In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, Creon's primary conflict is with himself, although he doesn't see it that way until the end of the play. He believes he is struggling with Antigone, Haemon, and Tiresias, but his own ego and stubbornness are what cause the play's conflict. Throughout the play, Creon decides again and again to follow his own counsel rather than listen to others. He continues to lose the human vs. self conflict every time he has an opportunity to rise above his selfish conviction of his own supremacy. After Haemon and Eurydice have both committed suicide, Creon understands the source of all the conflict, and upon the news of Eurydice's death he wails:
Ah me, this guilt can never be fixed on any other of mortal kind, for my acquittal! I, even I, was thy slayer, wretched that I am-I own the truth. Lead me away, O my servants, lead me hence with all speed, whose life is but as death!
At this point, he has no one to blame, and although he previously repented of his obstinacy and provided Polynices with a proper burial and sought to free Antigone from the tomb, his enlightenment came too late. Now he is burdened with guilt for the deaths of the two people he loved most, and that is a human vs. self conflict that will presumably continue for the rest of his life.
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