tries
to downplay the divine prophecy for the same reason as : she doesn't want to believe in it. The
truth hurts, as they say, and for Jocasta, the truth would be very painful indeed if the
prophecy turns out to be remotely accurate. As a woman in ancient Greek society, Jocasta is
especially vulnerable to the revelation of this terrible truth. If it transpires that she did
indeed marry her own sonalbeit inadvertentlythen she will be exposed to public
disgrace.
We can understand, then, why she's so reluctant to accept the wise
words of . Less understandable, however, is her insistence that all
prophets are false. Jocasta is playing with fire here. The noble art of prophecy was taken very
seriously in ancient Greece, so Jocasta's contemptuous dismissal of prophets in general shows
her as not just self-interested, but also as blatantly denying one of the tried and trusted
instruments for transmitting the will of the gods.
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