Oidipous blames Kithairon for receiving him, but clearly it is not to Kithairon that he must address himself, for if he was spared, it was by Apollo, who did so in order that he “show mankind” (Homer) who he was—that he serve as a paradeigma (l. 1192), an example of how not to live one’s life. It was up to him to establish his character by displaying his attitudes, and in particular his piety, through his actions. The defining moment in his life came not when he was saved as an infant, but when he decided to run from the god at Delphi. It is not, then, his coming from Laios, Iokaste, and Thebes that determined the course of his life, but the fact that he set the course that took him to his father, his mother, and Thebes and made him his father’s killer, his mother’s lover, his siblings’ father, his town’s polluter, and far more importantly, his god’s adversary, for it was a necessity that he kill his father, but not that he do so in opposition to the god. Whenever the god is at pains to correct his misconceptions he closes his mind to it. He remains committed to opposing the god rather than accepting the role communicated to him by the god. It is not Apollo who dictates that role, but necessity, something to which even a god must bow. Life beyond the reach of unpleasant realities (ἔξω τῶν κακῶν) may be sweet to imagine, but has proven to be so unrealistic as to be harmful. [Mw] With Apollo’s help, mortals have it in their power to avoid performing unpleasant deeds. [Mi] [Mp]