The Chorus offers a second rhetorical question that amplifies the first: “For if such deeds are deemed respectable / Why should I this chorus dance?” Here the Chorus steps out of its dramatic persona to recognize itself as a group of Athenians, a collective actor engaged in the performance of tragedy. This prompts the audience to reflect upon Theban and Athenian societies simultaneously. If the gods, whether in Athens or Thebes, allow themselves to be profaned, then there is no point in further formal worship, whether this takes the shape of a dramatic performance in the Theater of Dionysos or a public prayer at a civic altar. Recognizing that the entire system of religious observance with all its attendant institutions is at stake, the Athenian chorus forcefully challenges its audience to take a decision respecting its own commitment to piety as this has been defined by the play: to embrace the entire set of behaviors deemed pious or to put itself at odds with the gods and thus to invite their punitive intervention. The chorus will express its answer to this rhetorical question by either abandoning the orchestra or resuming its participation in the drama. The play’s audience will express its own answer either by exiting the theater or remaining in its seats. To continue the play commits players and audience alike to respect the gods, the practices that honor them, and the civic institutions to which the gods lend authority. [Aj] [P] [Mg] [Mi]