The myth of autochthony, Athenian citizenship and the right of enktesis: a legal approach to Euripides’ Ion

Abstract

The first part of the paper analyses the development of the notion of autochthony in Athens and the way it can be connected to the concepts of inclusion and exclusion, taking as reference the idea of citizenship, legitimate offspring and the right of property concerning the Attic soil (enktesis). The second part examines how the legal implications of these concepts are operative in Euripides’ Ion.