文學創作常將洞穴與人的肉體及女性子宮聯想在一起。文學中的洞穴經驗
除了戲劇化地呈現我們內在的慾望、愛、恨、以及潛意識中難以駕馭的力
量之外，透過隱喻手法，它亦具體呈現人類意識中內在世界與外在世界的
對質/對抗。 因此，洞穴衍然成為心理與哲學性思考的空間。在此，難以
形容的內在經驗得以表達，而自我潛能(可能性)的開拓也以真實的經驗上
演。本論文旨在探討前希臘時期神話、黑希歐德<<眾神譜>>、荷馬<<奧迪
賽>>、柏拉圖<<理想國>>與維吉爾<<伊尼德>>中，洞穴如何呈現自我的律
動。 本文探討的重點在於洞穴的多重隱喻功用︰它可代表一靜態的(哲
學性思考的)意象；亦可代表一動態的辯證對立，包括心理上的(垂直性
的)或是論述上的(水平性與垂直性交雜的)不定性。本探討在<<伊尼德>>
中達到高潮，因為維吉爾筆下的洞穴闡明了心理、社會歷史與文學創作三
個層次中錯綜複雜的<三元張力>課題。鑑於當代意識視<自我>與<情慾>為
社會與歷史建構下的產物，洞穴乃成為社會價值對人類心靈與肉體影響建
構的媒介。因此在洞穴中，吾人可見到個體(自我)、情慾(潛意識)與社
會(超我)三者共存且相互拉扯的現象。洞穴經驗也因此象徵性濃縮了自然
界宇宙力量的運動，並同時外展人類內在心靈的律動。洞穴中隱藏的模糊
、弔詭、與無常適可反映自我塑造過程中恆常的不定性 。

In literary creation, caves are often associated with the human
body and thefemale womb. Literary cave experiences dramatize
our internal experiences ofdesire, love, hate and untamed
unconscious forces and metaphorically incarnatethe confrontation
of the inner and the outer worlds in the experiences
ofhuman consciousness. Caves thus become psychological and
metaphysical spacesof projection and abstraction to express
the inexpressible, to enact thepossibilities of the self as
genuine experiences. This thesis purports toexplore the
cave as the metaphorical manifestation of the dynamics of
theself, as we find it in the pre-Hellenic mythology, in the
Hellenic epic poetryof Hesiod and Homer, and in Plato and
Vergil. The discussion will come tofocus on the allegorical
functions of caves as static (metaphysical) imagesand as the
dynamic dialectic on both psychological (vertical) and
narrative(horizontal/vertical) levels. This scrutiny will
witness its culmination inthe Aeneid, for Vergilian caves
illuminate triadic tensions at psychological,socio-historical
and literary levels. Given the contemporary awareness thatthe
conscious self and sexuality are socially and historically
constructed,the cave becomes a symbolic medium through which
social values can work on thehuman soul and body. Therefore, in
caves, we perceive a symbiosis of theindividual, sexuality
and society. Cave experiences then illustrate thethe
concentration of the natural, cosmic movements and also the
allegoricalexpansion of human psychological turmoil. The implied
ambiguity and mutabilitythus constitute the core meaning of
caves as the dynamics of the self, forthis ambiguity and
mutability mirror the ongoing process of
indeterminacyinvolved in the forging of the conscious self.
In literary creation, caves are often associated with the human