As Oidipous insists upon conspiracy as the only explanation for Teiresias’ss accusation, both Kreon and the audience know that there is another and better one: Teiresias is possessed of genuine insight. So thoroughly does Oidipous reject this possibility that he does not even give it expression. He has put his certitude both about what Kreon knows and why Teiresias accused him of Laios’ killing upon a false footing. As a result, his government is both brutal and ineffective; his disregard for the prophet prevents him from discovering the remedy to the town’s ills. That this disregard is a form of impiety suggests that the pollution that he cannot cure, which also came in response to prophecy, may itself be a consequence of impiety, although it is unclear how. [Mpea] [Mi] [Mg] [Mw] [P]