It’s my favorite Greek tragedy, from the opening scene when the young temple slave Ion sweeps the pigeon droppings off the steps of the temple of Apollo, to the final, belated dea ex machina, makes grandiose historicism out of all-too-human foibles.
I have loved the play ever since seeing it performed in the theater of Herodes Atticus in Athens one summer many ears ago. At the crucial moment, the scene where mother and son recognize one another, the portly Greek gentleman seated to my right broke out in simultaneous tears and laughter. It was a perfect act of literary criticism. He got it just right.
Perhaps, however, I can add one small detail, a suggestion about the staging of the play. It’s set in the forecourt of the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Ancient theater goers would know that right there were inscribed the two most famous maxims: Avoid Extremes and Know Yourself (Pausanias 10.24.1. Modern readers and playgoers would benefit from having these words in view as action veers toward the extreme, then averts catastrophe as the characters come to know who they are.
So, stage it so the maxims send their messages – loud and clear for every viewer to behold amid tears and laughter.
I have loved the play ever since seeing it performed in the theater of Herodes Atticus in Athens one summer many ears ago. At the crucial moment, the scene where mother and son recognize one another, the portly Greek gentleman seated to my right broke out in simultaneous tears and laughter. It was a perfect act of literary criticism. He got it just right.
Perhaps, however, I can add one small detail, a suggestion about the staging of the play. It’s set in the forecourt of the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Ancient theater goers would know that right there were inscribed the two most famous maxims: Avoid Extremes and Know Yourself (Pausanias 10.24.1. Modern readers and playgoers would benefit from having these words in view as action veers toward the extreme, then averts catastrophe as the characters come to know who they are.
So, stage it so the maxims send their messages – loud and clear for every viewer to behold amid tears and laughter.