The Corinthian’s replies are as direct and matter-of-fact as Oidipous’s questions until this one, where the witness adds information that suggests impatience with the rather superfluous request to confirm occupation and way of life. Supplementing his occupation with the remark that he was there as Oidipous’s “savior” suggests that he was appointed to this task in addition to his duties in care of the flock. For the second time he addresses the Theban king as “child” (here: τέκνον; at l. 1008: παί). At the start of the play it was Oidipous who seemed unduly and even improperly to presume an intimacy with his subjects by calling them “children” (τέκνα; l. 1), for it seemed to arrogate to him the superiority of a god. Even if this Corinthian really has always felt affection for the infant he rescued, it is presumptious of him to claim this intimacy of a mature man who does not know him and now rules a city. The impropriety is intensified by his self-characterizations as “savior,” most commonly heard as an epithet of Zeus. Clearly this man does not mean to portray himself as a god, and yet interestingly, the suggestion does have the ring of truth, for the audience has become increasingly aware that Apollo must have been compelled by his own prophecy to see to it that the infant born of Iokaste and Laios not be allowed to die. The shepherd’s self-description as σωτήρ would, then, fittingly be spoken by the god just as it might befit a god to address any mortal male as “child.” The fact that this statement feels somewhat forced, inasmuch as it is not called for by Oidipous’s question, further adds to the sense that at this moment the god is communicating through the Corinthian to deliver information for which Oidipous is incapable of asking, for from the moment of his conception, a god has had Oidipous in his care. Realizing the god’s presence at this moment, the audience can see that the god is now directing the Corinthian’s movements and actions to reveal the rescue and adoption which he oversaw years ago. The Corinthian’s unexpected but amazingly timed arrival in Thebes also seems to be an indication that the god is even now at work; yet can it be said that he comes as Oidipous’s savior? If not, does he come as Thebes’ savior? And in what sense, then, might he come as Athens’ savior? Like Thebes, Athens is suffering from plague, and like Thebes, cure seems to depend upon elimination of pollution in the city’s attitudes and actions towards its gods, especially Apollo. [Gd] [Apcmu] [Apamu] [Ad] [Gt-a] [P]