batch.motif.roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg-l1239-l1316
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg-l1239-l1316
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK FIRST / THE COMING OF AENEAS TO CARTHAGE / BOOK SECOND / THE STORY OF
THE SACK OF TROY; lines 1239-1316
start: '1239'
end: '1316'
translation: The Aeneid of Virgil
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage recounts Priam arming himself amid the captured city, Hecuba
and her daughters taking refuge by a palace altar and household gods, Polites
being pursued and killed before his parents by Pyrrhus, and Pyrrhus killing Priam
at the altar. The first-person narrator then reacts with terror, thinks of his
own family, sees the daughter of Tyndarus hiding in Vesta's precinct, moves toward
vengeance, and is stopped by the visible radiance of his divine mother.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Priam sees the ruin of his captured city and arms his aged body with long-unused
armour and an unavailing sword.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A massive palace altar stands under the open sky, with an ancient bay tree
leaning near it and shading the household gods.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Hecuba and her daughters crowd around the altar-stones and clasp images of
the gods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Hecuba urges Priam to come to the altar, saying it will protect them all or
he will share their death.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Polites, one of Priam's children, flees wounded through the palace while Pyrrhus
pursues him with a spear, and Polites dies before his parents in a pool of blood.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Priam denounces Pyrrhus for making him witness his child's murder and contrasts
him with Achilles, then throws a weak spear that does not wound.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Pyrrhus replies that Priam should report his deeds to the son of Peleus, drags
Priam to the altar through his child's blood, and kills him with a sword.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The narrator is overcome by terror after seeing the aged king die, thinks
of his father, Creüsa, his plundered house, and Iülus, and observes others leaping
down or into fire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The narrator sees the daughter of Tyndarus hiding silently in Vesta's precinct,
identifies her as fearing both Trojan anger and Greek vengeance, and advances
in a rage to kill her.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The narrator's mother appears visibly in radiant divine form, catches him
by the hand, and stops him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Priam
description: An old king and father who arms himself amid Troy's fall and is killed
by Pyrrhus at the altar.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hecuba
description: Priam's wife, who gathers at the altar and urges Priam to seek its
protection or share their death.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Hecuba's daughters
description: Women gathered with Hecuba around the altar-stones, clasping the gods'
images.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Polites
description: One of Priam's children, wounded and pursued by Pyrrhus, who dies before
his parents.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Pyrrhus / Neoptolemus
description: The armed pursuer and killer of Polites and Priam, described in his
own speech as Neoptolemus.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Achilles / son of Peleus
description: A figure invoked by Priam as unlike Pyrrhus, because Achilles honored
suppliant right and returned Hector's corpse.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hector
description: A dead warrior whose corpse, according to Priam's speech, was restored
to the tomb by Achilles.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: First-person narrator
description: The speaker who witnesses Priam's death, fears for his own household,
seeks vengeance against the daughter of Tyndarus, and is restrained by his mother.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Narrator's loved father
description: The narrator's father, whose likeness rises before him when he sees
the old king die.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Creüsa
description: A forlorn figure remembered by the narrator amid the terror after Priam's
death.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Iülus
description: A child whose peril is remembered by the narrator after Priam's death.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Daughter of Tyndarus
description: A woman hiding silently in the recesses of Vesta's fane, feared by
both Trojans and Greeks and targeted by the narrator's rage.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Narrator's mother
description: A radiant divine female who appears to the narrator, takes his hand,
and restrains him.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: aged king and doomed father
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Priam is old, sees the ruin of his city, witnesses his child's murder, and
is killed at the altar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: suppliant figures at sacred refuge
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Hecuba and her daughters crowd around the altar and clasp divine images for
protection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: pursued wounded child
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Polites is identified as one of Priam's children and dies while fleeing Pyrrhus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: violent pursuer and killer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Pyrrhus pursues Polites, then drags Priam to the altar and kills him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: contrasting honorable enemy
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Priam says Achilles respected suppliant right and restored Hector's body,
unlike Pyrrhus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: restored corpse remembered in speech
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Hector is mentioned as a pallid corpse restored to the tomb by Achilles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: witness, survivor, and would-be avenger
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The narrator sees Priam's death, fears for his household, and advances in
vengeance before being stopped.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: endangered household kin in memory
assigned_to:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
basis: The narrator recalls his father, Creüsa, plundered house, and Iülus' peril
after witnessing Priam's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: hidden fugitive and blamed cause of ruin
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The daughter of Tyndarus hides in Vesta's precinct and is described as fearing
vengeance from both sides while the narrator blames her for Troy's suffering.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: divine mother and restrainer
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The narrator's mother appears in divine radiance, catches his hand, and stops
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: palace altar
literal_form: massive altar under the open sky within the palace
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: ancient bay tree
literal_form: ancient bay tree leaning near the altar and shadowing the household
gods
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: household gods' images
literal_form: images of the household gods clasped by Hecuba and her daughters
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: pool of blood
literal_form: pool of Polites' blood at the altar where Priam slips before being
killed
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: burning Troy
literal_form: Troy blazing in fire, with sunken towers and people flinging themselves
into fire
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: weapons of failed resistance and killing
literal_form: Priam's unavailing sword and weak spear; Pyrrhus' spear and sword
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: Vesta's precinct
literal_form: courts and recesses of Vesta's fane where the daughter of Tyndarus
hides
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: radiant divine appearance
literal_form: the narrator's mother shining in pure radiance through the night
associated_figures:
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Priam arms himself and is drawn to the altar
summary: Priam arms his aged body after seeing the captured city, while Hecuba and
her daughters gather at the palace altar and Hecuba draws him to the holy seat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Polites and Priam killed at the altar
summary: Polites is pursued and killed before his parents; Priam denounces Pyrrhus
and throws a weak spear; Pyrrhus drags Priam through his son's blood to the altar
and kills him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Priam's end and the burning city
summary: Priam's fate is described against the sight of burning Troy and fallen
towers, ending with his severed and nameless corpse.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: The narrator's household fear
summary: The narrator, terrified by Priam's death, thinks of his father, Creüsa,
his house, and Iülus, and sees exhausted survivors dying or throwing themselves
into fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: The daughter of Tyndarus hidden in Vesta's fane
summary: The narrator sees the daughter of Tyndarus hiding in Vesta's precinct and
advances in anger to avenge Troy and his people.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: The divine mother restrains the narrator
summary: The narrator's mother appears in radiant divine form, catches his hand,
and halts him before speaking.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: doomed aged king arms himself during the fall of the city
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Priam, described as old and trembling, dons long-unused armour and goes toward
death amid the captured city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level pattern; no external motif taxonomy reference
is asserted.
- id: motif:2
label: sacred refuge violated at the altar
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hecuba and her daughters seek protection at the altar, but Polites dies before
it and Priam is dragged there and killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage shows failed sanctuary, but does not explicitly state a formal
asylum law.
- id: motif:3
label: parent-child bonds under catastrophe
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_parent_child
basis: Priam witnesses Polites' death, the narrator recalls his own father and child,
and the narrator's divine mother appears to restrain him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is strongest for the narrator and his divine mother;
Priam and Polites are mortal parent-child figures.
- id: motif:4
label: burning city destruction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Troy is repeatedly described as burning, its towers fallen, and survivors
leaping or throwing themselves into fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: Although fire is prominent, the passage concerns the fall of a city, not
a literal world-ending conflagration.
- id: motif:5
label: vengeance impulse halted by divine intervention
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_parent_child
basis: The narrator advances in rage to kill the daughter of Tyndarus, but his radiant
divine mother catches his hand and stops him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The content of the mother's following speech is outside the supplied passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage explicitly contrasts Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus with Achilles as
warriors linked to Priam: Achilles is said to have honored suppliant right and
returned Hector''s body, while Pyrrhus kills Priam at the altar after murdering
his son.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Achilles' prior treatment of Priam and Hector as a contrasting heroic precedent
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is an internal contrast voiced by Priam and Pyrrhus within the
passage; it does not by itself establish historical contact or a broader comparative
lineage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1239-1244
quote_or_summary: Priam sees the captured city ruined, arms his aged shoulders with
unused armour, girds on an unavailing sword, and moves toward death among the
enemy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1246-1256
quote_or_summary: Within the palace is a massive altar under the sky, an ancient
bay tree, and household gods; Hecuba and her daughters crowd there, clasping divine
images, and Hecuba urges Priam to trust the altar or share their death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1258-1267
quote_or_summary: Polites, one of Priam's children, flees wounded through the palace
while Pyrrhus pursues him with a spear, and he dies before his parents in blood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1268-1279
quote_or_summary: Priam curses Pyrrhus for making him witness his child's death,
says Achilles treated a foe and suppliant differently by returning Hector's body,
and throws a weak spear that hangs harmlessly from Pyrrhus' shield.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1280-1288
quote_or_summary: Pyrrhus tells Priam to report his deeds to the son of Peleus,
then draws Priam to the altar through his child's blood and plunges a sword into
his side.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1288-1292
quote_or_summary: Priam's fate is described with burning Troy and fallen towers
before his eyes, ending with a great corpse on the shore, severed head, and nameless
body.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1294-1303
quote_or_summary: The narrator is encircled by terror, thinks of his father, Creüsa,
his plundered house, and Iülus' peril, and sees exhausted survivors leaping down
or into fire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1305-1314
quote_or_summary: The narrator sees the daughter of Tyndarus crouching silently
in Vesta's fane, fearing Trojan and Greek vengeance, and his spirit burns with
rage to avenge Troy before he advances against her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1315-1316
quote_or_summary: The narrator's mother appears visibly in radiant divine form,
catches him by the hand, and stays him before speaking.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strongly supported by the passage. Motif labels are
passage-level candidates and avoid unsupported external identifications. The single
comparison claim is limited to the explicit internal contrast between Pyrrhus
and Achilles.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only the supplied passage, metadata, and available taxonomy references. Figures named only as supplied or directly labeled by the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg__l1239-l1316
passage_sha256=ee594fd4cb97141ecfdff02d66ac18047831bb4173ac092b7370a41d6da0ecf7