Answer:
Epidemic.
Explanation:
<u>Pestilence is a fatal disease or infliction that is suffered in a large part of the land. </u>It is a type of plague that hurts, damaged, and even kills a large number of people.
In the given lines from scene I of Oedipus, The King, we see the people Thebes suffering a great pestilence which has wreaked havoc among them. The given speech is said by King Oedipus to the blind seer/ prophet Teiresias, asking his opinion and help to catch the murderer of Laios so as to end the suffering inflicted upon his people.
Thus, the <u>word "pestilence" means an epidemic that the gods had inflicted upon the people of Thebes.
</u>
<u />
Answer:
spreading rumors
Explanation:
because if people emphasize (make (something) more clearly defined.) people would not have a reason to spread rumors since they would know the truth