If prayer ever has the power to invoke a god’s presence, then it must be felt by the audience that a god, hearing this most heartfelt of invocations, might at this very moment draw near and even materialize in the vicinity of the holy altar towards which the members of the chorus stretch their arms. Within the theater precinct tremendous expectation is thus aroused anew. Where the play’s opening imprecation met with skepticism, the audience has since become aware that Apollo is already present and already at work. [P] [Ap] [Ad]