Oidipous’s language indicates that he regards the report carried by Kreon as coming directly from the god. His lack of skepticism might be notable to an Athenian audience caught up on the one hand by the spirit of enlightenment and on the other by suspicions that the Delphic Oracle was open to manipulation through bribery or was for other reasons biased. More significantly, his lack of skepticism—his unquestioning piety at this moment—seems to conflict with his arrogation to himself of the duties, the responsibilities, and perhaps even the abilities of a god and to be contradicted by his long-held belief that he has succeeded in outrunning the god’s prophetic word. These contradictions and conflicts threaten to infect the audience: is it to share his present optimism and hope for a benevolent dispensation from Delphi, or is it to condemn such faith as destructive naivete? [P] Md] [Mpea]