In the wording of Oidipous’s question to the Oracle: “by doing what, saying what,” the audience would have recognized actual practice. The basis of a consultation was to ask the Oracle for instructions, how to speak and act to achieve the best outcome. Joseph Fontenrose has performed a meticulous analysis of all known responses in answer to questions posed to the Oracle at Delphi. Of those he defines as “historical,” that is; those in which the account is provided by someone who was alive at the time of the consultation, about 80% take the form of simple instructions and an additional 5.6% take the form of prohibitions or warnings—instructions in the negative. Instructions would be issued in response to questions taking the form: “Is it better to do x?” (14 of the 36 recorded instances), “What shall I do?” (5 of the 36), and “Shall I do x?” (2 of the 36). In one instance (of the 36) a historical question employs nearly the same formulation as that chosen by Oidipous: “What can I say or do to please the gods?” In these respects Oidipous’s instructions to Kreon conform well to what is termed by Fontenrose “historical” practice. According to Fontenrose’s analysis of those oracular messages classified as historical, nearly half pertain to worship, religious questions, and portents, and while only one out of fifty-five historical consultations pertains directly to plague or famine, the question Oidipous instructs Kreon to put, pertaining as it does to religious purification, conforms well to the bulk of historical practice. By contrast, Oidipous’s first consultation, known to the audience from myth, does not conform to historical practice according to Fontenrose’s findings. Only 11% of Fontenrose’s historical responses deal with the future, fewer than 3% make clear predictions, and only about 8% deal with private matters. Therefore, in these three respects Oidipous’s mythic consultation differs from the great majority of those examples that Fontenrose deems historical. By contrast, Oidipous’s instructions to Kreon seem to be an accurate down-to-earth portrayal of a Delphic consultation. [Mip]