Oedipus, King of Thebes, sets out to cure the troubles plaguing his city and discovers that the true cause lies within him. Oedipus has unknowingly fulfilled a prophecy issued at birth by the Delphic oracle, that he would in time kill his father and marry his mother. An unflinching portrayal of a man’s descent from self-assurance and strength to shame and isolation, Sophocles’ tragedy lies at the heart of Western drama and psychology.