batch.motif.roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg-l1590-l1676
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg-l1590-l1676
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK SECOND / THE STORY OF THE SACK OF TROY / BOOK THIRD / THE STORY OF THE
SEVEN YEARS' WANDERING; lines 1590-1676
start: '1590'
end: '1676'
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: A divine oracle tells the Dardanian exiles to seek their ancient mother
and promises rule to Aeneas' descendants. Anchises interprets the command as pointing
to Crete, where the Trojans voyage, found Pergamea, and begin settlement. Pestilence
ruins the new colony. At night the household gods appear to Aeneas and explain
that Apollo's command points not to Crete but to Hesperia/Italy, the true ancestral
dwelling. Aeneas performs offerings, reports the vision to Anchises, who recalls
Cassandra's prophecy, and the Trojans abandon the settlement and sail again.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: After Aeneas speaks, the sanctuary, hill, laurels, and cauldron shake or sound,
and a voice is heard.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The voice tells the Dardanians to seek their ancient mother and says Aeneas'
house and descendants will rule widely.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Anchises consults old records and identifies Crete, Mount Ida, and Teucer
as ancestral points for the Trojans.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Anchises performs sacrifices to Neptune, Apollo, Tempest, and the West winds
before the voyage.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Trojans sail through islands of the Aegean and reach the Cretan coast.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Aeneas begins building a town in Crete, names it Pergamea, and gives laws
and homesteads.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Pestilence, heat, barren fields, and failed harvest afflict the new Cretan
settlement.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Anchises advises returning to Apollo's oracle to ask what course and remedy
are ordained.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: At night the sacred images and household gods from Troy appear to Aeneas while
he lies sleepless.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The household gods say Apollo has sent them and that the Trojans must leave
Crete and seek Hesperia, also called Italy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Aeneas rises, lifts his hands skyward, and makes a pure offering on the hearth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Anchises remembers that Cassandra had prophesied Hesperia and an Italian realm
for the Trojans.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: The Trojans abandon the Cretan dwelling, leave a few people behind, spread
their sails, and cross the sea again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Aeneas
description: Leader and narrator of the Trojan exiles; he receives divine messages,
founds Pergamea, performs offerings, and leads departure.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Anchises
description: Aeneas' father; he interprets the oracle through ancestral records,
performs or directs sacrifices, counsels seeking Apollo again, and recalls Cassandra's
prophecy.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Phoebus / Apollo
description: God whose oracle gives the command to seek the ancient mother and whose
message is later clarified by the household gods.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Dardanian or Trojan exiles
description: The wandering people addressed by the oracle; they sail to Crete, settle,
suffer pestilence, and depart again.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sacred images and household deities of Phrygia
description: Divine images borne from burning Troy that appear at night to Aeneas
and clarify the destined destination.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Cassandra
description: Prophetess remembered by Anchises as having foretold Hesperia and an
Italian realm.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Dardanus and Iasius
description: Ancestral figures identified by the household gods as sources of the
Trojan race connected with Hesperia/Italy.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: exile leader and city founder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Aeneas organizes settlement, names Pergamea, gives statutes and homesteads,
and later leads departure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: ancestral interpreter
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Anchises unrolls old records, identifies Crete as ancestral, and later recognizes
the error through double descent and prophecy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: oracular deity
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Phoebus/Apollo issues the command to seek the ancient mother and is named
as the source of the corrected message.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: wandering people seeking a homeland
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Trojans are called wandering, voyage to Crete, settle, suffer, and sail
onward.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: divine household messengers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The household gods appear unsought and speak Apollo's message at Aeneas'
threshold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: recipient of vision
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Aeneas sees the household gods in a clear nighttime vision and responds with
offerings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: unheeded prophetess remembered later
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Anchises says Cassandra had foretold Hesperia and Italy, but asks who would
have believed her then.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: ancestral source of the race
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The household gods identify Dardanus and Iasius as sources of the Trojan
race connected to the true dwelling place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: oracular sanctuary in motion
literal_form: shaking courts, laurels, hill, and moaning cauldron at the god's sanctuary
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: ancient mother
literal_form: the land that bore the Dardanians by old parentage and is to receive
them again
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Mount Ida and Crete
literal_form: Crete in mid-ocean, with Mount Ida described as cradle of the race
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: sacrificial animals
literal_form: bulls, a black sheep, and a white sheep offered on altars
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: sea voyage
literal_form: fleet, main, channels among islands, sails, and hollow wood crossing
the sea
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: pestilence and barren fields
literal_form: tainted sky, disease on bodies, damaged trees and crops, Sirius scorching
fields, failed harvest
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: household gods from burning Troy
literal_form: sacred images and household deities carried from Troy out of the burning
city
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: Hesperia / Italy
literal_form: ancient western land called Hesperia and Italy, named as true dwelling
place
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:9
label: hearth offering
literal_form: pure offering paid on the hearth after Aeneas raises hands skyward
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Oracle at the sanctuary
summary: The sanctuary is shaken, a divine voice addresses the Dardanians, and the
voice commands them to seek their ancient mother while promising future rule to
Aeneas' line.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Anchises identifies Crete and sacrifices
summary: Anchises reads ancestral records, concludes that Crete and Mount Ida answer
the oracle, urges obedience to divine commands, and offers sacrifices for the
voyage.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Voyage to Crete and founding of Pergamea
summary: The Trojans sail through the islands to Crete, Aeneas builds and names
Pergamea, and the people begin marriages, fields, statutes, and homesteads.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Pestilence in the new settlement
summary: Disease and famine afflict the Cretan colony, and Anchises advises returning
to Apollo for direction and relief.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Night vision of the household gods
summary: The Trojan household gods appear to sleepless Aeneas by moonlight and explain
that Apollo's command points to Hesperia/Italy, not Crete.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Offering, remembered prophecy, and renewed departure
summary: Aeneas offers at the hearth and reports the vision; Anchises recalls Cassandra's
prophecy of Hesperia, and the Trojans abandon Crete and sail onward.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: oracle directs exiled people toward ancestral homeland
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- return
basis: The divine voice tells the wandering Dardanians to seek their ancient mother,
and the passage frames the search as a return to old parentage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The oracle's destination is initially ambiguous and later corrected.
- id: motif:2
label: mistaken settlement corrected by divine message
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
- wisdom
basis: Anchises interprets the oracle as Crete, the Trojans settle there, but the
household gods later state that Apollo did not command rest in Crete and direct
them to Italy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the correction through divine speech rather than
through human discovery alone.
- id: motif:3
label: dynastic prophecy of future empire
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The oracle promises that the house of Aeneas, his children's children, and
later descendants will sway all regions; the household gods also promise empire
to the future city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a future promise but not the later fulfillment.
- id: motif:4
label: portable household gods guide survivors from a destroyed city
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The household deities carried from burning Troy appear to Aeneas and give
instructions for the next stage of the journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes their guidance but does not elaborate their cultic
identity beyond household deities and sacred images.
- id: motif:5
label: ritual sacrifice before voyage and after vision
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Anchises sacrifices animals before the voyage to Crete, and Aeneas makes
a pure hearth offering after the divine vision.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not specify detailed ritual procedures beyond offerings
and recipients.
- id: motif:6
label: failed foundation undone by plague and famine
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: After the Trojans found Pergamea in Crete, pestilence, heat, barren fields,
and failed harvest drive them to seek further divine instruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the pestilence a punishment or judgment;
the divine_judgment taxonomy link is therefore tentative.
- id: motif:7
label: unheeded prophecy remembered after fulfillment begins
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Anchises recalls that Cassandra had often prophesied Hesperia and an Italian
realm, but says no one would have believed her at the time.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The prophecy is recalled briefly and not narrated in detail in this passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1590-1601
quote_or_summary: The sanctuary and hill shake, the cauldron sounds, and a voice
tells the Dardanians to seek their ancient mother; it promises rule to Aeneas'
descendants.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1601-1622
quote_or_summary: Anchises consults old records, identifies Crete and Mount Ida
as ancestral, mentions Teucer and Idaean rites, urges obedience to divine commands,
and sacrifices animals to sea, oracle, storm, and wind powers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1623-1637
quote_or_summary: The Trojans hear Crete is open, sail past Aegean islands, reach
the Curetean coast, found Pergamea, and begin domestic, agricultural, legal, and
building activity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1637-1647
quote_or_summary: Pestilence from a tainted sky harms bodies, trees, and crops;
Sirius scorches the fields, harvest fails, and Anchises counsels asking Apollo
what aid and course are ordained.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1648-1665
quote_or_summary: At night the Trojan household gods appear to sleepless Aeneas
and say Apollo sends them; they promise future empire and direct him away from
Crete toward Hesperia/Italy, the true dwelling place connected with Dardanus and
Iasius.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 1666-1676
quote_or_summary: Aeneas recognizes the vision, makes an offering, tells Anchises,
and Anchises recalls Cassandra's prophecy of Hesperia and Italy; the Trojans obey,
abandon the settlement, leave a few behind, and sail again.
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: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are strongest
where divine speech, voyage, foundation, plague, and departure are explicit. No
comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a cautious
comparison beyond its own narrative context.
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: |-
All taxonomy references are limited to the available motif family and symbol lists supplied with the task.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg__l1590-l1676
passage_sha256=7a2b4eb7790753726f407d5045a54ad7c1231d336eb12ea33dcc2ca963b2dedf