When Iokaste uses the word σημεῖα to refer to the proofs that she is about to offer, the audience may note that this word can also mean divine signs or omens. The word seems to signal, then, quite contrary to her evident intention, that her examples support an argument to the opposite conclusion; they are not, as Iokaste intends, evidence of prophecy’s invalidity; they are rather divine signs in support of the god’s own thesis that mortals have no influence over prophecy and can ignore it only at their peril. [Gd] [Mpea] [Apcm] [Mipi] [Mw] The interpretation omens counters the meaning that Iokaste intends for σημεῖα as evidence such as may be used in arguments presented before the Athenian courts and assembly. [Mg] The reference to evidence in relation to prophecy recalls again arguments such as those that may have recently been heard in the assembly to the effect that gods and mortals do not share in one another’s domains and that Athens may therefore not only forego but should eschew Delphic consultation as old-fashioned superstition. In using a word meaning “signs” or “proofs,” the god employs the language of argumentation heard in venues such as the assembly and courts to demonstrate the power of other kinds of speech: “omen” and “prophecy.” [Apcmu]