28 Ernest Heinrich Klotsche 



demns Neoptolemus to death when engaged in expiating a small 

 offence thus seeking by prayer and sacrifice to assuage the wrath 

 of the God: 



Andr. 1161-65: 



TOLOV^^ 6 Tols aXXoicn d^tcnrV^wv ava^, 

 6 TUiv SiKaiuv -Kacnv avi^piinrocs KpiT-qs, 

 5t/cas diSovTa iraid' edpaa' 'AxtXXecos. 

 kixvYifxavevae 5' cbairep avi}pcoiros KaKos 

 TraXaia velKfj- ttiSs av ovv e'Lr] ao<p6s; 



"Thus he that giveth oracles to the world, 

 He that is judge to all men of the right, 

 Hath wreaked revenge upon Achilles' son, — 

 Yea, hath remembered, like some evil man, 

 An old, old feud! How then shall he be wise?" 



The satire in these lines so freely reflecting on the alleged 

 justice, impartiality, and wisdom of Apollo is in keeping with the 

 poet's attitude elsewhere; cf. Ion 436 ff. The poet's enemies of 

 old were delighted with the handle which such passages offered 

 against him. (Arist. Thesm. 450.) 



6. The Ion 



The " Ion " — chronologically placed somewhere between 424- 

 421 B.C. — may safely be called one of the most perfect and beau- 

 tiful of the Greek tragedies. The young Ion is a priest. at the 

 temple of Delphi when Xuthus and his wife Creusa, daughter of 

 Erechtheus, come to inquire of the God concerning their child- 

 lessness ; and it is discovered that Ion is the son of Creusa by the 

 God Apollo. 



The " Ion " represents the supernatural, and especially the 

 oracle-god in as unplea'sant a light as possible. 



In a monody of remarkable beauty, and full of pure-minded 

 and devout sentiments Ion describes with enthusiasm the pleas- 

 ure, he takes in the service of Apollo, his patron god, vv. 82-183. 

 To quote only : 



Ion 128-43 : 



KoKov 76 Tov irbvov. Si 



^OL^e, ffol irpo 86iJ,o)v Xarpeuco k. t. \. 



" 'Tis my glory, the service I render 

 82 



