The Corinthian’s approach is in one respect just like Oidipous’s; he begins by establishing the context by providing details that have no direct bearing on the principal matter. He thereby establishes the fact that information that the reluctant witness means to withhold is already known; denial therefore seems pointless and falsification hopeless. Like Oidipous, he demonstrates a capacity for to conduct a sophisticated form of cross-questioning that will nevertheless fail of its objective even as it succeeds, for the truth serves not his own project of returning Oidipous to Corinth but that of the god. This makes it apparent that the god not only can make use of individuals as mouthpieces for his own speech, but he can even put mortals’ sophisticated new techniques to use in his own project. Thus the advances in which a city like Athens might justly take pride do not set it at odds with the god, for rather than stirring the god’s ire, the god enjoys their use. [Mg] [Mp] [Ap]