淺釋荷馬史詩《奧德賽》中「吾家／無家」的弔詭

On the Paradox of Home(less) ness in Homer's Odyssey

荷馬史詩《奧德賽》的重要主題是歸鄉（νόστος）。在第一卷，雅典娜描述奧德修斯歸心似箭，一心渴望返回家鄉（《奧德賽》1.57－59），史詩一開始就預告奧德修斯將返回家鄉旖色佳，但卻遲遲未歸。這篇論文擬由《奧德賽》歸鄉的延宕，檢視「吾家／無家」思維的弔詭，並探索旅人漂離的心靈終究不會因為回到故土家園而找到歸宿，「異鄉人」的身分在「吾家」裡更鮮明，旅人愛說故事、愛說謊，掩藏與包裝被掏空的身分，因為「無家」已然成為歸途的支柱。閱讀與反思《奧德賽》敘述迴路，奧德修斯一直在回家的路上流離與尋覓，「吾家／無家」糾結是生命的課題，而歸鄉是未完成的志業。論文分三部分：第一部分綜談「家」在《奧德賽》中的多重意涵，討論與整理「家」涵蓋經濟、社會、地理、與象徵等各層次；此外，「故土家園」還蘊藏深層的心靈歸屬，也就是生命神聖形式之實踐；第二部分反思「吾家／無家」二元對立邏輯的架構與問題，從住處、飲食、思維等面向分析此對立結構延伸的意義；第三部分焦距放在「吾家／無家」成為一體兩面的弔詭，看似對立的兩端，「無家」和「吾家」存在相似、互補、互相依存的各種關聯；當奧德修斯返回故土時，卻是以「異鄉人」身分登場，在「吾家」中深刻體會無家可歸之困頓。綜合上述觀察，荷馬史詩《奧德賽》不僅是敘述「歸鄉」主題的典範，更展開「吾家／無家」命題的辯證與弔詭。

The theme of homecoming (νόστος) features a lot in Homer's Odyssey: in the first book the goddess Athena details how the protagonist Odysseus longs to go back to his homeland Ithaca and throughout Odysseus keeps wondering towards his real home. This paper proposes to study the paradoxical concept of home(less)ness via casting a new light on the way how Odysseus's homecoming is constantly being delayed. In brief, the sense of being homeless spurs such a ＂stranger＂ Odysseus into spinning countless stories and into fabricating varying unidentifiable identities that his beloved native land and the very ＂home＂ may well be replaced and displaced. Alternatively, the labyrinthine narrative circuit of the Odyssey is of substantial benefit to show the lifelong mission of ＂homecoming＂ which underlies the problematic dialectic of home(less)ness. The article is divided into three sections. The focus of the first section is on the multiple meanings of the word ＂home,＂ which actually involves the economic, social, geographic and symbolic spheres; all in all, the very homeland which inspires Odysseus is, more than a material existence, the eternal divine Form of his life and soul. The second section is to examine the dichotomy between home and homeless and addresses the related problems about structure, residence, foods, and meanings associated with and without being at home. The third section questions the seeming extremes of the home and the homeless through pointing out the similar, complementary, and interdependent dynamics of these two sides-which can be best illustrated by the recounts in the last books of the Odyssey that Odysseus is completely a stranger when at home. In a nutshell, the Odyssey not only sets a classical paradigm on the theme of homecoming but also exemplifies the profound paradox of the concept ＂home(less)ness.＂