Calling the prophecy “god-sent” and “awful,” Oidipous seems to suit his words perfectly to the circumstance. The prophecy did come from the god Apollo and it is quite terrible. He seems, however, altogether to have forgotten that a moment ago he was frustrated, disappointed, and frightened at the thought that the prophecy according to which he had guided his life was “worthless” (l. 972). Speaking of the fear that he might sleep with his mother seems only to have returned him to an awed and reverential attitude towards the Pythia and the god she serves. Oidipous appears to be, at his emotional core, a pious and devout individual. Were he not so, he would do as Iokaste suggests and dismiss from his mind the prophecy and the fears that it engenders. Yet the god-fearing soul he now shows himself to possess stands in contrast to his self-presentation at the play’s opening, when he assumed no god would answer the people’s prayers, in contrast also to the man who, perhaps in fear of the god, nevertheless set out to nullify the god-sent prophecy. Oidipous’s response to “awful” prophecies has been extremely conflicted. [Mpe] [Md]