Ion of Chios (; grc-gre, Ἴων ὁ Χῖος; c. 490/480 – c. 420 BC) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

writer, dramatist, lyric poet and philosopher. He was a contemporary of

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

and

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

. 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.

Life

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. When very young he went to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, where he enjoyed the society of

Cimon Cimon or Kimon ( grc-gre, Κίμων; – 450BC) was an Athenian ''strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician. He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Batt ...

, of whom he left laudatory notices in some of his works which are quoted by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

. Plutarch informs us that Ion severely criticised

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

, who is said to have been his rival in love. Ion was familiarly acquainted with

, if we may believe an anecdote related by Plutarch, but he did not come forward as a tragedian till after Aeschylus' death. We also learn from Ion himself that he met

at Chios, when the latter was commander of the expedition against

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sepa ...

, 440 BC. His first tragedy was brought out in the 82nd

Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not unti ...

(452 BC); he is mentioned as third in competition with

and

Iophon Iophon ( grc-gre, Ἰοφῶν, fl. 428 BC – 405 BC) was a Greek tragic poet and son of Sophocles. Iophon gained the second prize in tragic competition in 428 BC, Euripides being first, and Ion third. He must have been alive in 405 BC, the ...

, in Olympiad 87.4 (429-8 BC); and he died before 421 BC, as appears from the ''Peace'' of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

, 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 Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

prizes at the same time, he presented every Athenian with a pitcher of Chian wine. Hence it would seem that he was a man of considerable wealth. He is mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

among the celebrated men of Chios.

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 ''On the Sublime'' (Greek: Περì Ὕψους Perì Hýpsous; Latin: ''De sublimitate'') is a Roman-era Greek work of literary criticism dated to the 1st century- C.E.. Its author is unknown, but is conventionally referred to as Longinus (; ...

describes the style of Ion's tragedies as marked by petty refinements and want of boldness, 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 Arcesilaus (; grc-gre, Ἀρκεσίλαος; 316/5–241/0 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic philosopher. He was the founder of Academic Skepticism and what is variously called the Second or Middle or New Academy – the phase of the Platonic Acad ...

, Baton of Sinope, Didymus, Epigenes, and even by Aristarchus. Besides his tragedies, we are told by the scholiast on Aristophanes, that Ion also wrote lyric poems,

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mill ...

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also π� ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

, and elegies. Some remnants of his elegies are in the ''

Greek Anthology The ''Greek Anthology'' ( la, Anthologia Graeca) is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the Classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature. Most of the material of the ''Greek Anthology'' comes from two manuscripts, the ' ...

''. 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 Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

: it was probably the same as the ''Syngraphe'' (Συγγραφή), which is quoted by Pausanias. 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. The ''Hypomnemata'' are by some writers identified with the ''Epidemiai'' (Ἐπιδημίαι) or ''Ekdemetikos'' (Ἐκδημητικός),Julius Pollux, ii. 88 which contained either an account of his own travels, or of the visits of famous people to Chios.

Notes

References

* Article: "Ion of Chios"
Smith William. “Ion of Chios” ‘’Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.’’ Volume 2. p. 606

External links

* {{Authority control 480s BC births 5th-century BC Greek people 5th-century BC writers 5th-century BC philosophers 5th-century BC poets Ancient Chians Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights Ancient Greek metaphysicians Old Comic poets Tragic poets Ancient Greek poets Ancient Greek elegiac poets Ancient Greek lyric poets Pythagoreans Metics in Classical Athens 420s BC deaths