Out of measure. A reading of Sophocles’ Antigone

Sophocles’ Antigone has been understood by many as the archetypal account of the eternal conflict between the universal value of natural laws and the contingency of law enacted by those in power. The present article challenges this rather widespread reading. Rather, it emphasizes that the tragic nature of the con- flict between Antigone and Creon resides in the radical incommensurability of their discourses: both discourses are irreducible to a common sphere – be it that of law, ethics or politics.