The investigatory practice of Sophocles' time is very similar to current practice. The sociological function of the inquest is not only to uncover the immediate truth but to provide a form of social therapy. Sophocles uses the Choir as a kind of popular conscience that increases Oedipus' tension and causes him to experience an internal crisis. Oedipus discovers himself and acknowledges responsibility for his crime simultaneously. Thus, the inquest, and the face-to-face interrogation in particular, liberates the criminal psychologically and stimulates a reorganization of his entire personality. This personality transformation represents an essential aim of the criminal investigation, a fact which clinical criminologists cannot ignore. It is concluded that the criminal confession constitutes an aspect of drama that criminologists must explore. The confession of the recidivist and the professional criminal requires further study.