As the palace doors seem now about to open, the staffperson anticipates that the spectacle to be revealed will arouse pity, even in one who hates (στυγοῦντ᾽) Oidipous. Who might this be? The only people ever known to have wished Oidipous harm are his mother and father, and both of them are now dead. The only divine enemies of which there have ever been any sign are the Sphinx and Delphic Apollo. Recognizing the Oracle to be an agent and the Sphinx an avatar of Apollo, the audience can regard these three as one. When Oidipous left Delphi in haste he put himself in opposition to Apollo; he hated the god for what he thought the god had planned for him. Oidipous’s hatred put Apollo under constraint to realize his prophecies as Oidipous had understood them, and so he was necessitated to arrange for Oidipous to marry his mother. The Sphinx served this need. By treating Apollo as an enemy, Oidipous has made himself his own worst enemy. Apollo has employed him to put this aspect of himself on display for others to see and learn from supports the conclusion that Apollo would prefer to establish a basis for harmony and cooperation between gods and mortals. [Mpea] [Apaos] [Dnp] [Dnc]