Oidipous is determined to rest the entire case upon the steadfastness of the shepherd’s adherence to the story he previously told. Referring to him three times as “the man,” “the shepherd” and “him alone,” Oidipous seems to be blocking out thought of any other possibility, and yet by mentioning “the man,” he suggests the alternative that must be on his mind: “the god”—that god, as the audience realizes, who is currently inhabiting Oidipous, who is perhaps not only on his mind but in it, yet whose presence Oidipous’s mind cannot detect, either within or without. It may not, then, be only Oidipous who underscores the role of the shepherd; if the god is speaking, is he not also suggesting the shepherd’s importance? How, then, should one understand the isolation of the shepherd as “him alone”? Will the shepherd’s testimony stand “alone” or will he speak as Apollo requires him to speak? When the shepherd spoke before, was he speaking from his own vantage alone, or did he speak even then as Apollo required him to speak? [Mp] [Apcmu] [Md]