Yet another mention of torches! All the gods now invoked are associated with fire, and thus with Ares and the bane of both Thebes and Athens. All the gods to whom the Thebans turn for solutions seem to be implicated in the plague, and so again theie prayer is seen to be misconceived and so to point rather at mortal insufficiency, even in regard to appropriate ways of seeking help. With Dionysos there is the additional connection that he is associated with Delphi as its founder. His association with both Delphi and the tragic performances in Athens suggests a close link between the audience’s present participation in the one and its access to the other. As the audience is actively engaged in the Great Dionysia, why would it not engage itself equally actively in a Delphic consultation? [P] [Gt-a] [Mw] [Mip]