition to μηχανήματα. 'How could the plot be detected, when
that detection means that iniquity triumphs over justice?' The full per-
suasion of the slaves, that their horrible attempt is * righteous ', is one of
the most interesting points in the situation. It is they who tempt and
draw in Creusa. It is to them a shock of surprise, almost incredible,
that the detection should have been 'permitted'.— Commonly τ/, my is
joined to v. 11 18. 'The attempt of right to defeat wrong the god ex-
posed '. But ίξηυρίν is not quite exposed. 1118. «ξηϋρβν (οττω? ωφθύη) :
devised a means of detection (the doves; see the following story). Cf. v. 554,
ό ΈΟΓμος βξηνρίν. Not t/ie god discovered the plot, which ex hypothesi he
always knew. 1119. Their eagerness to be informed is not mere curi-
osity, which in the situation would be rather absurd. Their feeling is still
that (Λ V. 1 1 17, and their meaning is that the prospect of immediate death
makes them the more anxious to know all that can be known of an event,
which seems to shatter their moral and religious faith. 1121. €Ϊθ* όράν
ψάο« merely expresses the natural clinging to hope. 1125. ϊνθα : the place
on Parnassus where the Bacchic rite of Dionysus was celebrated ; see on v.
550. 1126. 8i<r<ras π^τρα5 : Parnassus, because the cliffs as seen from
Delphi showed two peaks. 1127. παιδ05 άντ' όπτηρίων : in place of the
ΙΩΝ 93
Who would not be polluted by the deed.
Cho. But how ? In mercy tell us ! Better die,
If die we must, not in this ignorance !
Man. Forth from the sacred oracle they went
Unto the purposed feast and offering,
Our lady's husband and his new-found son,
And parted, Xuthus to ascend the place
Of Bacchus' fiery dance, and there anoint
The Holy Tors with sacrificial blood
For this discovery, saying, ere he went,
' Son, stay thou here, and set mechanic hands
* To frame a spacious tent. When rite is done
' Unto the gods of birth, if I delay,
* Banquet the guests assembled.' So he took
Victims and went. The youth in solemn form
Set up a tabernacle, tapestry
On planted poles, so fronting as to 'scape
The blaze of noon and the descending sun,
Four-square and (as to hold the total folk
Of Delphi) every way one hundred feet.
offerings which he should have made for the sight of his son at his birth.
1130. v€V€Tais: of birth. θύσ-as..., Saircs ίσ-τωσ-αν. 'When you have
sacrificed, let the banquet be served '. The feast would begin as a matter of
course with an offering to the proper gods. After this, if Xuthus had not
returned, they were to proceed without waiting. For the loose construction
see vv. 927 — 28. — To join βνσας with μ^νω is contrary to the tense of the
participle, which should then be present {θνων)'. moreover the preceding
context tells us that θνσα^ refers to Ion ; and if it does not, there is a disloca-
tion of thought. 1133. άτοίχου?, i.e. ' serving as rei^i;, though not what are
commonly so called'. 1134 — 35. βολά5...φλογ05. I follow A. Schmidt,
with Mr Bayfield, in transposing these Avords : ηΚίον φλογός... μ^σας βολάς MSS.,
which gives a sentence so unsatisfactory that we may accept provisionally any
•^vay of escape. 1137. After this verse the MSS. have these, μίτρημ ΐχουσαν
τονν μίσω ye μυρίων ττοδών αριθμόν, ccs Xeyovatv οι σοφοί, i.e. ' containing ΙΟΟΟΟ
square feet, as the scientific say '. Paley proposed the omission. I cannot
find any point in them, nor see, on the other hand, the interpolator's object.
We might decide better, if we knew why the tent should be a square of
100 ft. : that there was some known reason of ritual or custom I have little
doubt. What the number of the Delphians was or was thought to be in the
time of Euripides (for it is of this that the audience would think) cannot, I
94 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
λαβών ο' νφάσμαθ^ lepa θησαυρών πάρα,
κατεσκιαζε, θανματ άνθρωποι^ οράν.
πρώτον μεν ορόφω πτέρυγα πβρίβαΚλβί πέπλων,
άι^ά^τ^/Αα Δίον τταιδός, ους 'ϊίρακλέης
* Αμαζόνων σκυλβύματ ηνβγκεν θεώ. 1 145
ivTJv δ' ύφανταΐ γράμμασιν τοιαίδ' υφαΐ,
Ουρανός άθροίζων αστρ iv αίθβρος κύκλω'
ίππους μεν ηλαυν βίς τελβυταίαν φλόγα
Ηλιος, ίφίλκων λαμπρον Έσπερου φάος.
μελοίμπεπλος 8ε Nuf άσείρωτον ζυγοίς 1 1 5^
ο^μ επαλλεν άστρα δ' ώμάρτει θεα.
Πλειάς μεν ηει μεσοπόρου δι' αΙθερος,
δ τε ζίφηρης ^Πρίων' υπερθε δε
Αρκτος στρεφουσ ουραία χρυσηρη πολω•
κύκλος δε πανσέληνος ηκόντίζ άνω 1^55
μηνός διχηρης, 'Τάδες τε, ναυτίλοις
σαφεστατον σημεΐον, η τε φωσφόρος
"Εως διω/ίουσ•' άστρα' τοίγοισιν δ' επι
ημπίσχεν άλλα βαρβάρων υφάσματα,
εύηρετμους ναυς άντίας Έλληνίσιν, 1 1 6θ
και μιζόθηρας φώτας, Ιππείας τ άγρας
ελάφων, λεόντων τ άγριων θηράματα.
^ κατ εισόδους δε Κεκροπα θυγατέρων πελας
σπείρας συνειλίσσοντ , ^Αθηναίων τίνος
ανάθημα, γρυσεους τ εν μέσω συσσιτίω 1 1 ^5
κρατήρας εστησ. εν δ' άκροισι βάς ποσίν
κηρυζ άνείπε τον θελοντ εγχωρίων
ες δαιτα γωρείν ως δ' επληρώθη στέγη,
στεφάνοισι κοσμηθεντες ευόχθου βοράς
φυ\ην επληρουν' ως δ* άνεΐσαν η8ονην 1 1 70
suppose, be ascertained. 1141 — 1166. This description of Delphian pomp
and luxury is not without an invidious purpose. 1146 : woven in it was
a weaving in design. As the whole tapestry of the roof had one connected
subject {ovpavoi), the collective v<^ai is treated as singular. 1150. ά(Γ€£ρω-
Tov: having no traces (and therefore no trace-horses, σ(ΐραφόρονς) to the yoke,
i.e. having two (yoked) horses only, as a minor luminary. {υγοϊβ: the yoke,
the pair, constructed loosely with ασ€φωτοι/ as a sort of dative of respect or
reference. The position of the word, I think, requires this. 1154. ουραία
ΙΩΝ 95
For covering, from the sacred store he took
Works of the loom, the wonder of the world.
Outspread as wings about the roof there went
A curtain taken from the Amazons
And dedicate as spoil by Heracles ;
Where in the warp was woven for design
The host of Heaven assembled in his sphere.
There coursing to his fiery close the Sun
Behind his chariot drew the shining Moon ;
There Night in vest of sable wheeled a car
With two unto the yoke, and in her train
The stars ; mid in the dome the Pleiads went,
Sworded Orion with them ; overhead
Arctus revolving turned his golden tail.
There was the perfect-rounded orb, that parts
The month, up-shooting, there the Hyads, sign
Surest to seamen, there the sign of Dawn
With stars that fled before him. Round the sides
Were tapestries of oriental work,
Greek ships and ships of Asia, prow to prow,
Monsters half-beast half-human, chase of deer
With steeds, and lions hunted in the wild.
At the entrance Cecrops with his daughters, gift
Of some Athenian, rolled a serpent coil;
And bowls of gold were set in the middle space.
Then went a herald, straining all his height.
And cried, that of the Delphians whoso would
Should come to banquet. When the room was filled,
They put on wreaths and of the bounteous cheer
Took to content. And now, when meat would please
(originally an adj.) χρυσ-ήρη : cf τρόπαια χρονιά Aesch. TAei>. 763 (Dind.) and
sup. V. 172. — ττόλω: 171 or with the revolving heaven. 1156. 'YaScs:
whose first rising in September marked the beginning of the stormy season.
1159. βαρβάρων: of orientals, Asiatics. 1160. This allusion to the
contest of Hellas and Persia (perhaps suggested by known works of Persian
art) is scarcely to be called an anachronism. The Ion is in all essentials a
story of the fifth century. 1163. KcKpoira: a bronze group probably,
placed opposite the entrance in allusion to the approaching removal of Ion
96 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
δαιτο9, παρελθών πρεσβνς εΙς μέσον niSov
ίστη, γίΚων δ' εθηκε σννΒείπνους πολύν
πρόθυμα πρασσων./ εκ τε γαρ κρωσσών ν8ωρ
γεροΐν έπεμπε νίπτρα, κάζεθνμία
σμύρνης ίδρωτα, γ^ρνσέων τ εκπωμάτων 1 1 75
ηρχ) αυτός αυτω τόνΒε προστάζας πόνον.
επεί δ' es αυλούς ηκον ες κρατήρα τε
KOLVOV, γέρων έλεξ*' άφαρπάζειν γύρεων
οίνηρα τεύ-χτ) σμικρά μεγάλα δ' είσφέρευν,
ως θάσσον έλθωσ οΓδ* ες ιη^ονάς φρένων. ΐΐ8θ
rjv δτ) φερόντων μογθος άργνρηλάτονς
χρυσέας τε φυάλας* 6 δε λαβών εζαίρετον,
ως τω νέω Srj Βεσπόττ) χάριν φέρων,
έΒωκε πλήρες τεύχος, εΙς οίνον βαλών
ο φασι hovvai φάρμακον Βραστή ριον 11^5
οέσποιναν, ώς παις 6 νέος έκλίποι φάος.
κονΖεΧς ταδ* τιΖενν^ εν χεροΐν έχοντι δβ
σποι^δάς μετ άλλων τταιδι τω πεφηνότι
βλασφημίαν τις οίκετών εφθέγζατο.
6 8\ ώς εν Ιερω μάντεσίν τ εσθλοΐς τραφείς, 1 1 QO
οίωνον εθετο κάκελενσ άλλον νέον
κρατήρα πληρούν, τάς 8ε πρΙν σπονΒάς θεού
διδωσι γαία πάσί τ έκσπένΒειν λέγει.
σιγή ό ύττηλθεν εκ δ' έπίμπλαμεν 8ρ6σου
κρατήρας ίερονς Βνβλίνον τε πώματος. ΙΙ95
κάν τωδε μοχθώ πτηνος εισπίπτει Βόμοις
κώμος πελειών — Αοζίον γάρ εν Βόμοις
άτ ρέστα ναίονσ' — ώς δ' άπέσπεισαν μέθν,
ες αντο χείλη πώματος κεχρημέναι
καθηκαν έΐλκον δ' ευπτέρονς ες au^eVas. ΐ 200
καΐ ταις μεν αλλαις άνοσος ην λοιβη θεον'
to Athens. 1171. irpiafvs: not simply γ€ρων, but as the emissary or
person cominissiotied hy Creusa; see on vv. i2io, 1214. 1174. iirc^irc: he
went conveyitig. His interference in the earlier stages was intended to
disarm suspicion when he should present the poisoned cup. vim-pa : as
nuashing. 1177. Is αύλούβ : to the {stage of the) flute-playing. κρατήρα
κοινόν: the bowl from which all the guests were to receive a cup for the
purpose of making a common libation. In making a libation part of the
cup was drunk and part spilled upon the ground. 1178. His purpose
ΙΩΝ 97
No longer, came the emissary in the midst,
And made much merriment among the guests •
With his officious zeal, brought ewers, poured
Water to wash the hands, with scented gums
Made perfume, set the goblets on the round,
Not bidden so by any but himself.
Anon, when came the music, and the bowl
Was to be served to all, 'Away,' said he,
* With little cups ! Bring large, that these who drink
' May come the quicker to a joyous mood.'
Then, while they took the silver and the gold
With turmoil to and fro, one special cup.
Chosen as if to grace his new-made lord,
He filled and gave him, putting in the wine
Quick poison, given him, say they, by the queen
To slay therewith the new-discovered son.
This none had seen ; but just as all were served,
A slave let fall some inauspicious word.
Bred in a fane by doctors of the craft,
He took it for a sign, and bade them fill
The bowls again. What was already served
He poured to earth, directing all to make
Libation likewise. Then a silence fell,
The while we duly charged the bowls with wine
Of Byblus and with water. Ere 'twas done,
A flight of doves, which in Apollo's house
Dwell fearless, came for orts into the tent.
With eager thirst they dipped their beaks, and drank
The freshly-poured libation, where it fell,
Into their pretty throats ; and, saving one.
Drank safely all : one lighted where the lord
was to cause the confusion described in v. 1181, which gave him a con-
venient opportunity. — 1181. The silver and large cups they took away, and
the small of gold they brought. 1187. tjSciv : 3rd pers. sing., jjdet with
V €φ€λκνστικόν. Ιν-,-ΊΤίφηνότι: i.e. when all had received their wine and
were ready. 1195 κρατήρα?: three libations were usually made, and a
separate bowl mixed for each. Byblus^ a wine-district in Thrace.
1197. κώμοξ : they were attracted by the chance of being fed with the τρα-
-γήματα etc., and therefore are called a κώμος, properly a troop of revellers
V.I. . 7
98 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
η ο €4€τ evu ο καινοί €σπ€υσ€τ/ γόνος,
ποτον τ iyevaar, evOvs ευπτερον 8e/xas
eaeiae κάβάκχευσεν, βκ δ' εκλαγζ^ οττα
άζννετον αΐάζονσα. θάμβησεν he πας 1 205
θοινατορων ομιΚ,ος όρνιθος πόνους'
θνησκευ δ' άπασπαίρονσα, φοίνυκοσκζλβΐς
χηλάς παρβίσα. y γυμνά δ' €Κ πέπλων μέλη
υπέρ τραπέζης ηχ 6 μαντευτος γόνος,
βοα 8ε' τις μ εμελλεν ανθρώπων κτανείν ; 1 2 1 0
cn^/Aati^e, πρεσβυ' ση γαρ η προθυμία,
κα\ πώμα χειρός σης εΒεζάμην πάρα.
εύθυς δ' έρευνα γραίαν ωΚενην λαβών,
επ αυτοφώρω πρεσβυν ως εχονθ* ελοι.
ωφθη δε καΐ κατεϊπ* αναγκασθείς μόγις Ι 2 1 5
τολμάς Κρεούσης πώματος τε μηχανάς.
θεΐ δ' ευθύς εζω συλλαβών θοινάτορας
6 πυθόχρηστος Αοξίου ι^εαι^ια?,
καν κοιράνοισι ΎΙυθικο7.ς σταθείς λέγει'
ώ γαία σεμνή, της 'Έιρεχθεως ϋπο Ι2 20
ζενης γυναικός φαρμάκοισι θνησκομεν.
Αελφών δ' άνακτες ώρισαν πετρορριφη
θανεΐν εμην 8εσποιναν ου φηφω /Αία,
τον ιερόν ως κτείνουσαν εν τ άνακτοροις
φόνον τιθεΐσαν, πάσα δε ζητεί πόλις 1225
την άθλίως σπεύσασαν άθλίαν ohov.
παίδων γαρ ελθουσ εις ερον Φοιβον πάρα
το σώμα κοινή rois τέκνοις άπώλεσεν.
Noise without.
who join a feast for the after merriment, the coinissatio. 1208. μΛη:
arms. He reached across and clutched the old man opposite to him.
1211 (and 1214). πρ^σ-βυ deputy, the word implies that, as Ion rightly
guesses, the old man had acted by the cotninisnon of another. 1214.
ϊχοντα: i7i possession, i.e. before he could get rid of whatever evidence of his
employer he might have about him. 1215. ώφθη (ίχων): the proof was
seen upon him, i.e. Creusa's bracelet under his dress, with the pyxes attached
to it, one of them partly discharged : see v. 1033. άναγκασ-θ^δ μόγιβ. What
horrors these words might cover, especially in the case of a slave, the
audience knew only too well. 1216. Κρβούση? depends on κατύ-ηΐ, he
ΰΠαν^ίζεά the attejnpt and devising upon Creusa. 1220. ώ γαία <Γ€μνη : an
appeal to the sacred city, as represented by her magistrates. 1222. ire-
ΙΩΝ
99
Of the birth-day festival had poured his cup :
She sipped ; that instant all her feathers shook,
She struggled, screaming as in agony
Incomprehensible. In amazement all
Gazed on the bird's convulsion, till she gasped
The death-gasp, and the rosy feet fell slack.
Then, reaching out across the table arms
Bare of the vesture, cried the destined heir
'What creature meant my death? Whose instrument
'Art thou? Confess! Thine was the zealous hand
' That put the cup in mine.' With that he clutched
His skinny wrists and searched him instantly
For proof of his employment; which they found,
And plied him till perforce he did disclose
Creusa for projector of the attempt.
Straight from the feast with all the company
Ran forth Apollo's prince, and laid his charge
Before the sacred bench of Pytho thus :
' Court of the god, the queen, the stranger queen,
'Erechtheus' daughter, hath assailed my life
'With poison!' And the Delphian judges doomed
By many votes my lady to be stoned
For bloody sacrilege, essayed upon
A person sacrosanct and holy ground.
All Delphi joins the hue. Thus hath she run
To ruin, and her hapless pilgrimage
To Phoebus, for the child she yearned to have.
Hath brought destruction of herself and seed.
Noise without.
τρορριφή. Here (and in v. 1266 more distinctly) the language points to
flinging from the cliff as the mode of death : while in v. 1236 Χ^νσιμοι distinctly
suggests stoning. There seems to be no proof or likelihood that this word
could be used of the other method. Perhaps the solution is that stoning
was used as a torture, and the body, dead or alive, flung afterwards over the
cliff. (Mr Bayfield's note suggests this.) It is indeed not likely that an
Inquisition and a fanatical populace would be content with an instantaneous
execution. 1223. ού ψήφω μια : 7iot by a single vote, i.e. 'by a large majority'.
This shows that the judgment was not unanimous. 1227 : having been
brought to Phoebus' honse by her desire of children, literally ' having come with
7—2
100 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΧΟ. ουκ €στ\ ουκ εστίν θανάτου παρατροπα /x,eXea μοι.
φανερά φανερά yap τάδ' rjhy) 123 1
στΓον^άζ εκ Διονύσου βοτρύων θοάς εγ^ίΒνας
στ ay όσ IV μLyvυμεvaς φόνω.
φανερά ^υ/ιατα νερτερων, σύμφορο! μεν εμω βίω,
λεύσίμοί δε καταφθοραΐ 8εσποίνα. 1236
τίνα φυyάv πτερόεσσαν η γ^θονος υπο σκότιων μυγών
πορευθώ θανάτου \εύσιμον άταν
άπoφεύyoυσa, τεθρίππων 1 240
ωκίσταν γαΧάν επιβάσ η πρυμνας επΙ ναών ;
ουκ εστί \αθείν οτε μη -χρτιζων
θεοζ εκκ\επτει.
τι ποτ, ω μεΚεα Ζεσποινα, μένει 1245
Ψ^Χ?7 ^^ παθεΐν; άρα θελουσαι
8ράσαί τι κακόν τους πελας αύταΙ
πεισόμεθ*, ωσπερ το 8ίκαιον; 1249
Creusa rusJies in.
ΚΡ. ΠρόστΓολοι, Ζιωκόμεσθα θανάσιμους επι σφayάς
ΐΐυθίω ψήφω κρατιηθείσ ' εκΒοτος δε yίyvoμaι.
ΧΟ. ΐσμεν, ω τά\αινα, τάς σας συμφοράς, Ιν el τύχης.
ΚΡ. ποί φύγω 8ητ ; εκ yap οίκων προύλαβον μόγις ττοδα
a view to her desire'. Φοίβου Matthiae. 1231 (and 1234). φανίρά. A point
is made upon the senses of φανερός plain. In v. 1231 it means discovered, in
V. 1234, as the context shows, certain, already seen (cf. προνπτος). τάδ€...
<Γ'ΐΓονδά5...μ.ιγνυμι^να5: this matter of the libation. 1232. Ik βοτρύων: 7nade
from grapes., i.e. of wine. ^ Goas refers to the rapidity of the poison's
working'. B. If so, Boai^ (Dobree) would be better. But is not βοα %γώνα
simply the Gorgon-snake, which ri^iv els deav δόρυ, rushed upon the warring
gods, and thence gave to its skin the name of alyis {vv. 993 — 997)?
1233. φόνφ: murderously, dat. modal. 1234. θύματα ν€ρτ^ρων...λ£ύ<Γΐ|ΐοι
καταψθοραί: sacrifice to the gods below,.. .a death by stoning. I have little
doubt that this language is to be explained in the same way, whatever it is,
as that of Aesch. Ag. 1107 (11 18) θύματος λ^υσίμου, which is shown by the
context there to mean 'an offering to Death' (see note there). But the
matter is obscure. That executions, such as the speakers here expect to be
done upon them, should be called θύματα is natural enough, since the alleged
object of them was to appease the outraged god (see v. 1224 and the note
above cited). As to vcpτ^pωv, it perhaps means no more than that the
human 'victims' would be sent to the lower world.— Paley refers θύματα to
the attempt on Ion, but (i) the description is inapplicable, and (2) the words
ΙΩΝ ΙΟΙ
Chorus. Ο, Ι must die, must die, and no escape !
Found, proven, found, the viper's gall
Mixed with the blood of Dionysus' grape
In fell libation, certain all 1
Nor certain less that with the perishing queen ' »., • ^o^ .
We perish, victims too. The stone! Betweeri>'' ' '' ' ''' ^
Us and the death is nought! To soar, to;dip>O > ο Γ';
Deep in the darksome earth, to run from Ueath', ' " ' '
The stony death.
At speed of wheel and hoof or sailing ship ?
Nay, escape is only given
To secrets by the will of Heaven.
Oh, what hereafter, lady, waits
Thy hapless ghost t What horrid fates
May we, who sought our neighbour's hurt
Not look for, as our own desert !
Creiisa rushes in.
Creusa. Women, I am pursued ! The major vote
Hath doomed me to the god, and Pythian law
Yields me to death ! Cho. Alas, we know thy fate
And present pass ! Cre. Oh, whither shall I fly }
I left our lodging not a step too soon
in apposition show that θύματα means the expected punishment.
1235. οτυμ,φοραί: a word strangely weak. The translation assumes
σ-υμφθοραί, perishing together with. (See Aesch. Ag. 1186 σύμφογγος for
σΰμφθογγοί.) 1243 — 44. A pregnant sentence, both in its connexion here
and in reference to the whole play. I retain χρ^ζων, desiring {to conceal)
does conceal^ but I believe that χρ^ήζων (see L. and Sc. s. vv. χρήζω, χρησμός)
is right: There is no secrecy, except the secrecy of God'^s revelations, lit.
' except when God in revealing conceals a part (ex-) '. The MSS. are equally
good for either. 1245. The mention of 'the secrets of God' naturally
suggests to them in their present position the thought of that unknown life
to which they are going. Now, detected and about to suffer, they feel
horrible doubts as to the true character of their act. 1246. ψυχτ), as
opposed to σώματι. What awaits her and them here they know ; but what
after? 1251. Πυθίω (so mss. ex coll. MoUendorf) : to the Pythian god
{v. 285), constructed with σφαγάς, to die as a sacrifice to the anger of
Apollo; see on θύματα, v. 1234. Others Τίνθίων or Πυθία. Ψηφω
κρατηθβΐσα : passive from ή ψήφος βκράτησε, 'the vote prevailed' : see
102 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
μη Oaveip, κΧοπτ) δ' άφίγμαί 8ίαφυγουσα πολβμίονζ.
ΧΟ. ποΐ δ' άρ άλλοσ* η 'ττΐ βωμόν ;
ΚΡ. καΧ τι μοι πλέον τ6^€\ 1255
ΧΟ. Ικέτιν ου θέμις φονενευν.
ΚΡ. ....,: '^,Φ νομω δε y οΚΚνμαι.
'ΧΟ. χίι/οίο; ί/ .ίχλουσα.
cJCP^ ..' ; : - ;κυΧ,μΎΐν οΓδ' άτγωνισταΧ πικροί
' ' ' hevfy Ιπ'είγορται ζιφ-ηρεις.
ΧΟ. Γ{€ νυν πνρας επι.
KOLU θάνΎ)ς γαρ ενθοίΒ* ούσα, τοΓ? άποκτείνασί σε
προστροπαιον οίμα θησεις, οίστεον δε την τύχην.
Creusa seats herself at the place of sacrifice. At this moniejit
Ion enters with armed men and a crowd of the Delphian
populace. He strides up to Creusa afid accosts her with fury.
ΙΩ. ^il τανρόμορφον όμμα Κηφισού πατρός, 1201
οΐαν εχώναν TrjvS' εφνσας η πνρος
SpaKovT άναβλεποντα φοινίαν φλόγα,
η τόλμα πασ ενεστιν, οΰδ* ησσων εφυ
Γοργούς σταλαγμών οΐς έμελλε με κτανεΐν. 1265
λάζνσθ*, ϊν αυτής τους ακήρατους πλοκούς
κόμης καταζηνωσι ΐίαρνασοΰ πλάκες,
όθεν πετραΐον άλμα 8ισκευθησεται.
εσθλου δ' εκυρσα δαίμονος πριν ες πόλιν
μολεΐν Άθηνων χυπό μητρυιάν πεσε'ίν. l2yo
εν συμμάχοις γαρ άνεμετρησάμην φρενας
τάς σας, όσον μοι πημα 8υσμενης τ εφυς*
εΐσω γαρ άν με περιβαλοΰσα 8ωμάτων
άρ8ην άν εζεπεμφας εις Άιδου Βόμους.
He becomes aware tltat she is upon the altar, and pauses.
αλλ' ούτε βωμός ουτ ^Απόλλωνος 8όμος 1275
σώσει σ. ο δ' οίκτος ο σος εμοί κρείσσων πάρα
και μητρί τ^ 'μη. και γαρ ει το σώμα μοι
ν. 1223• 1261. τανρόμορφον όμμα: ^ hull-shaped for m\ So rivers were
commonly represented. Soph. Track. 508; Hor. Carm. 4. 14. 25; Verg.
Georg. 4. 371. Cephisus'. river of Athens, and in mythology ancestor
of Creusa. 1262. ίχιΒναν : opp. to τανρόμορφον. 1264. ήσσων : pro-
ΩΝ
Ι03
To save my life, and slipping through the foe
Got here by stealth. Clio. Fly to the altar, fly!
Where else ? Cre. What use ? Cho. Religion suffers not
To slay in sanctuary. Cre. But I am dead
By form of law. Cho. But they must take thee first !
Cre. See, see, my rivals in the desperate race
Rush hither, sword in hand ! CJio. Quick ! Seat thyself
Among the ashes. If they kill thee there,
No help for it ; thy blood is on their heads. /^\
CreiLsa seats herself at the place of sacrifice. At this moment
Ion enters with armed me7i and a crowd of the Delphian
poptdace. He strides up to Creusa and accosts her with fury.
Ion. What viper, dragon glaring fiery death,
Is this, Cephisus, born of thee, who showest
Nought more malign than bull in form and eye .-*
Cruel she is as death itself, as even
The Gorgon drops wherewith she sought my life.
Seize her; and let Parnassus' cliff, wherefrom
She shall be hurled to bound from rock to rock.
Drag out the tresses of her delicate hair.
Happy that this befell before I reached
Athens, at mercy of my stepmother !
I have proved thy danger and thy bitterness
Here, where I have defenders, happily.
Hadst thou entrapped me in thy house, thou hadst
Dismissed me sheer into the house of Death.
He becomes aware that she is upon the altar, and pauses.
Nay, not the altar, not Apollo's house,
Shall save thee ! Thy appeal for mercy yields
To mine, and to my mother's ; if I have
bably archaic compar. from rjbvs kind : cf. βράσσων, βραΒίων : less is weak.
1266—1281. The irregular order of this speech, in which the command
to seize Creusa is not followed by the execution, has suggested various
re-arrangements of the lines. I have tried by the stage-directions to
show how the changes of attitude are explained by the action. 1273.
•ΐΓ€ριβαλοΰ(Γα : as in a net. — —1275. Sojjios : a climax ; ' the very temple, if
I04 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ν
airecTTLV αντΎ)*;, τουνομ ουκ απβστι πω.
He Uirns to his followers.
tSeade την ττανονργον, έκ τέχνης τέγνην
οίαν Ιπλ€^'• ου βωμον επτηξβν θεον ΐ28θ
ώς ου Βίκην δώσουσα των βίργασμενων;
They Jiesitate.
ΚΡ. άπβννβπω σβ μη κατακτείνευν εμε,
υπέρ τ εμαυτης του θεού ff Ιν εσταμεν.
ΙΩ. τί δ' εστ\ Φοιβω σοι τε κοινον εν μέσω ;
ΚΡ. ιερόν το σώμα τω θεω διδω/χ' εχειν. 1285
Ιίΐ. καπειτ εκαυνες φαρμάκοίς τον του θεού ;
ΚΡ. αλλ' ουκετ ησθα Αοξωυ^ πατρός δε σου.
ΙΩ. αλλ' εγενόμεσθα- πατρός ουσίαν λέγω.
ΚΡ. ουκ ουν τοτ ησσα, νυν ο εγω, συ ο ουκετ ευ ;
ΙΩ. ουκ ευσεβείς γε, τάμα δ' ευσεβή τότ ην. 12 90
ΚΡ. εκτεινα δ' οντά πολεμιον Βόμους εμοΐς.
ΙΩ. ούτοι συν δπλοις ηλθον εις την σην γθόνα.
ΚΡ. μαΚιστα' καπιμπρας y Έρεχ^θεως 86μους.
ΙΩ. ποίοισι πανοΐς η πυρός ποία φλογί;
ΚΡ. έμελλες οίκε'ίν ταμ εμού βία λαβών, 1 295
ΙΩ. πατρός yε γην 8ι86ντος ην εκτησατο.
ΚΡ. rots Αιόλου 8ε πως μετην της Παλλάδος ;
ΙΩ. δπλοισιν αυτήν ου λόγοις ερρυσατο.
ΚΡ. επίκουρος οίκητωρ γ' αν ουκ εΐη γθονος.
you were there '. 1278. τό όνομα (μητρός) : the tiatne of my rnother is lefty
i.e. I have yet a mother in name. See v. 321. So in v. 1543 όνομα πατρός a
father so-called. He refers to the Pythia, who if the murder had been done,
would have suffered (he means) both in her maternal affection and for the
sake of the god. The allusion prepares us for her appearance presently.
1288. €γ€νό|ΐ€σ-θα...ού<Γίαν: he uses the words, as the philosophers, e.g.
Flsito passim, to distinguish between the temporary and the eternal: iyivtTo
Ξούθου πατρός, he was temporary son to Xuthus, both as being born to him
for this life, and given to him for a time by Apollo ; but in eternal reality
(ουσίαν) his Father is the god. The language is borrowed from the
metaphysics of Euripides' own time ; but was probably religious before it
was philosophical. The mysticism is natural to a son of the cloister.
πατρός δ* ουσίαν MSS. (om. δ' Canter), πατρός άπουσίαν λβ'γω Seidler and
others, explaining thus, ' in the absence of Xuthus I became the property
of Phoebus'. But see the sequel. 1289. I read this line as a question.
The negative ούκ embraces the whole. *Then, I say, did not this real
ΙΩΝ 105
None in the flesh, I have the name of one.
He turns to his followers.
See how the wretch hath seconded her craft,
Would make the god's own altar, nothing else,
Her refuge from the penalty of her crime !
They hesitate.
Cre. Touch not my life ! I charge thee for myself
And for the god upon whose ground we are !
Ion. Phoebus and thee ! What link is there between ?
Cre. I have given up my body to the god,
In trust to keep. Ion. And would'st have poisoned me.
Though his ! Cre. Not his ; he had resigned thee first
Unto thy father ! Ion. Father but in time :
I mean my real, eternal Father ! Cre. Then
That Fatherhood hath passed from thee to me !
Ion. Nay, thou art guilty, I was innocent !
Cre. Foe to my house ; therefore I sought thy life !
Ion. Nay, if I thought to enter on thy land
I came not armed. Cre.f Yes, armed with fire, to waste
Our peaceful home ! Ion. What fancy wild is this }
Cre. Thy purpose was to rob me of my state
By rapine ! Ion. By my conquering father's gift !
Cre. What right in Athens had an Aeolid }
Ion. He saved her, not by arguments but arms !
Cre. A man may serve a city with his sword
fatherhood {ονσία πατρόή belong to you formerly, and has it not passed to
me?' If to belong to the temple is to be Phoebus' child (in this sense,
partly right, she understands him), then Creusa now {v. 1285) has that
claim, and Ion, for the time at least, has not. 1290. The fatherhood of
Phoebus is only for the innocent, such as Ion, when he belonged to the
temple, was, and Creusa (though, as she argues, she belongs to the temple)
is not. 1294. ποίοισι iravoLs ; merely rejects, with contempt and astonish-
ment, Creusa's language. 1299—1301. The brevity of the original here
is quite too much for my English ; but I do not think there is any error in
the text. Ion's argument, a dilemma, is this. The fulfilment of ambitious
hopes either is a certainty, which may lawfully be counted upon, or it is not.
If it is, what becomes of Creusa's contention, that Xuthus has no rights in
Athens, and can give none to his son ? He certainly hoped and intended
(e/xeXXe) to obtain citizenship and something more for his services. If it is
io6 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΙΩ. καπ€ίτα του μ^λλειΐ' μ άπ^κτευρ^ς φοβω ; 1 300
ΚΡ. ώ? μη Θάνοιμί y y ει συ μη μελλωρ τύχουν.
ΙΩ. φθονείς ατταις ουσ εΐ πατήρ εζηυρε με.
ΚΡ. συ των άτεκνων 8ητ άναρπάσεις 86μου<; ;
1Ω. ημϊν 8ε γ' άλλα πατρικής ουκ ην μέρος ;
ΚΡ. OCT* ασπίς εγχος θ*' η8ε σοι παμπησία. ^3^5
ΙΩ. εκλειπε βωμον καΐ θεηλάτους εΒρας.
ΚΡ. την σην οπού σοι μητέρ εστί νουθετεί.
ΙΩ. συ δ' ούχ υφεξεις ζημίαν κτείνουσ εμε ;
ΚΡ. ην γ* εντός άΒύτων τωνΒε με σφάξαι θελης.
ΙΩ. τις η8ονη σοι θεού θανεΐν εν στεμμασι; 13^^
ΚΡ. λυπησομεν τιν ών λελυπημεσθ^ ϋπο.
ΙΩ. φευ.
8εινόν γε θνητοίς τους νόμους ώς ου κάΚως
εθηκεν 6 θεός ουδ' άπο γνώμης σοφής•
τους μεν γαρ άΒικους βωμον ου^ ϊζειν εχρην,
αλλ' εζελαύνειν ούΒε γαρ \jJaύειv καλόν ^3^5
θεών πονηράν χ^ίρα' τοίσι δ' ενΒίκοις
ιερά καθιζειν όστις ηΒικεΙτ εχβην,
και μη 'πι ταύτο τουτ Ιόντ εγειν ίσον
τόν τ εσθλόν όντα τον τε μη θεών πάρα.
The crowd advances. The Pythia enters from the
temple. She bears in Jier arms a cradle, bound with
filkts of wool resembling those on tJie altar.
ΠΤΘΙΑ.
Έπί(Γχ€9, ω παι• τρίποδα γαρ χρηστηριον 1 3^0
not a certainty, if ambition is often disappointed, then what becomes of
Creusa's contention, that she was justified in attempting the murder of Ion
by the mere dread of ambitious designs, which she supposed him to
entertain.? Yes, answers Creusa, she was; she could not be expected to
risk her life upon the chance of his patience. 1300 : And yei (though you
use this argument) you tried to kill me for fear of an intention f 1301.
Yes, that I might not die, (as I should) in case you proved to be ijnpatient.
θάνοιμι el. . .τύχοιβ : literally die in the case of your proving. μ.^ μέλλων : here
/χ€λλω passes from the sense of intending to that of intejiding merely (and
not executing), i.e. waiting. If Creusa waited. Ion might not. 1302.
<|>6ovcis. These are the mere suspicions of jealousy. 1303. avapirao-cis ;
'Must/i??/ snatch up.•*' 1304. άλλα ττατρικήβ (γη?): in the land, which
was at all events my father's. The argument begins to revolve, each dis-
ΙΩΝ 10/
Yet be no citizen ! Ion. Yet, though projects fail.
Thou, for the fear of a supposed intent,
Soughtest my life ! Cre, I did, lest, not content
With expectation, thou should'st murder me.
Ion. Thy childless heart grudges my sire a child !
Cre. Must heirless wealth escheat perforce to thee ?
Ion. Had I no portion in my father's land ?
Cre. A shield and spear ; that is thy heritage !
Ion. Ah ! Victim, quit the altar ! Cre. Find thy mother,
And lesson her ! Ion. Thou didst attempt my life,
And shalt not pay for't ! Cre. If thou choose to spill
My blood on holy ground. Ion. What pleasure is't
To die on Phoebus' hearth } Cre. The sacrileg-e
ο
Will punish One who did offence to me.
Ion. Ah ! 'Tis a wonder that the law divine
Should be so ill, so indiscreetly made !
Guilt should have been denied the sanctuary,
Chased from the altar (for his very touch
Is profanation), and the place reserved
For injured innocence. Now good and bad
Come for a common boon, and both receive !
TJie crowd advances. The Pythia enters from the
temple. She bears iti her arms a cradle^ bonnd with
fillets of wool resembli7ig those on the altar.
Pythia. Pause, Ο my son ! From yon prophetic stool
putant repeating his own plea; Creusa's taunt {v. 1305) brings it to an
abrupt end. 1306. καΙ θίηλάτου? '^δρα§ : the place (seat) to which the god
has chased thee. The point of this expression lies in the use of β^ηΚατο^ for
a victim which came quietly to the altar, a sign that the god intended it for
sacrifice (see Aesch. Ag. 1297), and the common use of ekavvciv for the
hunting of an animal. That Apollo has driven Creusa to his altar is a sign
that he intends her to be sacrificed to his vengeance (see on v. 1251), from
which indeed, as it now seems, she cannot in the end escape. The point is
forced and false ; but it well expresses the embarrassment of the pursuers'
position. 1307. Creusa treats the quibble with contempt. ' Tell that to
your mother, when you can find her'. διτου <γοι...Ι<γτΙ together. 1311.
τινά : Apollo. φίΰ : fe ! 1316 : and {the gods) ought to have fou7ided
sa7icttca?'ics for the benefit of the righteous {only). 1317. ήδικ€ίτο : the
tense places the injury at the same time with ^χρψ : οστι^ ήδικβίτο is ό άδικου-
io8 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
λυπούσα θριγκου Tovh^ νπ€ρβάλλω ποδΙ
Φοίβου προφητίς, τρίποδος άργαίίον νόμορ
σώζουσα πασών ΑελφιΒων εξαίρζτος.
Ιίΐ. χαψ\ ω φίλη μοι μητβρ, ου τεκουσά πβρ.
ΠΤ. αλλ' ουν λεγόμεθα γ'• η φάτις δ' ου μοι πικρά. 1 325
ΙΩ. ηκουσας ώ? μ^ εκτεινεν rjhe μη-χαναΐς ;
ΠΤ. ηκουσα' καΐ συ y' ω/xos ων αμαρτάνεις.
ΙΩ. ου γβη με τούζ κτείνοντας άνταπολλύναι\
ΠΤ. προγόνοις Βάμαρτες ^υσμενε'ίς αεί ποτέ.
ΙΩ. ημείς 8ε μητρυυαϊς γε πάσχοντες κακώς. 133^
ΠΤ. μη ταύτα' λείπων Ιερά καΐ στείγων πάτραν —
ΙΩ. τί Ζη με Βράσαυ νουθετούμενον γρεών ;
ΠΤ. καθαρός ^ΚΘηνας ελθ* υπ" οιωνών κάλων.
ΙΩ. καθαρός άπας τοι πολεμίους δς αν κτάνη.
ΠΤ. μη συ γε' παρ' ημών δ' εκλαβ" ους εχω λόγους. 1335
. Κεγοις αν ευνους ο ουσ ερεις οσ αν λεγης.
ΠΤ. οράς τόδ' άγγος χ^ρος υπαγκάλισμ εμης ;
Ι Ω. ό^οώ παλαιάζ/ άντίπηγ" εν στεμμασιν.
ΠΤ. εν τη8ε σ ελαβον νεογονον βρέφος ποτέ.
ΙΩ. τί φης ; ο μύθος εισενηνεκται νέος. 1 340
ΠΤ. σιγή γαρ εΐχον αυτά' νυν 8ε Βείκνυμεν.
ΙΩ. πώς ούν έκρυπτες τότε λαβουσ ημάς πάλαι ;
ΠΤ. ό θεός σ εβούλετ εν 8όμοις εχειν λάτριν.
ΙΩ. νυν δ' ούχι χρήζει ; τω τοδε γνωναί με χρη ;
ΠΤ. πάτερα κατειπών τησΒε σ εκπέμπει χθονός. ^345
ΙΩ. συ δ' εκ κελευσμων η πόθεν σώζεις τάδε ;
ΠΤ. ενθύμιόν μοι τότε τίθησι Αοζίας —
ΙΩ. τί χρημοι^ Βράσαι ; λέγε, πέραινε σους λόγους.
ΠΤ. σώσαι tOS* ευρημ εις τον όντα νυν χρόνον.
ΙΩ. έχει δε μοι τί κέρδος η τίνα βλάβην ; 135^
ΠΤ. ενθάΒε κέκρυπται σπάργαν οΐς ένησθα συ.
μ€νοί (an injured person) as a conception viewed at a past time. 1321.
The θριγκός over which the prophetess stepped was a low wall running
round the άδυτοι/ and serving to preserve it from intrusion. ττοδί : see on
V. 929. 1325. λβγόμίθά γ Elmsley ; λ(γόμ(σθ" MSS. 1332. The tone
of this is impatient rather than submissive : * if I am going out of guardian-
ship into the world, why must I take a lesson in conduct?' literally, 'what
then must I do under instruction?' 1333. vn οΙωνών: accompanied by
omens. 1340. The story is introduced in a new shape^ i. e. with the detail
ΙΩΝ 109
I have set foot beyond the close, and come
Phoebus' interpretess, elect of all
In Delphi to maintain our ancient seat.
Ion. My mother, not by geniture, but love.
Pyth. So am I called, nor loth to bear the name.
Ion. Hath it been told thee how this woman sought
My life by craft ? Pyth. It hath ; and I condemn
Thy cruelty no less. Ion. A life for a life !
Pyth. The wedded wife to children earlier-born
Was never kind. Ion. Nor we to stepmothers
Who use us ill. Pyth. This fits not. Thou art quitting
The cloister for thy home: — Ion. Then what imports
This lesson ? Pyth. Keep thine innocence, to bless
Thy coming unto Athens. Ion. Innocence
May slay his foe. Pyth. Nay, that is not for thee !
But hear my message. Ion. Speak ; whate'er thou say,
The purpose must be loving. Pyth. See'st thou this,
Borne in my arms } Ion. A cradle, old, and bound
With sacred bands. PytJi. Thou, being then new-born,
Cam'st to my hands in this. Ion. What! This is new
In the story ! PytJi. Yes ; it was a secret kept.
Till now disclosed. Ion. Why hidden then this while
Since I was found ? Pyth. It was Apollo's will,
To keep thee servant here. Ion. But now his will
Is changed? How know I that? Pyth. By showing thee
Thy father he doth give thee leave to go.
Ion. Why was this kept by thee ? Was't bidden ?
Pyth. The god ,
Whispered me, when 'twas found, —
I 071. What, what ? Say on,
Say all. PytJi. To keep it for the present hour.
Ion. And what hath it for me ? What help or hurt ?
Pyth. The tokens that were on thee are within.
of the cradle (see 7/. 317). 1341. αυτά: the exact facts. 1342. How was
it that y oil concealed it from me (ήμας) all this while since you received me in
it? 1345. κ^τ^ιτΐών {σον) '. by attributing to you. See 7/. 12 15. 1347. A
significant pause. Why does she find it difificult to say that the keeping of the
no ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
lii. μητρός τάδ* ημίν έκφβρβυς ζητήματα.
ΠΤ. inei y' ό δαίμων βουλεταΐ' πάροίθβ δ' ου.
ΙΩ. ω μακαρίων μοι φασμάτων τ^δ' ημέρα.
She offers him tJie cradle.
ΠΤ. \αβών vvv αντα την τβκονσαν εκπόνευ. 1355
ΙΩ. ττασαν δ' επεΧθων Άσιάδ' Ευρώπης θ* ορονς ;
ΠΤ. yi'iuo-et τάδ' αΰτος. του ^εου δ' €χατί ere
εσρεψα τ , ω τται, /cat ταο αποοιοωμι σοι,
α /cetiO? άκελενστόν μ εβονληθη λαβεΐν
σωσαί &' οτον δ' εβονΚεθ* οννεκ\ ουκ εχω. ΐβ^Ο
^δβι δε θνητών οντυς ανθρώπων τάδε
έχοντας ημάς, οΰδ' Γι^' τ^ι^ κεκρνμμένα.
καΐ χαΐρ ' ίσον yap σ ως τεκονσ ασπάζομαι.
She turns from him to go, but suddenly turns back again.
αρξαι δ' όθεν σην μητέρα ζητεΐν σε χρη,
πρώτον μεν, ει τυς Αε\φί8ων τεκονσά σε 13^5
εΙς τονσ^ε ναονς εζεθηκε παρθένος'
έπειτα δ', ει τις Ελλάς* εζ ημών δ' ε^ει?
άπαντα Φοίβου θ* ος μετέσχε της τύχης.
She retires, but remaifis watching at the door of the temple.
lil. φευ, φευ' κατ οσσων ως ύγρον βάλλω Βάκρυ
έκείσε τον νουν 8ούς, οθ* η τεκουσά με 137^
κρυφαΐα νυμφευθείσ άπημπόλα λάθρα
καΐ μαστον ουκ επέσχεν, αλλ' ανώνυμος
έν θεού μελάθροις έΐχον οΐκέτην βίον.
cradle was prompted by Loxias ? 1352. ζητήματα : as means of seeking.
1353. lircC γ* : yes, since it is the will of heaven. Note that the phrase
properly expresses resignation. 1355. την τ€κοΰσαν ίκττόνβι : ινΐ7ΐ thy
mother by labour, or travel, i.e. find her. Cf. Tro. 873 'EXtw/i/ (ξβμόχΰησαρ
dopi they won Helen as prize of war. So Ion is meant to understand. But
note the strange expression. To apply Uiroviiv in this sense to a person is
extremely harsh, where there is nothing, like hopl in Tro. I. c., to help out the
verb. Elsewhere ίκπονύν, with personal object, has two senses, (i) to educate
{finish), here so plainly excluded that it could not be thought of ; (2) to force,
compel, bring by force to, which we have in this play, v. 375. Now this latter
sense is here strongly supported by the form of the sentence, which would
then mean 'take them by compulsion from tj^j/ ηκονσαν\ Why is it that
she parts from the cradle unwillingly, and what are we to understand by ιην
ΙΩΝ III
Ion. Thou bring'st me aid to find my mother! Pyth. Now
And not before.. ..It is the will of Heaven!
Ion. Blest be to-day for what it hath revealed !
SJie offers him the cradle.
Pyth. Take it... from her who bare thee... wrest herewith
Her secret. Ion. {taking it out of her hands) Must I travel
in the search
All Asia, and to Europe's utmost bound ?
Pyth. Do as thou wilt for that. By will divine
I reared thee, son, and now deliver these,
Which by His will, unbidden, I received
And kept, not knowing why he willed it so.
That I possessed them not a mortal knew,
Nor where they were concealed. I part from thee...
Even as a mother, with a kiss. Farewell !
She turns from him to go, but stcddenly turns back again.
As to the order of thy quest, begin
With Delphi, if perchance a Delphian
Left thee, her maiden offspring, at the fane.
Then seek in Hellas. We have done our part
In full, with Phoebus, who had part herein.
She retires, but remains watching at tL• door of the temple.
Ion. Alas, alas ! How flow mine eyes with tears
To think of that sad hour, when she, who bare,
Put me, the fruit of her disgrace, away
Unsuckled from her breast, a nameless waif,
To live upon a temple's charity ;
τ^κονσανί I have tried to preserve the ambiguity. 1364 — 68. Dindorf
and others propose to omit these lines, which would be absurd, if the situation
were as commonly understood. See the Introdtiction. 1364. άρξαι...χρή :
As to the point from which you ought to begin your enquiry, [enquire) first,
etc. For the relative sentence anticipating what follows cf. v. 342 ο φί^σίΐ/ κ.τ.λ.,
and note there. άρξαι may be taken either as inf act. (so here) or imper.
middle (with v. 1365). The first is better; the position of the word is due to
the emphasis. 1365. Supply χρη ζψύν from the relative clause. 1369 —
79. Note here the ' irony' of contrast between the imaginary woe and the
real. 1371. άίΓημιτόλα : lit. ^ smuggled away'. See on Med. 910. 1380.
112 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
τα τον θεον μίν γ^ρηστά, τον δε δαίμονος
βαρέα' γβονον yap, ον μ! €χρην iv άγκάλαυς 1375
μητρός τρνφησαι και τι τβρφθηναί βίον,
άπβστβρηθην φυλτάτης μητρός τροφής.
τλημων δε -χτη τβκονσά μ, ώς ταντον πάθος
ττεπονθβ τταιδός άπολεσασα γαρμονάς.
καΐ ννν λαβών TijvS' άντίττηγ οϊσω θεω 1 3^0
α^'α(77;/Λ , LV βνρω μηοβν ων ον ρονλομαι
€1 yap μβ Βονλη Tvy^avei τεκονσά τις,
evpelv κάκιον μήτε ρ η aiycuVT Ιαν.
ώ Φοϊβε, ναοΐς άνατίθημι τήνΖε σοίς —
καίτοι τι πάσχω ; τον θεον προθνμία 1 385
πολεμώ, τα μητρός σνμβολ^ ώς έσωσε μοι.
άνοικτεον τάδ' εστί καΐ τολμητεον'
τά yap πεπρωμεν ουδ' νπερβαίην ποτ αν.
He unties the fillets. All this time Creusa is gazing eagerly.
ω στεμμαθ" Ιερά, τί ποτέ μου κεκενθατε,
καΐ σνν8εθ*, οΐσί ταμ εφρονρηθη φίλα ; 1 390
He takes them off and gazes at tJiem.
ιδού, πεpίπτvyμ! άvτίπηyoς ενκνκλον
ώς ον yεyηpaκ εκ τίνος Θεηλάτον,
ενρώς τ άπεστι πλεyμάτωv• 6 S* εν μέσω
■χρόνος πολνς δτ) τοισδε θησανρίσμασιν.
ΚΡ. τί 8ητα φάσμα των άνελπίστων ορώ; 1395
All gaze at her with astonishment and cxpecta-
tio7i, but for some time she is unable to speak.
ΙΩ. σιyάv σν πολλά καΐ πάροιθεν οΧσθά μοι.
ΚΡ. ονκ εν σιωπή τάμα' μη με νονθετει.
ορω yap ayyoς ον ςεσηκ εyω ποτέ
(She starts from the ground with a scream of joy ^
Those within the temple must have been truly pleased by this proposal!
1386. ώ5 Paley, os MSS. : since he preserved and so proved his intention.
1391. 'ΤΓ6ρ£ΐΓτυγμα includes both enfolding (the στίμματα) and enfolded
(the cradle). 1393. •ΐΓλ€γμάτων : see v. 37. 1395. φά<Γμα...άν6λ'π•ί<Γτων:
showing of the incredible. 1396. I have seen more than once already that
you can be secret {οίσθα σιγαρ τα πράγματα)^ viz. in the case of the pretended
'friend' {v. 395) and of the assassination-plot. μοι: 'ethic' dative, 'to my
ΙΩΝ 113
Blest in my sacred Patron, yet in fate
Not happy, cheated of a mother's love,
My rightful hours of comfort in her arms,
My proper part of infant luxury ;
While she, my hapless mother, was aggrieved
No less, to lose the sweetness of her child !
And now, this cradle given me I will make
A votive offering; so I may not find
What I were loth. My mother, if a slave,
To find were worse than let the secret sleep.
Lo, to thy fane, Phoebus, I dedicate —
But stay, what mean I ? This is clean against
The god's own purpose, who preserved to me
The tokens of my birth. I must be bold
And open it. My fate I cannot fly.
He unties the fillets. All this time Creusa is gazing eagerly.
Ye sacred bands, ye knots that kept for me
A trust of love, what have ye here within t
He takes them off and gazes at them.
See how the wrapping of the cradle still
By miracle is fresh, nor touch of mould
Is on the basket-work, for all the lapse
Of years and years since they were laid away !
Creusa. What do I see } Ο wonder ! Ο surprise !
A II gaze at her with astonishment and expecta-
tion, but for some time she is unable to speak.
Ion. A secret ! I have cause to know that thou
Canst keep them ! Cre. {recovering) Ah ! No secret ! Chide
me not.
I see... the cradle. ..in which I laid and left...
{She starts from the grotmd with a scream of joy.)
knowledge, as I have found'. οίσθα: have learnt, know how to. For in-
stances see L. and Sc. s. v. 1 do not think there is any mistake in this
verse. It expresses the anger and impatience of Ton, when Creusa's excla-
mation is followed by a long silence. He supposes her to be pretending
some secret knowledge of the cradle, to excite his interest and save her life,
V. I. 8
114 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
σ4 γ', ω τ4κνον, μοι βρέφος €Τ οντά νηπιον 1399
λείψω δε βωμον τόι^δε, Kel θαν^ίν /xe χρη. 1401
She rushes from the altar and flings
her arms round his neck.
ΙΩ. λάζνσθβ TTJvSe' θβομαιτης γαρ ηλατο
βωμού λυπούσα ζοανα' δεΓτε δ' ώ\4να<;.
ΚΡ. σφάζοντβς ου ληγουτ αν, ως άνθέξομαι
καΐ TTjahe καΧ σου των τ ίσω κ^κρνμμίνων. 14^5
ΙΩ. τάδ' ον^ι Seuva ; ρνσιάζομαι λόγω.
ΚΡ. ουκ* άλλα σοΓς φίΚοισιν €υρίσκ€ΐ φίλος.
ΙΩ. εγώ φίλος σος ; κατά μ Ικτ^ιν^ς λάθρα ;
ΚΡ. παΙς γ', ει τόδ' εστί τοΙς τεκουσι φίλτατον,
ΙΩ. τταυσαι πλβκουσα ληφομαυ δ' εγώ κάλως. 1410
ΚΡ. εΐ9 του^* Ικοίμην TodSe τοζβύω, τέκνον.
ΙΩ. κει^οι^ τόδ' άγγο9, Τ7 σ"τεγει ττληρωμά τι ;
ΚΡ. σα γ' εν8υθ\ οίσί σ έξέθηκ εγώ ποτέ.
ΙΩ. /cat τουνομϋ αυτών έζερβις πρΙν εισιδειζ^ ;
ΚΡ. καν μη φράσω γε, κατθανβίν ύφίσταμαυ. ^4^5
ΙΩ. λεγ'• ως ε)(ει τι δειι^οζ^ τ^ 7^ τόλμα σου.
_ 77/^ cradle is opened.
\^ ΚΡ. σκεψασ^ ο τταις ττοτ' ουσ' υφασμ υφην εγώ.
^ ΙΩ. ποιόν TL ; πολλά παρθένων υφάσματα.
ΚΡ. ου τίλβον, οίον δ' €κΒί8αγμα κ€ρκί8ος.
ΙΩ. μορφην έχον τίν, ως μβ μη ταύτη λάβης ; 142Ο
ΚΡ. Γοργω μεν iv μέσοισιν ητρίοις πέπλων.
ΙΩ. ώ Ζευ, tis τ^/χάς εκκυνηγετεί πότμος ;
— σίγα' ποΚίμία κα\ πάροιθ€ν ησθα Paley, and aliter alit. 1399. <r^ γ* : yes,
thee, or why, thee. The inference breaks upon her. 1400. KeVptwroy es
άντρα /cat Μακράς π€τρηρ(φΰς, a gloss, omitted by Paley. 1403. ξόανα:
carved images, with which the altar was decorated. 1405—6. Probably
τα Kf κρυμμένα was the term used for property, which a debtor was said to be
concealing, upon a representation (Xoyoy) of which fact the creditor would
obtain leave to seize them as a ρνσων. των τ€ (or ye) σων κ^κρυμμίνων MSS.
perhaps right ; text Tyrwhitt. 1406. λόγω : / atn being seised upon a claim
ox pretext, like a distress levied by a creditor: the terms are legal. 1410:
invent no inore, but let me detect your inveniio?ts', literally 'stop twisting
the rope and / will take it', κάλως (plural) is object both to ηλίκονσα (see
L. and Sc. s. v. πλέκω) and to ληψομαι. The point depends on the fact that
the metaphor of twisting was common in Greek for fraud, and on the two
ΩΝ
115
Thee, thee, my child, my little baby then;
And I will quit this altar, though I die!
She rashes from the altar and flings
her arms round his neck.
Ion. Seize her ! The god hath crazed her : she hath leaped
Away from her protection. Bind her arms !
Cre. Ah, ye may hack me, for I will not quit
My hold of thee, and this, and that within.
Ion. Ο monstrous fraud ! She makes me hers by force !
Cre. Nay, mine by true discovery and by love.
Ion. Thine, thine by love, my crafty murderess !
Cre. Mine and, if mother love her child, by love !
Ion. Invent no more, but let me test the trick.
Cre. The test, the test, my child, I crave the test !
Ion. Say, is this empty, or is aught within }
Cre. What thou hadst on when I abandoned thee.
Ion. And wilt thou name the tokens, ere thou see }
Cre. Aye, and consent to perish, if I fail !
Ion. Speak. It is strange that thou shouldst dare the
attempt.
The cradle is ope^ted.
Cre. Look at some child-work of my maiden loom.
Ion. Maid's work is manifold. What like was thine.?
Cre. The unfinished sampler of a prentice hand.
Io7i. That may be cheating. Let me know the form.
Cre. The canvas bears a Gorgon in the midst —
Ion {aside). Ο Zeus ! Can this be fate upon our track }
senses of λάμβαναν, receive and catch. The image is taken from two persons
employed at rope-making, one twisting and the other taking off the walk
the successive lengths as they are finished. — καλώ? mss., λήψομαι σ eyoi
καλώς Tyrwhitt and modern editions. But the adverb (and ^γω) are without
point. 1411. Let me come to the detection; that is my aim. 1416. γ€
τόλμα: Jodrell; τοΚμα -ye MSS. 1417. <Γκ4ψασ-θ€ : to Ion and those who
gather eagerly round him. Creusa is probably on the ground clinging to
Ion's feet, and the cradle in his arms. 1420. He suspects her of wishing
to deceive him in this way (by the pretext of the preceding verse), to
escape giving any particular description. μορφην : its shape^ general
outli7ie\ this she can give, even if the design was not completely worked
in. 1421. ήτριοιε: Musgrave, ήτρίων MSS. See L. and Sc. s. v.
8—2
ii6 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. κβκρασπε^ωταί τ οφεσυν αιγίδος τρόπον.
ΙΠ. ιδοΰ.
τόδ' ή'εσθ' ύφασμα θεσφαθ" t ως ενρίσκομεν.
ΚΡ. ω γ^ρόνιον Ιστων τταρθένενμα των ίμων. 14^5
The Prophetess goes into the temple.
lil. εστίν TL προς τω8\ η μονω τωδ' εντνγεις ;
ΚΡ. 8ροίκοντ€ς, άρχαΐόν τι παγχρνσω yevei.
ΙΩ. ?>ώρημ ^Κθάνας, y τεκν εντρεφευν λέγει ;
ΚΡ. ^Ειρΐ)(θονίον ye τον πάλαι μιμιηματα.
Ιίΐ. τι δραζ^, τι χ^ρησθαυ, φράζε μοι, -χβυσωματι; 143^
ΚΡ. δφαια παίδι ι^εογόζ^ω φερειν, τεκνον.
ΙΩ. ενείσυν οΓδβ*
το δε τρίτον ποθώ μαθείν.
ΚΡ. στεφανον ελαιας άμφεθηκά σοι τότε,
ην πρωτ ^Κθάνα σκόπεΧον είσηνεγκατο'
ος, εϊπερ εστίν, ουποτ εκλείπει -χλόην, 1435
θάλλει δ', ελαιας ef ακήρατου γεγως.
ΙΩ. ω φιλτάτη μοι μητερ, ασμενός σ ι8ων
προς άσμενας πεπτωκα σας παρηι8ας.
ΚΡ. ω τεκνον. ω φως μητρί κρείσσον ηλίου, —
συγγνώσεται γαρ ό θεός — εν χ^ερο'ίν σ εγω 144^
αελπτον ευρημ, ον κατά γας ενερων
γθόνιον μετά Ιίερσεφόνας τ εΒόκουν z^aieii^.
ΙΩ. αλλ', ώ φίλ7] μοι μητερ, εν γεροΐν σεθεν
6 κατθανών τε κου θανών φαντάζομαι.
ΚΡ. ιώ ιώ λαμπράς αιθέρος άμπτυγαί, 1445
τιι^' αυδάι^ άυ'σω, βοάσω ; πόθεν μοι
1424. Corrupt. The translation assumes τόδ' (or τάδ') (φθασας συ φάσμα&
ως (ύρίσκομίρ: in this case you have anticipated the showing, as we find the
thing, i.e. 'described it rightly before it was shown': see vv. 1395, 1414.
1425. Note that Creusa does not pretend to recognize her work with certainty.
On the contrary she accounts to herself very naturally for the fact that she
does not, by the lapse of time between. The emphasis is on χρόνιον.
1426. €ντυχ€ΐβ : one success might be an accident. 1427. άρχαιον...γ^ν€ΐ:
an ancient custom of our golden race. Golden, i.e. glorious by antiquity and
wealth : see L. and Sc. s. v. χρύσίος. γ^ν€ΐ : possessive dative, to or in the
family : v. 24. The άρχάίόν τι is not so much this particular jewel, as the
practice of always putting such a airapyavou upon infants of the family.
1429. Έριχθονίου : i.e. of his necklace (the usual brachylogy) ; see V7'. 999 flf.
ΙΩΝ 117
Cre. Framed, like an aeg-is, with a snaky fringe.
Ion {showing it). Behold ! Thou hast foretold it as we find.
Cre. Ah, what an age since that was wrought by me !
The Prophetess goes into the temple.
Ion. Is there aught else, — or canst thou guess but once t
Cre. Serpents in gold, the custom of my race.
Io7i. Athena's gift, and used by her command t
Cre. Copied from those of Erichthonius old.
Ion. How is the trinket used and worn } Explain.
Cre. For necklace to a new-born babe, my child.
Ion {showing it). 'Tis here ; and one thing more. Ο tell
me that !
Cre. {after a pause). A wreath I put on thee from the
olive-tree
Athena first brought to her citadel.
If it exist, it cannot lose the green,
But keeps the freshness of the inviolate stem.
Ion {throwing himself into her arms).
My mother, Ο my mother!... Ο blessed joy
To kiss thee, happy face to happy face!...
Cre. My child, my light, my day (the blessed sun
Forgives me 1) found I Here in my very arms !
Found I
And I thought thee dead, I thought thee dead.
Gone to the Queen of the Dead, to her dark realm under
the ground !
Ion. Yes, in thine arms, dear mother, in thine arms !
'Tis I thou see'st, who died and am not dead.
Cre. See, see, the illumined heavens ope 1
What words, what music will express
1430. τί δράν; he continues as from his last words {v. 1428). τί 8ράν
λ4γ€ΐ•, what is the prescribed use of the ornament? He wishes to ascertain
that she knows the form of it, a necklace. 1432. ττοθώ. He now longs
that she may succeed. He prompts her and when she pauses probably
gives her a glimpse. 1440 (and 1443). Note that this embracing gives
an excellent stage-opportunity for displaying the main fact, that Creusa's
rtr;/i is without the bracelet. 1445. Ό^ψκτΜγ^^: expa7ise. 1450. ττάντα:
ii8 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
συνεκυρσ aSoiajros ά8ονά ; πόθεν
ελάβομεν χαράν ;
ΙΩ. ifjLol γενέσθαι πάντα μάλλον αν ποτέ, ^45^
μητερ, παρέστη των8\ οπω? σός είμ εγώ.
ΚΡ. ετι φόβω τρέμω —
ΙΩ. μων ουκ εχευν μ' εχονσα ; ΚΡ. τάς γαρ ελπίδας
άπεβαλον πρόσω.
Ιω yvz/at, πόθεν,
πόθεν έλαβες εμον βρέφος ες άγκάλας ;
τίν ανά χέρα 8όμονς εβα Αοζίον ; 1455
ΙΩ. θείον tOS*' αλλά τάπίλοιπα της τύχης
εν^αιμονοΐμεν ως τά πρόσθε 8νστυχη.
ΚΡ. τεκνον, ουκ άΒάκρντος εκλοχεύει,
γόοις hk ματρος εκ χερών ορίζει.
νυν δβ γενειάσιν παρά σεθεν πνέω 1 460
μακαριωτάτας τνχονσ ά8ονάς.
ΙΩ. τονμον λέγουσα καΐ το σον κοινώς λέγεις.
ΚΡ. άπαιδ€9 ουκέτ έσμεν ουδ' άτεκνοι.
8ωμ εστιουται, γα δ' έχει τυράννους'
άνηβα δ' Έρεχθευς, 1465
δ τε γηγενέτας 8όμος ούκέτι νύκτα δφ/cerat,
άελίου δ' άναβλέπει λαμπάσιν.
ΙΩ. μητερ, παρών μοι καΐ πατήρ μετασχέτω
της ή8ονης ττ^σδ' ης ε8ωχ ύμΐν εγώ. 14^9
ΚΡ. ώ τέκνον, τέκνον,, τί φης ; οίον, οίον άνελέγχομαι.
ΙΩ. πώς έίπας ; ΚΡ. άλλοθεν γέγονας^ άλλοθεν.
ΙΩ. ώμοι' νόθον με παρθένευμ έτικτε σόν ;
ΚΡ. ούχ ύπο λαμπάδων ού8ε χορευμάτων
ύμέναιος εμος, 1475
τέκνον, έτικτε σον κάρα,
ΙΩ. αίαΐ' πέφυκα Βυσγενης, μητερ, πόθεν ;
ΚΡ. ΐστω Τοργοφόνα, —
ΙΩ. τί τουτ έλεζας ;
ΚΡ. α σκόπελο ις έπ^ έμοΐς
τον ελαιοφυη πάγον θάσσεν . 1480
anything. 1456. 06tov τ68«. Just so. 1464. «στιοΰται. ^T/ie house
becomes a ho)ne\ lit. receives a hearth, the symbol of family life.' B.
ΙΩΝ 119
The coming of this ne'er imagined hope,
This inconceivable happiness ?
Ion. For me, no thought was further from my mind
Than this, Ο mother, that I am thy son.
Cre. I tremble yet for doubt. Ion. How canst thou doubt
Thy very touch .-* Cre. Ah, I had cast away
All hope. {SJie turns to the temple^ Ο woman, say,
From whom thine arms received my babe. Explain !
What hand conveyed him to Apollo's fane }
Ion. A miracle ! But let our fortune found
Pay us for all the misery of the past.
Cre. Ah, my child, with tears I bare thee,
Loosed thee wailing from my breast ;
Now to breath thee, to be near thee.
This is rapture, heaven, and rest !
Io7i. Thou speakest, and my heart repeats the words.
Cre. Childless, heirless now no more,
Our hearth is kindled and our royal line :
Erechtheus, cold before,
Quickens to youth : the sun begins to shine
Upon the seed of Earth, who lift their sight
From darkness unto light ! {Λ paiise.)
Ion. Mother, my father should be here, that he
Might share the pleasure that ye have in me.
Cre. Ah child, child, child ! My secret, Ο my secret !
Ion. Ο what .^ Cre. It is not so;... for thou wast born...
Io7i. Ah me ! A bastard of thy maiden bed !
Cre. No holy rite,
No torches' light
Lighted me thither, my child, where thou wast bred.
lojL Base-born ! A son base-born ! Ο mother, whose .''
Cre. Pallas is witness — Ion. Pallas ! What is this }
^c. The Gorgon-slayer is my witness, she,
{holding up tJie woven ' aegis ' and the serpent-necklace)
She whose rocky throne is stablished still
And ever upon mine olive-planted hill ; —
{Jiolding tip the wreath)
1467. λαμ,ττάσιν: by the shining., dat. instr. 1482. άηδόνιον: the whole
I20 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
Ιίΐ. Xeyei? Xeyet? μου δόλια κού σαφή τάδε.
ΚΡ. παρ* άη^όνυοΐ' π€τραν Φουβω —
ΙΩ. TL Φοίβον αυδας ;
ΚΡ. κρυπτόμβνον λ^χοζ ηννάσθην.
Ιίΐ. Xey'• ώζ ipeL<; tl Ke8v6v €ύτυχ€<ζ re μοι, 14^5
ΚΡ. δε/ίάτω δε σε μηνός iv κύκλω
κρνφίορ ώΒΐτ/ creKov Φοίβω.
Ιίΐ. ώ φίλτατ elnova, el λέγεις έτητυμα.
ΚΡ. παρθενία δ' ε/χάς"!' ματερος
σπάργαν αμφίβολα σοΙ τάδ', άι^- ^49^
τ^ψα KepKiSos εμάς πλάνους.
γάλακτι δ' ov/c €π€σχον ονδε μαστω
τροφεία ματρος οΰδε λουτρά γειροΐν,
άνά δ* άντρον ίρημον οιωνών 1494
γαμφηλαϊς φόνευμα Θοίναμά τ εις "Άιδαι^ εκβάλλει.
Ι Ω. ώ δειζ^ά δειζ^ά τλάσα μητερ.
ΚΡ. ει/ ψό/3ω καταδε^εισα σάι^
χ^υχάν άπεβαλον, τεκνον
εκτεινά σ άκουσ, 15^0
Ιίΐ. ε'^ ε/χου τ' ου;( οσι εθνΎ)σκες.
ΚΡ. ιώ ιω. δειι^αι μεν αι τότε τύ^^αι,
δείλαια δε καΐ τάδ'• ελισσόμεσθ" εκείθεν
ενθάΒε Βυστυχίαυσιν 15^5
ευτυ^ίαις τε πάλιν,
μεθίσταται δε πνεύματα.
μενετω' τα πάροιθεν αλις κακά,
νυν δ' εγενετό τις ουρος εκ κακών, ώ παι.
ΧΟ. μη8εΙς 8οκείτω μη8εν ανθρώπων ποτέ 15^^
άελπτον εΤι^αι προς τα τυγχάνοντα νυν.
Ιίΐ. ώ μεταβαλουσα μύριους ηΒη βροτών
και Βυστυχτσαι καυθις ευ πράξαι καλώς,
Τύχη, παρ οίαν ηλθομεν στάθμην βίου
neighbourhood of Athens was famous for nightingales, -π^τραν here is the
Acropolis. 1488. φίλτατα: mosi welcome. 1489. 'π-αρθ^νια...σ-oi: these
are such tokens as, being a girl, J had to W7'ap about thee', see v. 26. In
e/χαί there is some error, but none of the corrections hk σας, δ' €μοΰ, be μου
etc., appear satisfactory. Perhaps δβ vtas. 1490. άνήψα : Dindorf, άνη-^α
MSS. 1491. irXavovs : the wandering (careless efforts) of my shuttle.
1493. τροφίία μ,ατρός : a mother's reward', τμοφΰα signifies what is paid for
ΙΩΝ 121
Ion. Ah, thou deceiv'st me with this mystery !
Cre. There sing the nightingales, there Phoebus met —
Ion. Phoebus !
Cre. And took me to his secret arms. Ion. Ο yet
Say more, and make me happier 1 Cre. And my womb
Bare thee to Phoebus when the time was come.
Io7i. Ο can thy tale be true as it is blest ?
Cre. And girl-like, being but a girl, I dressed
My babe in this, my careless-woven play,
And put thee from my yearning breast away,
Suckless, unwashen, starved, to die, to bleed.
In that lone cave the ravening fowls to feed !
Ion. Cruel, cruel ! Cre. Mastering fear
Forced me to do it, though I held thee dear.
I never willed thy death. Io7i. And when I sought
Thine, what a crime was that ! Cre. Ο fearful thought !
How nigh to misery then, how near to-day!
How roll our fortunes on a stormy way,
Blown between joy and grief! Enough the gale
Hath veered, hath vexed enough the shifting sail,
Ο may it set, my son, to fair, and so prevail !
Chorus. Whoso hath witnessed this, to him should be
No thing so strange but he may look to see.
A patLse.
Ion {as in meditation). Ο Fortune, that hast sunken in
distress
Thousands and thousands, and hast raised again.
By what a narrow chance our guiltless hands
maintenance and feeding {v. 852) : here it stands in apposition to the notion
eVe^eti/ μαστω, to put the child to the breast. The mother's delight in
suckhng her child repays her for her pains. (There is no proof that τροφ^ϊα
could mean τροφαί feeding.) ov8e λουτρά χδίροίν : nor did I wash thee with
my hands', a suitable verb is to be supplied by 'zeugma'; see v. 1064.
1502. αί TOT6 : the abandonment of the child. 1503• τά8€ : the attempted
assassination. 1514. βίου. 'The difficulties felt about this passage
vanish, if we regard ί^ίου as no more than a poetical addition, serving to
mark that στάθμην is used figuratively. It... has the force of a descriptive adj.
Instead of παρ" οίαν στάθμψ Sjinthin what a measure^ how near\ the poet
writes tvap o'lav βίου-στάθμην ηλθυμ€Ρ, ' Within what a narrow line (in my life)
122 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
μητ€ρα φον^νσαι και παθείν άνάζια. 15^5
φζν'
αρ iv φαενναίζ ηλίου πβρίπτνχαίς
ίνεστι πάντα τάδε καθ* ημίραν μαθείν ;
φίλον μζ.ν ούν σ εύρημα, μητβρ, ηυρομεν,
και 70 γένος ού8εν μεμπτον, ως ημΐν, τό8ε'
τά δ* άλλα προς σε βονλομαι μόνην φράσαι. 1 5^0
h^p ελθ^, ες ους γαρ τους λόγους εΙπεΙν θέλω
και περίκαλυ\\ίαι τοίσι πράγμασι σκοτον.
ορα συ, μητερ, μη σφαλεΐσ α παρθένους
εγγίγνεται νοσηματ εχς κρυπτούς γάμους,
βπευτα τω θεω προστίθης την αΐτίαν, 15^5
καΐ τουμον αίσχ^ρον άποφυγείν πειρωμενη
Φοίβω τεκεΖν με φης τεκουσ ουκ εκ θεού.
ΚΡ. μά την παρασπίζουσαν άρμασίν ποτέ
^ίκην ^Α,θάναν ΖηνΙ γηγενείς επυ,
ουκ εστίν όστις σοι πατήρ θνητών, τεκνον, 153^
αλλ' οσπερ εζεθpε\|Jε Αοζιας άναζ.
Ιίΐ. πώς ούν τον αυτού τταΓδ' eδωfc' άλλω πατρι,
Βιούθου τε φησι παΓδά μ εκπεφυκεναι ;
ΚΡ. πεφυκεναι μεν ούχΐ^ ΒωρεΙται δε σε
αυτού γεγώτα' καΐ γαρ αν φίλος φίλω ■." ■ 1535
^οίη τον αυτού παιδα 8εσπότην 86μων.
ΙΩ. ό ^€09 αληθής η μάτην /xai^reverai,
εμού ταράσσει, μητερ, εικότως φρένα.
ΚΡ. άκουε 8η νύν, άμ εσηλθεν, ω τεκνον,
ευεργετών σε Αοζίας εις ευγενή 154^
Βόμον καθίζει' τού θεού δε λεγόμενος
ουκ εσχες αν ποτ ούτε παγκληρους Βόμους
ουτ όνομα πατρός, πως γαρ, ου γ εγω γάμους
εκρυπτον αύτη καί σ άπεκτεινον λάθρα ;
ό δ* ώφελών σε προστίθησ άλλω πατρί. ^545
Ι came of slaying' etc. There is a precisely similar addition of βίου in
Afed. 1245.' ^' 1515. ira0€iv stands for the passive {παθΐΊν opp. to δραν) of
φοι/€ΰσαΐ) and ανάξια qualifies both verbs. Each had, in ignorance of the
facts, and so far innocently^ come near to slaying the other. 1519. ώ$
ή|λϊν: 'regarded as for me, considering what I was'. 1534. But see the
words, 7/T/. 534 — 37. 1538. 4μοΰ: note the emphasis: k^imv. 1539 replies
to it. 1543. δνομα irarpos : afaiJier so styled and allowed. ιτώ? γάρ κ.τ.λ.
ΙΩΝ 123
Escaped the shedding of our dearest blood !
A pause.
Oh, to know all the matter, see it all
In the broad sunlight, open to the day !
Sweet mother, dearly found, this parentage
Doth overpass indeed my modest rate.
He draws her aside.
Oh let my words be whispered in thine ear,
And darkness veil the answer !..., May it be...
Mother,... that thou, betrayed, as passion oft
Will tempt a maiden to a secret love,
Bethinkest thee to lay it on the god ;
And giv'st me, only to escape my shame,
Him for a father who begat me not }
Cre. Now by our Queen of Victory, her who marched
Beside Zeus' chariot 'gainst the Giant brood,
{^She points to the picture on tJu wall?)
Ο son, thy father was no mortal man.
But Loxias, who reared thee, he begat !
Ion. Why did he give his own-begotten then
To another t Why declare me Xuthus' child .-*
Cre. He meant not so, but gave thee as a gift,
Born truly of himself, as friend to friend
May give his son begotten for an heir!
Ion. I, mother, ask — and well it may confound
My soul ! — Are his revelations true, or false }
Cre. Then hear what I am thinking, Ο my son !
Apollo, of his kindness, destined thee
To find a noble home. Declared for his,
Thou couidst not win thine heritage, nor show
A father. Never! Had not I concealed
His love, and doomed thee to a secret death.'*
He feigned thee then another's for thy good.
Plainly not^ wheii I myself concealed the fact of etc. Creusa, though she
believed her lover to have been the god, had never dared to tell her story,
for the obvious reason that no one would credit her. From this it might
be judged, she says, what chance there would be of establishing the fact
now, to the satisfaction of the law. 1544. άπ6κτ€ΐνον : stronger evidence
124 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΙΩ. ονχ^ cS8e ψαυλως αυτ έγώ μετέρχομαι.
He stands in perplexity.
αλλ' Ιστορήσω Φοίβον εΙσεΚθων Βόμονς,
εΐτ βΐμΐ θνητού πατρός, είτε Αοξίον.
The goddess AtJteyia appears above tJw temple.
la* Tts οίκων θνοΒόκων υπερτεΧής
άνπ-ήλίον πρόσωπον εκφαίνευ θέων; ^55^
φεύγωμεν, ώ τεκονσα, μή τα 8αυμ6νων
όρωμεν, εΐ μή καιρός εσθ" ή μας οραν.
All draw back from the temple.
ΑΘΗΝΑ.
Mt) φεύγετ, ου γαρ πολεμίαν με φεύγετε,
αλλ' εν τ Ά^τ^ι^αις κάνθά8* ονσαν ευμενή,
επώνυμος δε σης άφικόμην -χ^θονος, 1555
Παλλάς, Βρόμω σπεύσασ Απόλλωνος πάρα,
ος εΙς μεν oxjjiv σφων μολεΐν ουκ ήζίου,
μή των πάροιθε μεμφις εις μέσον μόλτ),
ήμας 8ε πέμπει τους λόγους ύμίν φράσαι,
ως ή8ε τίκτει σ εξ ^Απόλλωνος πατρός, 15^^
διδωσι δ' οίς εΒωκεν ου φύσασί σε,
αλλ' ως νομίζιτ) 'ς οίκον εύγενεστατον.
επεί δ' άνεωγθη πράγμα μηνυθεν τόδε,
θανείν σε ^είσας μητρός εκ βουλευμάτων
καΐ τήνΒε προς σου, /Λτ^ναι^αις ερρύσατο.
εμεΚΚε ο αυτά οιασιωπησας αζ^ας"
εν ταΐς Αθήναις γνωριείν ταύτην τε σήν,
still, created by Creusa against herself. 1550. άντηλιον: eastward, since
that was the direction of the temple. The expression recalls the feeling
which suggested this common arrangement, that in this way the front and the
gods which adorned it saluted and were saluted by the dawn. See Aesch.
Ag. 519. It is of course not here meant or said that Athena is now looking
at an actual dawn. ιτρόσωττον Ικφα£ν€ΐ. Probably on the stage only a head
or bust, of superhuman size, appeared above the temple, as if through the
opening by which it was lighted, the suggestion being that the goddess stood
within, her stature towering above the building. Obviously this arrangement
could be much more easily worked — at Delphi, if not on the stage — than an
apparition in the air. The actor would then speak from behind the head.
ΙΩΝ 125
Ion. My question is too deep for such reply.
He stands in perplexity.
I will go ask of Phoebus in his house
Whether a man begat me, or the god.
The goddess Athena appears above the temple.
Ha ! Who is this, that o'er the sacred fane
Rises divine, her face toward the East }
Ο let us fly, my mother, lest our eyes
Inopportune should look on sanctities.
All draw back from the temple.
Athena.
Fly not ! I am no enemy whom ye fly.
But here in Delphi as in Athens kind.
Your native Athens, whence my title is,
Pallas Athena ! From Apollo sped
My swiftness hither, who advised himself
Not to appear before you, lest reproach
For matter of the past should intervene,
But sendeth us, charged with his words to you.
Apollo was the father unto whom
This lady bare thee ; and he gave thee not
As to a parent, when he gave, but so
To win thee place in an illustrious house.
But when discovery had betrayed the fact,
Lest thou shouldst perish by thy mother's plot.
Or she by thee, he saved by artifice.
His royal purpose was to keep awhile
The secret, and in Athens to reveal
1557. * The god's timidity is somewhat droll, as are also the rather lame
explanations put into the mouth of counsel.' B. 1562. νομίξη 's οίκον
{νομίζ€ΐς or ρομίζτ)ς MSS.) to give you a recognized place in etc.; lit. to
recognize you into: νομιζόμ^νοι νί€Ϊς was the common Attic phrase for sons by
law (by adoption, recognition etc.), see Demosth. 1022. 16 oX νομιζόμ^νοι fieV
vififf μτ^ ovres be yevfi (ξ (κείνων: on the model of this the poet coins a peculiar
phrase to describe (not without irony) the highly peculiar proceeding of
Apollo, who ' recognized his son ' or * admitted him by recognition ' not into
his own house but another's. κομίζτ^ς Lenting. 1563. μηνυθ€ν : by the
servants to Creusa. 1566. 8ιασ-ιω'ΤΓησ•α5 : after concealing for an interval-.
126 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
(J€ ff ώς πεφυκας τησΒε καί Φοίβου πατρός.
αλλ' ώς περαίνω πράγμα καΐ γβ-ησμονς θεω,
εφ" οΐσίν εζενξ" αρματ\ είσακονσατον. 157^
λαβονσα τόνΒε παΓδα Κεκροπίαν γθονα
χωρεί, Κρέουσα, κείς θρόνους τυραννικούς
Ιορυσον εκ γαρ των * Ερεχθέως γεγως
8ίκαίος αρχευν της εμης οδε χθονός.
εσται δ' αν Έλλάδ' ευκΧεης' οΐ του^ε γαρ 1575
παίδες γενόμενοι, τέσσαρες ρίζης μίας,
επωνύμου γης καπιφυλίουχθονος
\αων έσονται σκοπελον οι ναίουσ εμον,
Τελεων μεν εσται πρώτος' είτα 8εύτερον
'^Οπλητες, ^ΑργαΒης τ, εμης τ απ* αιγίδος 15^^
εν φυλον εζουσ Αιγικορης. οΐ τώνΒε δ' αΰ
παίδες γενόμενοι συν χρόνω πεπρωμενω
Κν/ίλάδας εποικησουσι ι^σαιας πόλεις
χέρσους τε παραλούς, ο σθένος ττ) ^μτ) χθονί
8ίοωσιν' άντίπορθμα δ' ηπείροιν Βυοΐν 15^5
πεδία κατοικησουσιν, Άσιάδος τε γης
Εύρωπίας τε' τουΒε δ' ονόματος χάριν
^Ιωνες ονομασθεντες εζουσιν κλέος.
Έούθω δε κοΧ σο\ γίγνεται κοινον γένος,
Αωρος μεν, ένθεν Αωρϊς ύμνηθησεται 159^
πόλις* κατ (uav Ιίελοπίαν δ' ο δεύτερος
Άχαιος, ος γης παράλιας Ρίου πελας
τύραννος εσται, κάπισημανθησεται
κείνου κεκλησθαι λαός όνομ! επώνυμος.
διά between. 1569. ιτράγμα : business. 1576. On the theories respecting
these four ancient Attic tribes see Grote, Hist, of Greece, Vol. ii. p. 427.
The insoluble questions connected with them are of no interest for this play.
Euripides merely uses the names, with romantic additions of his own fancy,
to convey in mythical form a suggestion of the imperial maritime greatness
of Athens in his own time. The four tribes were abolished by the revolution
of Cleisthenes (bc. 509). On the facts about Ion see Miss Harrison,
Monuments, etc., p. Ixxx. He was the local hero of a clan and had a
tomb at their village. 1577 : shall be eponyms of the land and tribe-
inhabited soil of the people etc., i.e. * shall give their names to the land and
people'. Euripides here treats the tribes as corresponding to local divisions
of Attica ; at least so it seems ; and perhaps they did. ίπιφυλ. χθον6ς :
soil with tribes on it. There is no difficulty, I think, in this expression.
ΙΩΝ 127
Thy mother, thee Apollo's child and hers.
Now, to complete my chariot's errand here,
Hearken to his command and prophecy.
Creusa, take this lad to Cecrops' land
With thee, and set him in the royal seat.
Descended of Erechtheus as he is,
To rule my city is his lawful right.
Famous through Hellas shall he be; his sons
Four scions of one root, shall give their names
Unto the quarters four and tribal shires
Of them who dwell upon my sacred hill.
Geleon the eldest name, the second tribe
Hopletes, Argades the third, and one
After mine aegis called Aegicores.
The children of these children, in the time
Of destiny, shall plant themselves in towns,
Over the coasts and islands of the main,
To give their strength to Athens. They shall hold
Broad lands in Europe and in Asia both.
Spread from the strait sea hitherward and beyond,
And style themselves, with Ion's glorious name,
Ionian. Xuthus too and thou shalt have
Offspring between you ; Dorus, name and praise
Of Dorians, then Achaeus, habiting
The land of Pelops, who shall lord the coast
By Rhium and seal a people with his name.
1579. VuJkviv: whence the Geleontes. 1582. <rx»v χρόνω: after the in-
tej'val. 1584. δ...δί8ω(Γΐν which gives, i.e. is fitted to give. There is little
or no historic truth in this, if referred to the actual foundation of the Ionic
towns in Asia and the islands. But the reference is really to the Athenian
empire of the fifth century, to which the poet, by way of compliment to the
audience, attributes an antique origin and indefinite claims over the Greek
world in general. 1585. άντίπορθμα : fronting each other on each side of
the Hellespont. 1590. Do7'us and 1592. Achaeus. The direct reference
is to the Dorians and Achaeans of northern Greece, but the purpose is to
suggest that the Athenians are the true heads of Hellas in all branches.
1591. IleXowiav : originally in Phthia, whence the name was carried by the
Dorian conquerors to the Peloponnese. 1592. 'Ρίου: a cape on the
Corinthian gulf, where the Athenians under Phormio won a naval victory in
B.C. 429. 1593 : and a people called after him shall be stamped to be
128 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
καλώς δ' ^Απόλλων ττάντ ewpa^e' ττρωτα μ^ν 1595
ανοσον Χογεύ^ι σ , ώστε μη γζ^ωι^αι φίλους'
€π€ί Ο €Τίκτ€ς Tovoe τταιοα καπεσον
iv awapyavoiaiVj αρπάσαντ 4ς αγκαΧας
Έρμην KeXeveu Sevpo πορθμευσαι βρέφος,
έθρεφε τ οΰδ' εΐασεν εκπνενσαι βίον. ΐ6θΟ
νυν ονν σιωττα τταΓς οδ' ως πεφνκε cros,
ιΐ' 7^ Οοκτησις αονσον ηοεως εχτ)
συ τ αν τά σαντης άγάθ* εχονσ εΐΒ^ς, γνναί.
καΐ -)(αίρετ, εκ γαρ τησΒ^ άναχΡνχΎ)ς πόνων
ενΒαίμον νμΐν πότμον εξαγγέλλομαι. 1605
ΙΩ. ω Διός Παλλάς μεγίστου θύγατερ, ουκ απιστία
σους λογούς εν8εζόμεσθα' πείθομαι δ' eli^ai πατρός
Αοζίου καΐ τησΒε. καΐ πρΙν τούτο δ' ουκ απιστον ην.
{From this point to the end Ion stands^ facing the audience y
as if in deep and gloomy meditation.)
KP. τάμα νυν άκουσον αΙνω ΦοΙβον ουκ αΐνουσα πρΧν,
οϋνε^, ου ποτ ημελησε, παιδος άποδίδωσι μοι. 1 6 ΙΟ
αιδβ δ' εύωποί πύλαυ μου καΐ θεού -^ρηστηρυα,
8υσμενη πάροιθεν όντα. νυν δε /cat ρόπτρων χέρας
η^εως εκκρημνάμεσθα καΧ προσεννεπω πύλας.
ΑΘ. ηνεσ, ουνεκ ευλογείς θεόν μεταβαλουσ • αεί ποτέ
χρόνια μεν τά των θέων πως, εΙς τέλος δ' ουκ άσθενη.
ΚΡ. ώ τεκνον, στείχωμεν οίκους.
ΑΘ. στείχεθ", ε\^ομαι δ' €γώ. ι6ι6
Α pause.
named by his name. 1602. ή8^ω8 ^χη : may possess him agreeably.
1603. T€: and at the same time thoti etc. More usually re... re {v. 72).
etS^s : H. Macnaghten, ΐΧψ MSS. 1608. * But even before (thy coming)
that was not incredible'. Note the emphasis thrown upon τούτο by its
displacement in the sentence. But for this, which is necessary to the
meaning, it must of course come after hi. The real question of Ion (7/. 1537)
Athena has not touched. (See the hitroduction.) 1610. ου: i.e. τον τον
ηαι8α άποδιδόναι. According to Athena's story, he could not be quite said
to have neglected the child. But he had hitherto neglected the duty of
giving him to his mother. 1612. ρόπτρων (depending on ίκκρημνάμίσ-θα) is
properly the ring-knocker of the door, to which she clings. But I have
ventured to modify this in translation. Whether such a thing shall be
ΙΩΝ 129
Well hath Apollo done in all : 'twas he
Who made thy travail easy, to prevent
Discovery by thy parents : when the child
Was born and with his tokens put away,
Hermes he sent to take the infant up
And bear him thence to Delphi in his arms :
And here Apollo reared nor let him die.
Now therefore be it a secret, that by blood
Ion is son to thee. Let fancy still
Keep Xuthus pleased, and thou in conscious joy.
Woman, possess thine own. And so farewell.
Be happy. From this hour of glad relief
Begin, as I foretell you, prosperous days.
Ion. Daughter of Zeus Supreme, Ο Pallas, not as un-
believers we
Shall accept thy words and message. I believe myself to be
Son of Loxias and Creusa. That was credible before.
{From this point to the end Ion stands^ facing the audience,
as if in deep and gloomy meditation^
Cre. Hear now me\ Reproach on Phoebus, if I threw,
I throw no more ;
Bless him, negligent no longer, that he gives me back my son.
Now this temple smiles upon me, now the evil days are done,
Now I love Apollo's portal : I could wreath his pillars now
Close in grateful arms, and clinging fix me there, a living
vow !
Ath. Well it is to spell thy curses back and bless him.
Ever long
Are the ways of gods, the ending ever this, that They are
strong.
Cre. Come, my child, and let us homewards.
Ath. Go, and I with you along.
A pause.
poetical or not, in a particular language, is matter of accident. 1614.
ην€σα: it is well', see on Med. 707 in my school-edition. The word, as used
here, implies a slight indirect reproach for the former curses. 1616.
^ψομαι : will acco7npany (not follow) you, i.e. in the air above. She never
V. I. 9
I30 ΕΥΡίπίΔΟΥ
ΚΡ. οίζία y ημών ό8ονρ6<;, και φιΚουσά ye πτ6\ιν.
ΑΘ. €1? θρόνους δ* ϊζου παλαυονς.
ΚΡ. αζιον το κτημά μοι,
Α bug pause, after which Ion slowly leaves the stage.
{The necklace is brought to Creusa, who places it
tipon her wrist.) The goddess sinks again into the
temple. Creusa stands as hi perplexity and then
slowly follows Ion.
XO. ω Διός Α,-ητονς τ "Απολλον, χοΐρ ' δτω δ' iXavverai
συμφοραίς οίκος, σεβοντα δαίμονας θαρσβΐν γβ€.ών.
CIS τίΚος γαρ οΐ μεν έσθλοί τυγχάνονσιν αξίων, 102 ι
οι κακοί δ', ώσπβρ πεφνκασ, ουποτ ev πράξειαν αν.
descends to the stage. It would have been a troublesome feat. 1617 and
1618. KP., so in the MSS. rightly. Hermann (and recent editions) transfer
άξία...ό8ουρ6$ and άξιον... μοι to Ion. Plainly Ion is expected to say some-
thing of the kind, but that he will not is the very point of the situation.
Creusa is compelled to supply his defect. 1617. γ6...γ€. The particles
mark her surprise and dissatisfaction at Ion's silence. In fact she tries to
prompt him. 1618. τό κτήμα : i.e. her son and heir. But the speech is in
ΙΩΝ 131
Cre. {lookmg at Ion) Certes worthy to protect us !
(^A pause ; she continues with rising emphasis)
Loving us for Athens' sake !
Ath. Seat thee in thine ancient honour.
Cre. {after a long pause) Worthy boon for me to take !
A long pause, after which Ion slowly leaves the stage.
{The necklace is bronght to Creusa, who places
it iipon her zurist.) The goddess sinks again into
the temple. Crensa stands as in perplexity and then
slowly follows Io7i.
Chorns. Ο Apollo, Son of Lato, Son of Zeus, to thee farewell !
{To the audience)
They, whose house is vexed with troubles, let them worship
heaven and dwell
Comforted. For still to virtue comes the blessing ; still attend
Evils evil, as is nature ; Justice cometh in the end. Exeunt.
reality made as if for Ion. On this, and the concluding 'moral' and the
final scene generally, see the Introductioti.
CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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