ξυμφορὰς literally means “gatherings-together,” but more often means mishaps or misfortunes, defects of character and the trespasses to which they lead, or even medical symptoms. The priest may mean that Oidipous is like a qualified physician who has experience treating disease. This picks up a narrower meaning of ἐμπείροισι, which in addition to meaning “experienced” in general, can be the attribute of a physician. This connotation fits well in the context of plague and the efforts to find its cure. Considering that no physician was capable of treating plague, the audience will sense that, if Oidipous is in fact the ideal person to resolve the crisis in Thebes, this will be due to his not being a medical doctor. Already on alert for signs of Oidipous’s impending “misfortunes” (another meaning of ξυμφορὰς), the audience will be mindful of the past happenings and present circumstances (ξυμφορὰς again) in which Oidipous is now already “experienced”: defeat of the Sphinx, consultation at Delphi, parricide, and incest. So even as the priest appears to be looking to Oidipous as a physician with a proven record in healing, the audience will be considering Oidipous’s misdeeds. The ambiguity or double entendre in the priest’s language juxtaposes the image of the healer against that of the polluter, suggesting that, rather than promising the delivery of a straightforward remedy for the city’s ills, experience such as that possessed by Oidipous pollutes it. [Gd] [Mw] [Mp]