中國神話世界中，驍勇善戰的英雄不可勝數，其中穩坐首席神射手寶座，歷久不 衰者唯有后羿。從先秦典籍中，可確知最晚於戰國時期，后羿已名滿天下，而促使后羿成名 及榮獲射神名號者，不外乎射日、剷除□貐等事蹟。本文試圖透過這些事蹟，發掘出事蹟表 象下，所傳達的內在神話象徵意義。后羿射日除害神話的象徵意義，分別是：早期先民與大 自然的艱辛搏鬥，以及后羿以軍事武力完成當時各部族的政治整合，同時也反映了當時由漁 獵轉向農業的社會變遷現象，以及射禮在古代社會所呈現的重要意義等。此外，后羿本是萬 民愛戴的射神，然而最終卻成了千夫所指的獨裁者。除去客觀因素，造成后羿不得善終的主 因，是他跳脫不開一句千古名言 -- 「絕對權力，絕對腐化。」腐化的政權加速他走上身敗 名裂之路。由此我們也能深深體認到：在詭譎多變的世界中，依舊存在著永恆不變的律則。

　　　　　There were countless heroes in the world of Chinese myth. Through many centenaries, Hou Yi has been remaining the fame as the most outstanding archer. From pre-Qing's books, we could be sure that Hou Yi was famous for shooting during Warring Kingdoms. In that time, he got the honor because he made many contributions which included shooting the sun and destroying the evils, Qi U. I try to find out the symbolic meanings through the mythical exploits. In this paper, several symbolic meanings about Hou Yi's brilliant achievements are discussed. These symbolic meanings include: the ancestors struggling with the nature, Hou Yi forming a political coalition by force, the social development from the fishing and hunting society to the farming society, significant meaning of shooting ceremony in the ancient society. Hou Yi was the God of archer who captured the heart of people. But finally, he became a dictator. Why? The major factor is that he couldn't escape the truth of history: "The more power, the more decay." Being in power of authority made him lose both power and honor. Therefore, we can realize that no matter how the world changes, the regularity never changes.