When the priest calls upon “Phoibos who sent these prophecies” to “arrive as savior and the one to end disease,” the audience has become aware that the god is already in the vicinity and already at work, although it is unclear whose agenda he is realizing, for from the play’s first speech the audience has understood that the action will revolve around the gods’ exposure of Oidipous’s terrible misdeeds. And yet, the god’s presence might also be interpreted as a response to the supplication for help in dealing with the plague. [Ad] This complex perspective puts the awareness of every member of the audience ahead of the priest’s. It also adds new information, for if the conclusion of the prayer is already as bound to be fulfilled as its beginning, then the audience can rest assured that the god has indeed come as savior and will in fact eradicate the plague. The prayer will, then, be answered even though the plague is itself an instrument in the god’s hands. This accords with the presumption that here in Thebes, as once on the plain before Troy (in Iliad I), Apollo sent the plague in response to mistreatment of one of his authorized and recognized agents. The plague to which the suppliants are responding is not, then, a problem requiring the god’s attentions; rather, it is the god’s means for prompting their action. As Oidipous related in his second speech; the plague motivated his consultation with the Oracle at Delphi. In this way the plague is, like the Sphinx, acting as a mobile Delphi; it approaches those reluctant to consult and urges them to undertake a proper consultation. The audience will understand, then, that fulfillment of the suppliants’ prayer depends not directly upon the god, but rather upon the action taken in response to instructions received from the god at Delphi. Like Thebes, Athens can only hope to see the plague lifted by sending to Delphi to enquire what action to take and then following Delphi’s instructions faithfully. [Gm] [Mip]