Oidipous seems outraged by the idea that a mother would acquiesce in the death of her own son, but this is the very thing for which Pericles praises mothers in his famous funeral oration at the end of the war’s first year. [Gt-a] One might object that there is a difference between exposing an infant to the elements and sending a warrior to battle, but their motivations are not unrelated: directly or indirectly to save the city, for Laios was Thebes’ ruler. Athenian warriors go to battle not ostensibly to save the city’s leaders, but to save the city itself. The comparison nevertheless taints Athens’ involvement in the war by suggesting that it serves its rulers and supports their impious behavior. [Mg] [P] Oidipous’s question, which consists of only two words (τεκοῦσα τλήμων), permits readings in keeping with this criticism, for the adjective τλήμων means “overbold, reckless” (LSJ 2). One assumes that Oidipous means the participle concessively; “Although having given birth she nevertheless was overbold to the point of ordering her baby’s death?” But the sparse wording can easily be otherwise construed: “Reckless as she was in having had intercourse against the god’s express prohibition and having given birth, she had no choice but to destroy the baby?” Oidipous’s words might also be interpreted as an appraisal; “So the mother was overbold?” In relation to the question about χρεία just realized, the audience certainly might condemn Iokaste; she first ignored the god’s express prohibition and then participated in an attempt to prevent the god’s prophecy from coming to pass, even though this entailed the murder of her child. The characterization “overbold” is therefore apt as it pertains to her attitude towards Apollo and his prophets. As she is reckless, so is the Athenian mothers who are willing to sacrifice their sons to their own pleasures or those of their husbands; Athens should not be surprised to have been struck by a divinely sent blight. [Md] [Aj] The plague is a consequence of its own recklessness in dismissing the god’s instructions and prohibitions. [Mpea]