The shepherd has the kind of pedigree that Oidipous mooted for himself when he supposed he might be descended of slaves to the third generation. This slave, however, emphasizes with apparent pride the fact that he was born and raised in Laios’ palace, thus drawing the audience’s attention to a contrast between himself and Oidipous, who was born in the palace and was even of royal blood but was not raised there. The slave has enjoyed at least one privilege denied Oidipous by his parents because of their conflict with the god, and yet it is clear by the fact that this slave is now being treated as a hostile witness that he has not enjoyed his privileges; he was made by his royal masters to choose between killing an infant or disobeying them, and perhaps even (supposing that he knew of the prophecy) to choose between their safety and a necessity proclaimed by a god, and then to witness his master’s slaying, a crime for which he himself has two-fold responsibility, for by having saved the infant, he enabled it to grow to manhood and so to commit the murder (or perform the killing required by prophecy), and then by failing to defend his master from attack, he again allowed the prophesied killing to occur. He is at last being called to account, and the questioning to which he is being subjected suggests that he is being tried for the crimes he has committed. Yet no crime has been named, and given the significance and complexity of his actions and inactions, the audience is faced with the problem of judging him on its own terms. Was he right to have saved the infant? Right to seek safety while Laios was killed? Right to keep the secret of Oidipous’s identity? However it might reconstruct and judge his motives, the audience must grant that each of his decisions has served the needs of prophecy and the god. [Apam] [Apcma] From Apollo’s perspective, each of his actions was necessary. [Dnc] [Dnp] Viewed from Apollo’s perspective, even Oidipous’s adherence to forensic procedure condemns him for insufficient faith in god and Oracle. [Aj] [P] It appears to be serving the god as a means by which to instruct all those (such as the Athenian audience) who may take an interest in this case. [Gt-a] [Apc]