The Corinthian seems to employ a rhetorical question to inform Oidipous that he has nothing to worry about. What can he mean? He has just been told about the prophecy Oidipous received at Delphi—does he dismiss it? Regardless of who he thinks Oidipous’s parents are, does he not find the god’s word that Oidipous will be his father’s killer and marry his mother grounds for trembling? The audience will infer that, like Oidipous and Iokaste, this man may bear a certain disdain for prophecy. The audience will nevertheless suppose that his arrival is meant to nudge Oidipous closer to the discovery that he has in fact killed father and married mother; this man is an actor in Apollo’s play. Given his disregard for prophecy, it may be anticipated that he will not be aware of the revelations he delivers; they will, like so many of the revelations thus far, come through double entendre, of which only the audience is aware. [Gd] And indeed this very statement seems to indicate that a second reading might bear fruit; where the stranger can mean with the phrase πρὸς δίκης no more than “in fact,” the literal meaning is “at the hands of justice,” which suggests that what Oidipous fears accords with justice. [Aj] Furthermore, the statement delivered by this “ambassador” presumes on its recipient correctly to complete its meaning, for where he must mean “In fact you have nothing to fear,” he seems to say, “You tremble at nothing at the hand of justice.” His carelessness can be traced back to his assumption that he will be properly understood almost regardless of how he phrases his statement. [Mpea] Yet this very carelessness suits the god’s purpose, for it allows the god to convey to a more careful listener an altogether different and more insightful message than that uttered by its speaker: “So you really tremble at nothing from the hand of justice?” Coming from a god, this rhetorical question has the ring of a stern correction. Hearing this message directed at itself (for who else might receive it), the Athenian audience might hear the god’s voice directing Athens to ask itself if it really has nothing to fear from justice and to consider the consequences of the injustice of which it knows itself to be guilty. If Athens has until now persisted with its unjust policies, it can only be because it has not believed justice to receive any enforcement. The god’s stern tone signals the urgent need for a correction to this error. Apollo having already declared himself at Delphi on the matter of Athens’ relations with its clients and former clients makes it clear that the restoration of justice has become a matter of necessity that involves the gods. [Dnc]