Pericles, Prince of Tyre, travels to Antioch to seek the hand of King Antiochus’s daughter. To win her, he must solve a riddle – but is horrified to realize its meaning: that the king is guilty of incest. Anticipating Antiochus’s wrath, Pericles flees to the port of Tharsus, where he relieves a famine with supplies from his ship. Again setting sail, he is shipwrecked on the coast of Pentapolis, where he marries Thaisa, daughter of King Simonides.