The Theme of Diseased Feet in Sophocles' "Oedipus Tyrannus" and "Philoctetes"

索弗克里斯的兩齣悲劇作品《伊底帕斯王》與《菲羅克忒忒斯》皆充滿疾病的語彙與譬喻，不僅如此，兩齣作品皆以腳與腳傷貫穿全劇。本文旨在探討菲羅克忒忒斯與伊底帕斯腳傷的同異，思考索弗克里斯如何透過兩個截然不同的主角與故事，勾勒出腳傷的主題，並展現西元前五世紀關於疾病的認知。本文將先分別剖析索弗克里斯在《伊底帕斯王》與《菲羅克忒忒斯》中如何處理腳、名字、及知識等主題，再比較討論如何處理腳傷的問題。主要採三種分析方法：第一，闡釋《伊底帕斯王》如何推展腳傷意象的多層涵義與多元象徵；第二，檢視《菲羅克忒忒斯》如何具體而微地刻劃腳傷與腳痛；第三，比較並審思《伊底帕斯王》與《菲羅克忒忒斯》關於腳疾主題不同的發展模式，並洞察微妙差異中，疾病觀念已然慢慢轉變。本文結論歸納成兩個重點：第一，在《伊底帕斯王》，腳傷的意象側重象徵意義；但是《菲羅克忒忒斯》不僅把腳傷主題發揮的淋漓盡致，更提供如何形容腳痛的豐富語彙，可作為腳疾論述的最好典範之一；第二，雖然微生物、細菌、病毒等觀念在西元前五世紀尚未成形，但《菲羅克忒忒斯》將腳傷喻為侵犯人體的大敵，由此可見，對外來病源入侵人體的概念雛型已漸漸產生。

關鍵字

索弗克里斯；《伊底帕斯王》；《菲羅克忒忒斯》；腳疾；疾病論述

並列摘要

The dominant ritual ”pharmakos” figure and the disease theme in Sophocles' ”Oedipus Tyrannus” and ”Philoctetes” have elicited considerable scholarly concern; but the subject pertaining to feet and the related medical concepts are not yet adequately addressed. For this reason, this paper seeks to make a re-assessment of the problems concerning the distinctive podiatric vexations which embitter the two heroes, Oedipus and Philoctetes, and the rudimentary medical concepts which are revealed in these two plays. An in-depth examination of the way how Sophocles fashions two completely different types of heroes and how abundant chiropodist diction is employed, and how the theme of diseased feet is developed is of substantial help to explain why Oedipus and Philoctetes do not succumb to their diseases and how their proverbial debilitated feet mark out their unique heroic features. The threefold aims of this paper are: to explore how the pun of the name Oedipus as deformed feet and distorted knowledge evolves in the ”Oedipus Tyrannus”, to inspect how the striking image of cankerous foot is expounded in the ”Philoctetes”, and to scrutinize how the theme of diseased feet varies in these two plays. Two conclusive remarks are: first, although the ”Oedipus Tyrannus” extraordinarily elaborates the multiple-layered meanings of the feet riddle, the ”Philoctetes” provides a better archetypal illness narrative; second, that the cardinal antagonist in the ”Philoctetes” is uncharacteristically the brutalizing foot disease devouring Philoctetes' body, his soul, and his life brings to light an emerging medical concept with respect to the invasive pathogens.