The main conflict, as the ancient Greeks would have understood it, is external: man versus Fate (or the Fates). The other main conflict is internal to Oedipus: man versus himself. The plot also involves the throne of Thebes, as Oedipus fears that Creon will try to oust him: a conflict of man versus man.
For the modern audience, Fate might be metaphorical. For the Greeks, Fate was real and not a symbol of a psychological state. It was the business of the gods. There were three Fates- also known as Moirai: the goddesses Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They determined a person's birth, life, and death. Other gods and to some extent humans could affect fate but only partly. Jocasta, in trying to evade the prophecy's fulfillment, put herself in conflict with Fate. Oedipus, after learning his identity, did so as well. That showed his hubris, which the gods do not care for.
Oedipus suffers mightily after learning of his crimes and sins. He wants to do the right thing, but at every turn it seems he does the wrong thing. He is caught up in an interior war.
The man vs man conflict, which initially seems to be Oedipus's paranoia about Creon's ambition, turns out true in a way. Oedipus loses the throne to him.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fate-Greek-and-Roman-mythology
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