The works of Ion of Chios, a polymath writer of the fifth century B.C., have two particularities : firstly, they belong to different literary genres, secondly, they are uniquely fragmentary works, quotations quoted either ...
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The works of Ion of Chios, a polymath writer of the fifth century B.C., have two particularities : firstly, they belong to different literary genres, secondly, they are uniquely fragmentary works, quotations quoted either by contemporary authors or by authors who lived after him. To study this fragments, we first need to present the historical context in which this works were written, in particular by showing the different kinds of links (political, military, economic, commercial, juridical or even cultic and cultural) between Chios island and the other Greek poleis and, first of all, between Chios and Athens. Thanks to this first analysis, it becomes possible to recount the life of Ion of Chios, his trips and his encounters, and, most of all, to reveal the major role he played (with his family) in the rising Athenian empire. Then, we have to establish the translation and the commentary of the different fragments : tragedies, elegies and lyrical pieces, philosophical treatise, philosophical logos, story of foundation, journeys. By considering the different literary genres that Ion wrote, we not only show the tribute and the contribution of Ion to literary tradition, but also the consistency of most of his works. Here, poetic and stylistic analysis meet historical and political issues. These fragments belonging exclusively to the "indirect tradition" of the text, we have to examine the intentions of the authors who quoted Ion of Chios. This search leads us to finally give an insight of the reception of Ion of Chios in Antiquity, from the classical period to the Byzantine Renaissance. It is here necessary to acknowledge the major role of Ion in literary history : he was not only a a leading figure and a role model for Hellenistic poets (Callimachus is the best example), but also a paradigm for the writers of the Second Sophistic, like Athenaeus or Plutarchus.
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