As Ion rails against the laws that protect convicted assassins, the Pythian priestess emerges from the temple. Advising Ion to go to Athens with his father, she shows him the basket he was found in. She has kept it secret all these years, but now that Ion's father has been revealed, she can give it to him to help in the search for his mother. Ion vows to travel all of Asia and Europe to search for her. She advises him to start his search in Delphi. As he peers into the basket, Ion marvels at the fact that it shows no sign of age or decay. Recognizing the basket, Creusa knows immediately that Ion is her son. She leaves the altar to embrace him even at the risk of her life. When she announces that she is his mother, Ion accuses her of lying. In an attempt to discredit her, he challenges her to name what is in the basket. There is an unfinished weaving with a Gorgon in the center fringed with serpents like an aegis; a pair of golden serpents in memory of Erichthonius, fashioned into a necklace; and a wreath of olive branches which ought to still be green. Convinced, Ion flies to Creusa's welcoming arms — her long-dead son has been returned alive.