The Chorus uses the word φθίνουσα already heard twice (ll. 25-6) in the priest’s opening speech to describe the effects of Thebes’ plague to make the earth and everything on it wither away, but the present context joins the plague to the idea of divine punishment inflicted on the city for its lack of necessary clarity in relation to its gods and their invocation. The audience no longer understands the plague as a response to Oidipous’s polluting presence within the city, but to the city’s own imperfect understanding that the gods are friends, that the relationship is two-sided, and that this relationship cannot be invoked to cover over moral and intellectual sloth. And where plague has from the play’s opening joined Athens and Thebes, the conjunction now suggests that, as its health crisis is breaking Thebes’ leadership into factions, the same may be occurring in Athens, and that in Athens, as in Thebes, debate revolves around the proper invocation of the gods to provide relief. [P] [Gt-a] [Md]