Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex tells the story of King Oedipus of Thebes who unknowingly fulfills a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. When a plague strikes Thebes, Oedipus vows to find the cause and discovers that he has unwittingly committed patricide and incest. His wife and mother Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself before going into exile, leaving Creon as the new king.