The Supernatural in the Tragedies of Euripides 3 i 



Ion i6ig-2i : 



& Atos A77TOUS T AttoWou, X'^'-P' otco 5 eKavverai k. t. X. 

 " Zeus' and Leto's Son Apollo, hail ! Let him to powers divine 

 Render homage undismayed, whose house affliction's buffets 



smite : 

 For the good at last shall overcome, at last attain their right ; 

 But the evil, by their nature's law, on good shall never light." 



Creusa's prayer in vv. 410 ff. is characteristic on account of its 

 ambiguity : 



Ion 410-12: 



2} TTOTVLa ^ol^ov iJ.fJT€p, el yap aicrtcos 

 eX&oiixev, a, re vcjov avix06\ai.a irpba^ev rjv 

 es TToiSa tov (tov, /xeraTrecrot jSeKriova. 



" Queen, Phoebus' mother, grant our home-return 

 Prosperous : all our dealings heretofore 

 Touching thy son, to happier issue fall ! " 



With this prayer Creusa intentionally deceives her husband. She 

 secretly refers to the relation between herself and Apollo, while 

 Xuthus is to take vu>v for himself and his wife, the (jvix^oKaia 

 being the sacrifices which they two had formerly made to Apollo 

 for children. 



Two other prayers of less importance to our investigation may 

 be mentioned here. The choral ode in vv. 1048 ff. opens as a 

 prayer to Hekate, the Goddess of sorcery and secret poisoning. 

 She is invoked to direct to a favorable issue the stealthy attempt 

 on Ion's life : 



" Goddess of Highways, Demeter's Daughter, 

 Queen of the nightmare darkness-ranger, 

 Guide thou the hand that for noontide slaughter 

 Shall fill the chalice, my lady's avenger, etc." 



The prayer of the chorus in vv. 452 if. is an invocation to 

 Athena and Artemis to intercede with their brother in favor of 

 the ancient royal house of Erechtheus : 



" My Queen, at whose birth-tide was given 

 Of the Lady of Travail-pang 

 No help, hear, Pallas, my prayer, etc." 



85 



