Is it true, as the herdsman judges, that the Corinthian saved Oidipous for greater ills? First—was it the Corinthian who saved Oidipous or was it the god? If the god; did he save Oidipous for ill or for good? Had Oidipous complied with the instruction to kill his father as the god required, should his action not have had a more salubrious outcome, not only for Thebes, which would not have been polluted, but for Oidipous himself, who might, like Orestes, have required ritual cleansing, but otherwise would not have merited punishment, and who would not have married Iokaste? Whether Oidipous was saved for ill of for good is in part up to Oidipous himself; his non-participation in Laios’ death was never an option, but the manner of his participation was open to him to determine: willing or unwilling, alternatives with entirely different outcomes for himself, his family, and his city. [Mpei] [P] [Dnc] [Aj] [Mw]