Author Description

(A blank verse play in 5 scenes.) Ismene the sole surviving member of the family of King Oedipus is a very old woman. She has been named Pythoness, the Speaker of the God Apollo at his shrine at Delphi. She has left Delphi with a company of three priestesses and a helper and journeyed cross country to the destroyed and deserted city of Thebes to the site of her family tomb. It is her mission to call up the ghosts of her family from Hades and administer the healing power of Delphic Apollo and thereby save her relatives. It is her goal to destroy forever the triple curse of Thebes and cleanse the dead city so that it can be renewed. This she accomplishes during the course of the play. She is aided by the appearance of the spirit of her father Oedipus.