These days, after a couple of weeks work of devastation, I moved on to serve as a tool to repeat my tufted duck: the committee is preparing a "History of the show in the ancient world" and I've lent a hand to repeat the translation from the greek of about five hundred verses of Euripides' Ion.
Sometimes I lack a classical education: I miss the fact that he had never studied Latin (and always cultivate the intention to fill this gap) or greek (well, to recover that I do not think I would go), I have read the tragedies of the classics, and why not, some comedy.
Occasionally, as in these days, but a little piece of my ignorance humanities is closed by a brick: I discovered that the Greek tragedies, whatever they say in the codes of the category in Impro not always end badly, in fact, often have a happy ending is just tragic and the story, the chorus is a "macro-character" for all purposes, or speaking in unison or by means of a "coryphaeus" ("corifero?) that acts as an also spokesman group and is a real character, with which others can interact, there is virtually no action ever track (challenge? that challenge?) and everything is resolved only to the sound of a large dialogues with beautiful and dense pull repartee.
And then you discover that the likes of Euripides knew much longer than we have twenty-five centuries ago, that maybe life was not then, in due proportion, so different from ours, that some critics seem written with the power hand in our daily ...
There are a couple of passes of the ion, in particular that I like very much: they speak of justice, wealth and good living. The translation on which I helped my brunette is very different from the one I found online (according to current philologists, who is studying that she is probably one of the best ever ... it is said that even then I did not transcribe the ...), but even this is fairly well understood concepts.
two lines to examine the facts: Creusa - daughter of the king of Athens - in youth raped by Apollo puts a son in secret, leaves him in a cave, but when he returns to retrieve it can not find it again and thought he was dead . Years later, she is posing in Xuthus, noble ally of Athens, but children are not born from their union. The two travel to Delphi to get an oracle from the temple of Apollo, and there, while it holds in the cave of Xuthus Trophonius for another before going to the temple oracle of Phoebus, Ion Creusa meet. The young, unknown to both, is her son taken away by Hermes from the cave (at the behest of Apollo) and brought to the temple the god of Delphi. There lives, wondering who is her mother, and serving in the temple.
Creusa, speaking with him, tells his story (reporting that this is the sad story of her friend ... some things never change ...) and says he wants, more than one response on children not able to have with her husband, news of the fate that happened to that child abandoned, whether it is really dead or not. After the story and the disappearance of Creusa, commented ion.
ION
What hides behind this foreign obscure his speeches, always offensive to Apollo? The oracle, the friend wants him to love? Silent or something to be concealed? But the daughter of Erechtheus, What do I care? We're not related! But now with pots of gold I'm going to fill the lustral water sprinklers. Phoebus, however, I must disapprove. But what can? Violent virgins, and in the lurch? And the children, before they put the world on the sly, then let them die? No, you must not do, just because you're powerful, you have an obligation to be virtuous. A deadly if perverse nature, the gods punish him. But then you lay down the laws to mortals, and then violated the first: it is good?
If one day, will not happen, I just to say, if one day you were forced to give an account of women to men that you took, you Poseidon, and you, Zeus, lord of the sky, you should empty the temples of the treasures of compensation for wrongs! You get treated for your pleasure, but the consequences do not think, no, not right. Who deserves condemnation? The men who copied the great undertaking of the gods? O gods who set the example?
After this well filled the responsibility of power, Xuthus - which had meanwhile entered the temple of Apollo - comes up with the prophecy that the first person he meets is his son (he is touted as the child had, without his knowledge , a woman with whom he had joined before marrying Creusa). Needless to say, meets Ion! Happy
, recognizes him as his son and wants to take with them to Athens, where a prince and the joy of the house and Xuthus Creusa. Ion is at first perplexed, then worried about what might happen, and that is that with words.
ION
Things do not seem the same to see them up close or from afar. Thank heaven he gave me, in you, a parent, but you listen to them, father, things that come to mind. The famous Athenians are said to have come from the place, are a people that has kept it pure. In their eyes I will have two wrongs, I: Son of a foreigner and a bastard. With this silent, living as poor man count as a zero, and will end there, trying to emerge, however, and climb up, I'll get the hatred of failure. Powerful bother. The good and capable people, which closes in silence for wisdom, and stands aside, I find it ridiculous and crazy, if I do not themselves quietly in a terrific city. If we mirassi to positions, rhetoric and politicians will get rid of me with the weapon of the vote. So goes the world, Father. Who holds the power and the government has no mercy for rivals. Again. I, a stranger into the house of others, the home of a childless woman, and that before she was united in grief to you, now you will find one, take it, and suffer more. How could he not hate me, seeing me at your side? She is barren, certainly will not look kindly to your child. And you must sacrifice myself for the sake of your wife, or your home about me. You know how many crimes, with dagger with deadly poisons, were devised by wives! But the same father, I feel pity for your wife, no children and aging did not deserve it, she, born of illustrious ancestors. The power then the power is fascinating, if you look from outside, but if you look at it from the inside? And what joy, what pleasure is there to spend her life in fear and suspicion? Live happily, by the people, is better than being a despot, who is pleased with friends vile, hate the honest, and tremble for fear of attacks. You tell me that gold is passed on to this and more, and it's nice to have, but I do not like to stand around with my ears cocked clutching my treasure chest, and suffer: better to live modestly, away from troubles. Think instead the benefits that I had here: free time, much that is beautiful thing, and few people around, no villain that I push. No, it's worse than having to yield to the mob. Pray to the gods converse with men, my services was welcomed, and never complaining: departures, arrivals, new people, for which I set up a nice novelty. Finally, my nature and habits of the place made me feel right towards God, and this is what is most desirable for man, even if it has merit. Summing up, the father, is best for me to stay here who come to Athens. Let me live in Delphi and is not the same as the welcome and accept very little with joy?
Xuthus But he insists, while including the well filled on the good things in life Simple Ion, Creusa, and when he learns from everything from her maids (the choir) and a former teacher, decided to attempt on the life of Ione.
the end, the priestess of Apollo will intervene to prevent ion kill Creusa and revealing that he kept the objects that Ion had with him when he was found. Creusa, recognizing them, will meet the prodigal son, Ion regain mother (and father has found a happy to have him as his son - even though to all intents and purposes, Xuthus is one that is a bit cheated 'by Apollo and two) and Athena, sent by Apollo - which does not show up: there is too much risk that Creusa Ione and the time to do a head to the sound of reproaches ... - Bless all the seed of predicting ion.
happy ending! Applause! Curtain!
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