Ion

Description

Ion by Plato (as translated by Benjamin Jowett)

Ion is Plato’s rendering of a conversation that takes place between the great philosopher, and Plato’s mentor, Socrates, and Ion, a rhapsode, or professional performer. Socrates and Ion debate whether Ion’s talent as a rhapsode is a divine gift from the gods, or whether it is a skill developed through study.

When Ion and Socrates meet, Ion is swollen with pride and arrogance as a result of his winning a performance competition. Socrates asserts that his gift for eloquence is in fact a divine gift. Ion insists that he is spurred to do well by the promise of money in his pocket. Ion, who is famous for his recitations of Homer, asserts that his skill for swaying the masses is propelled by profit. Socrates sets to prove him wrong, insisting that if he were a skilled poet, he would know intimate details of his subject and could recite from a variety of poets. Ion admits he knows his subject is limited to Homer. He also admits that he knows very little about the details of what he recites, that of being a military general. Homer uses this information to deduce that Ion’s gift for recitation is much like a prophet’s gift for telling the future: it is divinely acquired. Socrates thoroughly confuses Ion, who ends up questioning whether or not he possesses the skills of an actor, or of a military general.

Ion is an early, ironic work by Plato. Plato did not believe in “divine inspiration” and therefore, Ion drips with derision and sarcasm. Ion is an example of Plato’s creative invention amidst a seemingly contradictory and scathing critique of artistry.

The translator, Benjamin Jowett, was an English scholar and theologian.
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