It is not immediately clear which of the gods is meant by “fire-bearing,” but the following clause indicates that this is to be associated with plague, which is here addressed as if it were itself perhaps a god, and so recalling the Iliad’s opening scene in which Apollo shoots arrows of plague into the Achaean camp (1.2-3). This parallel would not in itself establish that the fire-bearing god of plague is Apollo, but it will not escape the notice of an audience mindful of the fact that Apollo is the origin of the prophecies central to the myth surrounding Oidipous. If Apollo stands behind the plague in Thebes, this strengthens the supposition that some connection can be made between the city’s present misfortunes and Oidipous’s past. It also suggests that the city is right to direct its supplication to Apollo. The mention of plague also heavily underscores the other parallel already strong in the minds of the audience—that between Thebes and Athens. [Gt-a] Now, if the plague in Athens is parallel to the plague in Thebes, and the plague in Thebes is to be understood in terms of the Oidipous legend and its association with Apollo and prophecy, the Athenian crisis should itself be understandable in light of Apollo and prophecy. [Apcmu] [Apaon]