According to

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Ion (; ) was eponymous ancestor of the

Ionians The Ionians (; , ''Íōnes'', singular , ''Íōn'') were one of the traditional four major tribes of Ancient Greece, alongside the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achaeans. The Ionian dialect was one of the three major linguistic divisions of the ...

Family

Ion was the illegitimate child of

Creüsa In Greek mythology, Creusa (; ''Kreousa'' "princess") may refer to the following figures: * Creusa, a naiad daughter of Gaia. *Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus, King of Athens and his wife, Praxithea. *Creusa, also known by the name Glauce, was the ...

, the daughter of King

Erechtheus Erechtheus (; ) in Greek mythology was a king of Athens, the founder of the ''polis'' and, in his role as god, attached to Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus". The name Erichthonius is carried by a son of Erechtheus, but Plutarch conflated the tw ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and wife of

Xuthus In Greek mythology, Xuthus (; ''Xouthos'') was a Phthian prince who later became a king of Peloponnesus. He was the founder (through his sons) of the Achaean and Ionian nations. Etymology According to the author Robert Graves, Xuthus' name ...

. His real father was the god

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

Mythology

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, 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 attributed ninety-five plays to ...
’ ''
Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
''

One story of Ion is told in the tragedy play ''

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, 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 attributed ninety-five plays to ...

. Apollo had visited Creusa in a cave below

Propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaion, propylaeon or, in its Latinized form, ''propylaeum''—often used in the plural forms propylaia or propylaea (; Greek: προπύλαια)—is a monumental gateway. It serves as a partition, separat ...

where she conceived Ion. When the princess gave birth to the child, she abandoned him in the same cave but Apollo father asked

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

to take Ion from his cradle. Ion was saved, raised and educated by a priestess of the

Delphic Oracle Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness. The Pythia w ...

. When the boy had grown, and Xuthus and Creusa came to consult the oracle about the means of obtaining an heir, the answer was, that the first human being which Xuthus met on leaving the temple should be his son. Xuthus met Ion, and recognized him as his son but, in fact, Apollo was giving him Ion as an adoptive son. Creusa, imagining the boy to be a son of her husband by a former beloved while she was childless, she caused a cup to be presented to the youth, which was filled with the poisonous blood of a dragon. However, her plot was discovered, for as Ion, before drinking, poured out a libation to the gods, a pigeon which drank of it died on the spot. Creusa thereupon fled to the altar of the god. Ion dragged her away, and was on the point of killing her, when a priestess interfered, explained the mystery, and showed that Ion was the son of Creusa. Mother and son thus became reconciled, but Xuthus was not let into the secret. The latter, however, was satisfied, for he too received a promise that he should become a father, namely of

Dorus In Greek mythology, Dorus (, probably derived from ''dōron'' "gift") was the Eponym, eponymous founder of the Dorians. Family Each of Hellen, Hellen's sons founded a primary tribe of Greece: Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus the Aeolians, Dorus t ...

and

Achaeus Achaeus is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People * Achaeus of Eretria (born 484 BC), tragic poet * Achaeus of Syracuse (4th century BC), tragic poet * Achaeus (son of Seleucus I Nicator) (3rd century BC), Greek Macedonian nobleman * Ach ...

Ionian tradition

The inhabitants of

Aegialus Aegialus or Aigialos () was a coastal town in ancient Paphlagonia, mentioned by Homer in the ''Iliad'' as an ally of Troy during the Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth ...

, on the northern coast of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, were likewise Ionians, and among them another tradition was current. Ion was the son of Xuthus (rather than Apollo in this account) who after being expelled from

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

was brought to the area during the reign of king

Selinus Selinunte ( , ; ; ; ) was a rich and extensive ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modione rivers. It now lies in the of Castelvetrano, b ...

. After his father’s death, Ion was on the point of marching against the Aegialeans, when Selinus offered him his only child Helice in marriage, as well as to adopt him as his son and successor. It so happened that the proposal found favour with Ion, and on the death of King Selinus he succeeded to the throne. He called the city he founded in Aegialus Helice (the modern

Eliki Eliki (, before 1917: Ζευγολατιό - ''Zevgolatio''), is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Diakopto, Achaea, Greece. It was named after the nearby ancient town Helike. Eliki is located near the river Selinountas and the G ...

) in honour of his wife and made it the capital of the kingdom, and called the inhabitants Ionians after himself. This, however, was not a change of name, but an addition to it, for the folk were named Aegialian Ionians. By his wife, Helike, Ion became the father of Bura, eponym of the city of Bura. Later he took an expedition against

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

(now Elefsina) with the help of the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and in the battle he was killed near Eleusis.

Attic tradition

Other traditions represent Ion as king of

between the reigns of

and Cecrops; for it is said that his assistance was called in by the Athenians in their war with the Eleusinians, that he conquered

Eumolpus In Greek Mythology, Eumolpus (; Ancient Greek: Εὔμολπος ''Eúmolpos'', "good singer" or "sweet singing", derived from εὖ ''eu'' "good" and μολπή ''molpe'' "song", "singing") was a legendary king of Thrace. He was described as hav ...

, and then became king of Athens. He there became the father of four sons, Geleon (

Teleon In Greek mythology, Teleon () may refer to the following two distinct characters: * Teleon, also called Geleon (Γελέων), the Athenian son of Ion, eponym of the Ionians, and brother of Aegicoreus, Argades and Hoples. The earlier four tribes ...

), Aegicores, Argades, and Hoples, according to whom he divided the Athenians into four classes or tribes, which derived their names from his sons: Hopletes (

Hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...

s), Teleonites ( Geleontes), Aegicoreis, Argadeis ( Ergadeis).

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, 5.66.2;

, ''

'' 1575-1581; Pollux
8.109
/ref> After his death he was buried at Potamus.

Genealogy of Hellenes

Notes

References

, ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill Jr. in two volumes. 1. Ion, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 2''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

, ''Catalogue of Women'' from ''Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica'' translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57. London: William Heinemann, 1914
Online version at theio.com
*

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

. ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: ), is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been ...

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
{{Authority control Children of Apollo Mythological people from Attica Ionian mythology Mythology of Achaea Progenitors in Greek mythology