Editing Xuthus (section)

== Family ==
Xuthus was a son of King [[Hellen]] of [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessaly]] and the [[nymph]] [[Orseis]]; and brother of [[Dorus]], [[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]], [[Xenopatra]]<ref>[[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]] in [[scholia]] on [[Plato]], ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'' 208 (p. 376)</ref> and probably [[Neonus]]. He had two sons, [[Ion (mythology)|Ion]] and [[Achaeus (son of Xuthus)|Achaeus]],<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.7.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=7&highlight=Xuthus 1.7.3]</ref> and a daughter named [[Diomede]] by [[Creusa of Athens|Creusa]], the [[Athens|Athenian]] daughter of King [[Erechtheus]]. [[Euripides]]'s play, ''[[Ion (play)|Ion]]'', provided an unusual alternate version, according to which Xuthus was the son of [[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]]<ref>Scholiast on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' 1.2</ref> and Ion was in fact been begotten on Xuthus's wife Creusa by [[Apollo]]. Xuthus and Creusa visited the [[Pythia|Oracle]] at [[Delphi]] to ask the god if they could hope for a child, at which point they are told they already have a child, Ion, who was father by Apollo and mothered by Creusa, though Creusa had forgotten her son due to the trauma of being raped by Apollo.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|201688748}} |last1=Segal |first1=Charles |title=Eurípides' Ion: Generational Passage and Civic Myth |journal=Bucknell Review |date=1999 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=67–108 }}</ref> The Oracle at Delphi tells the couple that Ion is Xuthus' son and that Creusa's family should adopt him as Athenian. This makes Creusa so angry she tries to murder her stepson, but she fails. It is at this point the Creusa finds the crib that young Ion slept in and realizes she is his mother.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566228.001.0001 |title=Freudian Mythologies |date=2009 |last1=Bowlby |first1=Rachel |isbn=978-0-19-956622-8 }}{{pn|date=May 2024}}</ref> Despite Ion being adopted, Xuthus is proud to be a father and introduces Ion as his legitimate son to Athens.<ref name=":0" /> Variations of Xuthus' paternity regarding Ion are that he is the true father, that he has been tricked by Apollo and Creusa, or that he has deluded himself into believing he is the father, but the most common version is that told above with the Oracle of Delphi.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Spencer |title=Annotated Innovation in Euripides' 'Ion' |journal=The Classical Quarterly |date=2008 |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=313–315 |doi=10.1017/S0009838808000268 |jstor=27564144 }}</ref>  Xuthus will later father Dorus and Achaeus with Creusa, though Dorus is normally presented as Xuthus's brother.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Ion (play)|Ion]]'' 63</ref>