Oidipous goes on to make an additional inference—that something “afoot” (ἐμποδών) in Thebes must have distracted Kreon and prevented a proper investigation into Laios’ death. Τhis time his reasoning is entirely correct, but his understanding falls short of his language, for his use of the word “afoot” recalls the metaphorical “track” in which he stands as well as the “foot” in his own name. One impediment to the investigation into Laios’ death was Oidipous’s own arrival in Thebes. Even when successful, his intellectual powers prove to be inadequate. [Mpea] By asking about the nature of the trouble that got in the way of the investigation into Laios’s death, Oidipous does allow that there are circumstances under which a sacred duty might reasonably be neglected. Such a calamity was the Sphinx, posing her riddle pertaining to feet. Oidipous’s use of the word ἐμποδὼν recalls this association. Since Oidipous is himself associated with both “feet” and the Sphinx, it turns out that he is in a sense the answer to his own question, just as he, “a man,” was also the answer to the Sphinx’s riddle. This suggests that his ability to solve the riddle was more a matter of serendipity or some inexplicable predilection than special insight or gifted reasoning. [Dc]