Ion of Chios (/ˈaɪɒn/; Greek: Ἴων ὁ Χῖος; c. 490/480 – c. 420 BC) was a Greek writer, dramatist, lyric poet and philosopher. He was a contemporary of Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles. Of his many plays and poems only a few titles and fragments have survived. He also wrote some prose works, including a Pythagorean text, the Triagmos, of which a few fragments survive.
He was the son of Orthomenes, and was surnamed the son of Xuthus: probably a nickname alluding to Xuthus, the father of the mythical Ion.[1] When very young he went to Athens, where he enjoyed the society of Cimon, of whom he left laudatory notices in some of his works which are quoted by Plutarch.[2] Plutarch informs us that Ion severely criticised Pericles,[3] who is said to have been his rival in love.[4] Ion was familiarly acquainted with Aeschylus, if we may believe an anecdote related by Plutarch,[5] but he did not come forward as a tragedian till after Aeschylus' death. We also learn from Ion himself[6] that he met Sophocles at Chios, when the latter was commander of the expedition against Samos, 440 BC.
His first tragedy was brought out in the 82nd Olympiad (452 BC); he is mentioned as third in competition with Euripides and Iophon, in Olympiad 87.4 (429-8 BC); and he died before 421 BC, as appears from the Peace of Aristophanes,[7] which was brought out in that year. Only one victory of Ion's is mentioned, on which occasion, it is said, having gained the dithyrambic and tragic prizes at the same time, he presented every Athenian with a pitcher of Chian wine.[8] Hence it would seem that he was a man of considerable wealth. He is mentioned by Strabo among the celebrated men of Chios.[9]
Works
The number of his tragedies is variously stated at 12, 30, and 40. We have the titles and a few fragments of eleven plays, namely, Agamemnon; Alcmene; Argeioi; Eurytidai; Laertes; Mega Drama; Omphale; Phoinix or Kaineus; Phoinix Deuteros (The Second Phoenix); Phrouroi; and Teucer. The Omphale was a satyric drama. Pseudo-Longinus describes the style of Ion's tragedies as marked by petty refinements and want of boldness,[10] and he adds an expression that no one in his senses would compare the value of the Oedipus with that of all the tragedies of Ion taken together. Nevertheless, he was greatly admired, chiefly, it would seem, for a sort of elegant wit. There are some beautiful passages in the extant fragments of his tragedies. Commentaries were written upon him by Arcesilaus, Baton of Sinope, Didymus, Epigenes, and even by Aristarchus.[11] Besides his tragedies, we are told by the scholiast on Aristophanes, that Ion also wrote lyric poems, comedies, epigrams, paeans, hymns, scholia, and elegies. Some remnants of his elegies are in the Greek Anthology.
His prose works, mentioned by the scholiast on Aristophanes, are one called Presbeutikon (Πρεσβευτικόν), which some thought spurious; Ktisis (Κτίσις); Kosmologikos (Κοσμολογικός); Hypomnemata (Ὑπομνήματα); and some others, which are not specified. The nature of the first of these works is not known. The full title of the Ktisis was Chiou Ktisis (Χίου Κτίσις): it was a historical work, in the Ionic dialect, and apparently in imitation of Herodotus: it was probably the same as the Syngraphe (Συγγραφή), which is quoted by Pausanias.[12] The Kosmologikos is probably the same as the philosophical work, entitled Triagmos (Τριαγμός) or Triagmoi (Τριαγμοί), which seems to have been a treatise on the constitution of things according to the theory of triads; the few surviving fragments suggesting it had Pythagorean leanings.[13] The Hypomnemata are by some writers identified with the Epidemiai (Ἐπιδημίαι) or Ekdemetikos (Ἐκδημητικός),[14] which contained either an account of his own travels, or of the visits of famous people to Chios.
Notes
^Scholium ad Aristoph. Pac. 830; Suda, Eudocia, Harpocr., Ion
Smith William. “Ion of Chios” ‘’Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.’’ Volume 2. p. 606
External links
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May 04, 2023
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For other uses see Ion disambiguation Ion of Chios ˈ aɪ ɒ n Greek Ἴwn ὁ Xῖos c 490 480 c 420 BC was a Greek writer dramatist lyric poet and philosopher He was a contemporary of Aeschylus Euripides and Sophocles Of his many plays and poems only a few titles and fragments have survived He also wrote some prose works including a Pythagorean text the Triagmos of which a few fragments survive Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksLife EditHe was the son of Orthomenes and was surnamed the son of Xuthus probably a nickname alluding to Xuthus the father of the mythical Ion 1 When very young he went to Athens where he enjoyed the society of Cimon of whom he left laudatory notices in some of his works which are quoted by Plutarch 2 Plutarch informs us that Ion severely criticised Pericles 3 who is said to have been his rival in love 4 Ion was familiarly acquainted with Aeschylus if we may believe an anecdote related by Plutarch 5 but he did not come forward as a tragedian till after Aeschylus death We also learn from Ion himself 6 that he met Sophocles at Chios when the latter was commander of the expedition against Samos 440 BC His first tragedy was brought out in the 82nd Olympiad 452 BC he is mentioned as third in competition with Euripides and Iophon in Olympiad 87 4 429 8 BC and he died before 421 BC as appears from the Peace of Aristophanes 7 which was brought out in that year Only one victory of Ion s is mentioned on which occasion it is said having gained the dithyrambic and tragic prizes at the same time he presented every Athenian with a pitcher of Chian wine 8 Hence it would seem that he was a man of considerable wealth He is mentioned by Strabo among the celebrated men of Chios 9 Works EditThe number of his tragedies is variously stated at 12 30 and 40 We have the titles and a few fragments of eleven plays namely Agamemnon Alcmene Argeioi Eurytidai Laertes Mega Drama Omphale Phoinix or Kaineus Phoinix Deuteros The Second Phoenix Phrouroi and Teucer The Omphale was a satyric drama Pseudo Longinus describes the style of Ion s tragedies as marked by petty refinements and want of boldness 10 and he adds an expression that no one in his senses would compare the value of the Oedipus with that of all the tragedies of Ion taken together Nevertheless he was greatly admired chiefly it would seem for a sort of elegant wit There are some beautiful passages in the extant fragments of his tragedies Commentaries were written upon him by Arcesilaus Baton of Sinope Didymus Epigenes and even by Aristarchus 11 Besides his tragedies we are told by the scholiast on Aristophanes that Ion also wrote lyric poems comedies epigrams paeans hymns scholia and elegies Some remnants of his elegies are in the Greek Anthology His prose works mentioned by the scholiast on Aristophanes are one called Presbeutikon Presbeytikon which some thought spurious Ktisis Ktisis Kosmologikos Kosmologikos Hypomnemata Ὑpomnhmata and some others which are not specified The nature of the first of these works is not known The full title of the Ktisis was Chiou Ktisis Xioy Ktisis it was a historical work in the Ionic dialect and apparently in imitation of Herodotus it was probably the same as the Syngraphe Syggrafh which is quoted by Pausanias 12 The Kosmologikos is probably the same as the philosophical work entitled Triagmos Triagmos or Triagmoi Triagmoi which seems to have been a treatise on the constitution of things according to the theory of triads the few surviving fragments suggesting it had Pythagorean leanings 13 The Hypomnemata are by some writers identified with the Epidemiai Ἐpidhmiai or Ekdemetikos Ἐkdhmhtikos 14 which contained either an account of his own travels or of the visits of famous people to Chios Notes Edit Scholium ad Aristoph Pac 830 Suda Eudocia Harpocr Ion Plutarch Cimon 5 9 16 Plutarch Pericles 5 28 Athenaeus x 436 Plutarch De Profect in Virt 8 ap Athenaeus xiii 603 Aristophanes Peace 830 Scholium ad Aristoph Pac 830 Suda Athenaios Athenaeus i 3 Eustath ad Hom p 1454 24 Strabo xiv Pseudo Longinus 33 Diogenes Laertius iv 31 Athenaeus x 436 xi 468 xiv 634 Pausanias vii 4 6 Diels Kranz 36 Julius Pollux ii 88References Edit This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Smith William ed 1870 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a Missing or empty title help Article Ion of Chios Smith William Ion of Chios Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Volume 2 p 606External links Edit Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article Ἴwn ὁ Xῖos Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ion of Chios amp oldid 1109045109, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
