Epeisodion 2
[Episode]
Thy own true son, or a gift from others?
Xuthus
A gift, but mine for all that.
Ion
Am I the first that thou didst meet?
Xuthus
I have met no other, my son.
Ion
Whence came this piece of luck?
Xuthus
To both of us alike it causes surprise.
Ion
Ah I but who was my mother?
540
Xuthus
I cannot tell.
540
Ion
Did not Phoebus tell thee that?
Xuthus
I was so pleased with this, I did not ask him that.
Ion
I must have sprung from mother earth.
Xuthus
The ground brings forth no children.
Xuthus
I know not; I refer it to the god.
Ion
Come, let us try another theme.
Xuthus
Better hold to this, my son.
Ion
Didst thou e’er indulge in illicit amours?
545
Xuthus
Yes, in the folly of youth.
545
Ion
Ere thou didst win Erechtheus’ daughter?
Ion
Could it be, then, thou didst beget me?
Xuthus
The time coincides therewith.
Ion
In that case, how came I hither?
Ion
After that long journey too?
Xuthus
That, too, perplexes me.
Ion
Didst thou in days gone by come to the Pythian rock?
550
Xuthus
Yes, to join in the mystic rites of Bacchus.
550
Ion
Didst thou lodge with one of the public hosts?
Xuthus
With one who at Delphi—
