The stranger, who has just addressed Oidipous as “son” (l. 1008) answers Oidipous’s direct question indirectly, equating Polybos with himself on the basis that neither of them inseminated Oidipous’s mother. And yet in claiming that he is as much Oidipous’s father as Polybos, the Corinthian seems to imply that he could have inseminated Merope—an outrageous suggestion, on the one hand because it sets him on an equal footing with a powerful ruler, and on the other hand because it impugns Merope’s chastity. At the same time, the equation rightly suggests that when fatherhood is defined only by the act of insemination, paternal identity cannot always be established. In theory, any man of sufficient age could be Oidipous’s father, as he could and should have recognized when he received the prophecy. That he did not consider this suggests that he could not tolerate the idea that Polybos was not his biological father. He went to Delphi, it would seem, not to find out who his father was, but to obtain the Oracle’s certification of Polybos’s paternity. He was instrumentalizing the god to shore up his case against those who were spreading nasty rumors about him. Expecting the god to confirm Polybos’s paternity, he took the god’s response that he must slay his father to mean that he must slay Polybos. In his view, the oracular instituion was bound to acknowledge Polybos as his father, but it surprised Oidipous by imposing an obligation on him that he was in no way prepared to accept. The problem that resulted highlights two ways of viewing the oracular institution: it is either an instrument by which mortals can obtain credibility and authority for projects that suit their own needs or it is a means by which mortals can obtain insight and even direction from a source of greater perspicacity. Oidipous’s most grievous error did not derive from his attachment and loyalty to the people who raised him, but from the fact that he allowed these emotions to supersede respect for Apollo and the institution operating in his name. His belief in the necessity to look after his interests himself without the aid of his gods suggest that he did not appreciate the fact that Apollo in fact had his interests at heart and was capable of guiding him to a more salubrious outcome than he could manage on his own. [Md] [Mp] [Ap] [Ad] [Mi]