ION (mythical son of Apollo)

His origins were shrouded in mystery, as a priestess found the infant in Apollo's shrine after the god intervened to prevent her from abandoning the baby.^5,6 Unaware of the child's true parents, the priestess raised him, and he later came to regard her as his mother despite her not having given birth to him.^7,4 The infant had been exposed by his mother, Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus, who wrapped him in her own weaving and placed him in an ark within the cavern of Cecrops.^8,5,9,10 The ark contained golden serpents intended as necklaces, hallowed wreaths, and the swaddling clothes in which he was originally wrapped, all of which had not decayed over time.^9,11,4 As a child, he was fed by the altar and the generosity of visitors, playing around the sacred site until he was sent away to be nursed by a Delphian woman.^6,7,12

Creusa had attempted to kill him, including by poisoning and attacking him while he was stationed at an altar, because she viewed him as an enemy to her house.^13,10 When confronted with the truth, Ion initially refused to believe Creusa was his mother, calling her mad and demanding she leave the altar.^13,9

He also founded a city in Aegialus named Helice after his wife, and his descendants became the rulers of the Ionians.^14,15

Ion considered the ancestral throne to be his heritage, while Creusa told him that all land won by his father's sword and shield belonged to him alone.^16,13 He was the father of Bura, Ellops, and other children, and had a brother named Achaeus, though accounts of his family vary in detail.^17,18,19 In a moment of rage, he planned to throw a woman from the peaks of Parnassus, believing she had plotted to kill him using Gorgon venom.²⁰ Ultimately, his legacy was cemented not just by his bloodline, but by his role as the namesake of the Ionian people and their enduring connection to the land of Attica.^21,22