Though almost crippled by fear, the awestruck Chorus demands an answer of the “report,” which it apotheosizes, but which it also characterizes as a “child”—this in a context in which all labors end fruitlessly in withered crops, dwindling flocks, and stillborn babies. Imagining the newly arrived Report as a golden infant, the Chorus casts it as a harbinger of restored health and vitality. The Chorus thus appears to respond with great ambivalence to the promise of the new Report, for at one moment it anticipates the return of cyclical calamity, while at another it hopes for a return to cycles of agricultural and familial fecundity. These wildly divergent views challenge the audience to assess for itself, and the one facet of the report to which it can cling is the authenticity of its divine origin. For Thebes to be returned to health, destruction may have to complete its lengthy cycle, but with a god guiding this process, as appears to be the case, there are also grounds for optimism. As the audience knows that the “report” delivers explicit instructions, what is to be done to clear Thebes of pollution, it can anticipate, as the Theban Chorus might not, that success–and the answer to the question, whether prophecy means continued destruction or its end–will depend upon the way in which the instructions are followed. [Mi] [Apc] [Apaon] [P] [Mw]