1. In Oedipus Rex, what is the subject of the third ode?

The Chorus of Theban Elders in Oedipus Rex are very
concerned with keeping the traditional services and supplications to the gods.  They
spend a lot of the play appealing to the gods to remember that they are "good." They
would not defy the oracles nor imagine themselves to be able to decide or determine
their own fate.  In this way, they are set in opposition to the actions of Oedipus and
Jocasta, who both attempt to outwit Fate and the gods by avoiding the prophecy of the
Oracle at Delphi which has predicted that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his
mother.

The Third Ode, which begins at line 864, reiterates
this obedience to the will of the gods.  It begins:

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May destiny ever find
me

pious in word and
deed

prescribed by the laws that live on
high.

It goes on to warn of
the tyrant who would see himself as so powerful he might defy the will of the gods, but
that he will only "climb to the roof-top and plunge/sheer down to the the ruin that must
be."  It then continues to decry those who would set themselves above the will of the
gods, setting a curse upon those who would act in so haughty a fashion. "May an evil
doom/smite him for his ill-starred pride of heart!"

The Ode
ends with a warning that suggests that the validity and sacredness of the oracles, the
works of the gods, have been questioned, and , because of this, "God's service
perishes."

The Chorus in this play, and in this Ode, are
warning the audience to stay true to their beliefs and practices.  It is the
disobedience to the will of the gods that will lead  to chaos and
ruin.