Euripides’ Ion is a play with elements that challenge tragic gravity, and bring about
a lighter tone. Although the body of criticism that discusses the comic elements of Euripides’
tragedies (esp. the so-called tragic–comedies) is extensive, little attention has been given to
cases of comic self-consciousness. The aim of this paper is to examine Ion’s l.528, and more
concretely Ion’s utterance ...ταῦτ᾽ οὖν οὐ γέλως κλύειν ἐμοί;, as an example of comic selfawareness, that is, an instance that Euripides himself recognizes, in a metatheatrical way, as
comic, while commenting at the same time on its reception on the audience’s part.
