Ion

About the book

Ion arrives proud of his success as a rhapsode, confident that he can speak exceptionally well about Homer. Socrates asks what sort of expertise that ability represents and why it should apply to one poet rather than to poetry more generally. Their exchange moves between the subjects poems describe and the emotional power of their performance. The image of a magnetic chain offers a striking account of inspiration passing from poet to performer to audience, while also complicating Ion's claim to possess a dependable art. Plato's short dialogue can be read as both comic encounter and serious examination of artistic authority. It asks whether the capacity to move listeners or interpret admired words necessarily includes knowledge of the matters on which those words appear to speak.

• Artistic inspiration
• Expertise
• Performance and authority

Why read it

For a brief, playful inquiry into the difference between possessing knowledge and powerfully communicating another person's words.

English translation by Benjamin Jowett