The stench and Philoctetes' constant cries of pain drove Odysseus' to abandon him on the desert island of Lemnos. .
The cave with two mouths reflects Philoctetes' physical animalistic nature and also his savage mindset. It is described as a "den" rather than a human dwelling. Although Philoctetes' cave is rugged, it also contains some traces of civilization; a carved wooden cup; "a wooden bowl, the work of some rude hand3" a bed made of leaves; material for making a fire and especially Philoctetes' bow. However, even this bow, which is a divine artefact, given by Apollo to Hercules and from him to Philoctetes is also portrayed in an uncivilised way as the word which Sophocles uses for the hunted meat in the original play is "fodder4", a word used to describe food for beast. This divine bow made in civilised way is used for primitive ends of survival, making the great archer, who owns the formidable bow of Hercules, as savage and elemental as the island that he inhabits: he hunts wild animals and birds, lives in a cave - his animal den. Yet Philoctetes can be seen as being like the animal sacrificial victim, an innocent left behind to suffer at the shrine. A further paradox is that the hunter is being hunted like a wounded animal by Neoptolemus and Odysseus. Philocetetes says as they are trying to drive him onto the ship, "are you going to herd me like a wild animal?5". Philocetetes nonetheless endeavours to live a distinctively human life. The rough sea and Lemnos is thus an image which can be representative of someone who is located in between savagery and civilization.
The language of the characters reflects either the degree of either their civilisation or their savagery. Philoctetes language, when first introduced, consists of the savage groans and squeals of a sick man every time he drags his foot. The savagery of Philoctetes' disease, says Segal, consists "partly in its destruction of intelligible speech6".