Oidipous addresses the elder priest solicitously and politely, assuring him of his willingness to do all in his power to help, even if it means putting himself at risk. In testifying to the depth and sincerity of his own feelings, however, he again betrays his condescension, because he looks “down” upon and feels “pity” for those whose need compels them to prostrate themselves in supplication. The audience may thus find itself admiring and appreciating Oidipous’s compassion and commitment while at the same time recognizing in his self-assurance a trace of arrogance and impiety, for he arrogates to himself a perspective akin to that of the gods. [Md] Oidipous is also arrogating to himself god-like capacities and a god-like ethos. In this regard his expected punishment at the gods’ hands may seem just. [Aj] His confidence, on the other hand, seems to be justified by his success against the Sphinx, the degree of his present commitment to the wellbeing of his people, and the extent of their need. His punishment by the gods, then, even if it is justified, is disturbing, for if a supremely self-confident and powerful man such as Oidipous is doomed precisely by that self-confidence and power, in what might one place any hope? Indeed, despite the gods’ apparent condemnation of Oidipous (as the myth implies), if he really can save the city, the audience may be disposed not to find against him for his impious arrogance. This must have been a matter of immediate civic interest in Athens, for to the extent that a city’s wellbeing depends upon its leader’s qualities, the city must know precisely which leadership qualities are to be encouraged, which are to be corrected or banished, and how conflicting judgments are to be resolved. [Mp]