He worked in so many genres you may suspect he was a compulsive writer. Then you read one of his 150 or so fragments and understand why Ion is the denizen of many a footnote and the target of constant intellectual theft. This fine collection of 17 essays on various aspects of the work of Ion of Chios was inspired by the 2003 conference of the Australian Society for Classical Studies and a September 2004 colloquium at the U. of Adelaide. The essays describe the survival of Ion's work and its impact on literature and modern scholarship, Ion's take on politics and Plutarch's take on Ion, Ion's manipulation of myth and his fragmented relationship with Athens, the logic and import of his poetic language, the commodity he and others made of tragedy, and finally, the very real possibility that Ion was a philosopher. This is lively and very much needed. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)