ABSTRACT
In Pythian 4 Pindar appeals for the return of the exiled Damophilus by invoking the example of Oedipus in a remarkable double image. The double metaphor by which Pindar illustrates the “art” of Oedipus indicates an approach to Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus, where concern with the nature of the Athenian polls is contained within a dramatic action dominated by a sense of mystery and ineffable climax. Underlying their changed attitude toward him is the belief that Oedipus must have deserved his treatment from the gods, and that his suffering, for which they first pitied him, confirms as much; for them, it is the subjective aspect of his objective position in the universe. While Oedipus challenges the community to reexamine their would-be religious orthodoxy in the light of their attitude toward him, he is, equally, testing their political integrity. Oedipus offers the Athenians the opportunity to make real their values by accepting him.
