prophecy and prophets

• Most Greeks probably believed in prophecy, but they were also aware it could be unreliable, and that humans could make mistakes in interpreting the god’s message
• The difficulty of using prophecy is apparent in Oedipus the King, where Oedipus’ fate is foretold by 2 oracles, one to his parents, and the other to him 
• The prophecy given to Jocasta and Laius comes out of the blue (711-14;744-8)
• The one for Oedipus (788-93; 869-75) answers a question he didn’t ask (unlike real life, where oracles would answer particular questions)
• We aren’t told why the gods inflicted this fate on Oedipus, and it is unclear whether the prophecy is couched as a warning that could be avoided (‘do not have a child, or he will kill you’) or simply a prediction 
• Jocasta questions the truth of this oracle, saying that it came from the servants of Apollo rather than the god himself (711-12; 785-6)
• Mortals cannot tell which prophesies are truly inspired by a god
• The trustworthiness of prophets is explored through the figure of Tiresias
• In both plays, the audience recognise that Tiresias provides wise advice, but the characters discover this too late
• Oedipus and Pentheus accuse Tiresias of making money out of prophesying a certain way
• Pentheus claims that Tiresias will make money from the new cult (257; 207-8)
• Oedipus believes that he has been bribed by Creon (380-9; 432-42)
• The kings may be wrong, but their fears reflect anxiety about religious authorities abusing their power 
• The conflict with Tiresias reflects a clash between political and religious forms of authority, and Oedipus and Pentheus overstep the mark by insulting a prophet