batch.motif.roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg-l798-l896
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg-l798-l896
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 798-896
start: '798'
end: '896'
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: Aeneas, asked by the Queen to recount Troy's fall, begins the story. He
describes the Greeks building a huge hollow wooden horse, hiding armed men inside
it, and pretending to depart while concealing themselves at Tenedos. The Trojans
open their gates and debate what to do with the horse. Thymoetes advises bringing
it into the city, while Capys and others advise destroying or examining it. Laocoön
warns the Trojans not to trust Greek gifts and strikes the horse with a spear,
revealing a hollow sound. A bound Greek, later identified as Sinon, is brought
before the king and begins a deceptive lament and account of himself, invoking
Palamedes and Ulysses.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Aeneas begins speaking to the Queen and says he will recount Troy's last agony
despite pain at the memory.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Grecian captains build a very large horse from sawn fir by the craft attributed
to Pallas.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Greeks say the horse is vowed for their return.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Chosen armed men are hidden inside the hollow sides and womb-like cavity of
the horse.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Greek force hides at Tenedos while the Trojans think the enemy has departed
for Mycenae.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Trojans open the gates and go to look at the deserted Greek camp and shore.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Thymoetes advises drawing the horse within the walls and setting it in the
citadel.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Capys and others advise either throwing the horse into the sea, burning it,
or piercing and examining its hollow hiding place.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Laocoön warns the Trojans not to trust the horse or Greek gifts.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Laocoön throws a spear into the horse's side and belly; the struck cavity
sounds hollow and groans.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Aeneas states that if the Trojans had acted on the warning, Troy would still
stand.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Dardanian shepherds bring a bound man before the king; Aeneas says the man
intended to lay Troy open to the Achaeans.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: The captive laments that neither Greeks nor Dardanians will receive him, and
the Trojans' hostility pauses.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: The captive identifies himself as Argolic and says his name is Sinon while
claiming that he will tell the truth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: Sinon tells a story about Palamedes, Ulysses' malice, and threats against
him; the narrator calls him false-hearted.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Aeneas
description: Lord Aeneas sits high on a cushioned seat and begins narrating the
fall of Troy as a personal witness.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the Queen
description: The Queen asks Aeneas to recall and tell the woe of Troy.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Grecian captains / Achaeans
description: The Greek leaders build the wooden horse, hide chosen men inside it,
feign departure, and conceal themselves at Tenedos.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: chosen armed men inside the horse
description: Selected Greek soldiers are imprisoned stealthily within the horse's
hollow sides and womb-like cavity.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Trojans / Teucrians / Dardanians
description: The Trojan people open the gates, view the Greek camp, debate the horse,
and later gather around the bound captive.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Thymoetes
description: Thymoetes begins to advise bringing the horse inside the walls and
placing it in the citadel.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Capys and those of better counsel
description: Capys and others advise destroying or examining the horse instead of
accepting it.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Laocoön
description: Laocoön runs from the citadel, warns the Trojans against the horse
and Greek gifts, and strikes the horse with a spear.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Dardanian shepherds
description: The shepherds drag the bound man before the king.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Sinon / bound Argolic captive
description: A man with hands tied behind his back is brought before the king; he
laments, claims Argolic birth, and begins a deceptive speech.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Ulysses / the Ithacan
description: Ulysses is cited by Laocoön as a source of Greek treachery and by Sinon
as the malicious enemy in his story.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Pallas / Minerva the Virgin
description: The horse is said to be built by Pallas' divine craft and is called
the gift of Minerva the Virgin.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Palamedes, son of Belus
description: Sinon refers to Palamedes as a renowned man sent innocent to death
under false evidence.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: the King
description: The bound man is dragged before the king, who is addressed by Sinon
during his speech.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Calchas
description: Sinon says Ulysses did not rest until acting through Calchas' service,
though the explanation is not completed in this passage.
role_refs:
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: first-person narrator and witness
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Aeneas says he saw the events and bore a great part in them, then begins
the account.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: royal listener who requests the tale
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Aeneas addresses the Queen as the one who bids him recall the woe.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: builders and planners of the deceptive horse
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Grecian captains build the horse, spread a return-vow rumor, hide soldiers
inside, and withdraw to Tenedos.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: hidden armed occupants
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Chosen men are concealed within the horse's hollow interior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: deceived and divided city population
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Trojans think the Greeks are gone, open the gates, inspect the camp,
and divide in debate over the horse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: advocate for bringing the horse into the citadel
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Thymoetes advises that the horse be drawn inside the walls and set in the
citadel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: cautious counselors urging destruction or inspection
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Capys and others propose sea, fire, or piercing and exploring the horse's
hollow hiding place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: public warner and tester of the horse
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Laocoön warns against Greek gifts and throws a spear into the horse, producing
a hollow sound.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: captors who present the prisoner
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The shepherds drag the bound man before the king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: bound captive and deceptive speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The captive is described as prepared to spin snares or meet death; he later
speaks while the narrator calls him false-hearted.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: role:11
label: named emblem of Greek craft or hostility
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Laocoön invokes Ulysses when warning of Greek treachery, and Sinon frames
Ulysses as his persecutor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: divine name attached to the horse
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The horse is attributed to Pallas' craft and called Minerva's gift.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:13
label: slain innocent in Sinon's account
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Sinon says Palamedes was sent innocent to death by false evidence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:14
label: royal authority addressed by Sinon
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The prisoner is brought before the king and addresses him while claiming
truthfulness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:15
label: named helper in Sinon's unfinished accusation
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Sinon says Ulysses did not rest until acting through Calchas' service, but
the passage stops before elaboration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: wooden horse
literal_form: A mountainous horse built of sawn fir, attributed to Pallas' craft
and presented as a vow for Greek return.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: hollow womb or cavern of the horse
literal_form: The horse's blind sides and vast cavern of its womb are filled with
armed soldiery.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: spear striking the horse
literal_form: Laocoön's spear is hurled into the horse's side and curved belly,
making the hollow interior sound.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: sea and fire proposed against the horse
literal_form: Capys and others propose throwing the horse into the sea or heaping
flames beneath it.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: open Trojan gates
literal_form: The gates are flung open after the Trojans believe the Greeks have
departed.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: bound hands of the captive
literal_form: The captive man is brought with his hands tied behind his back.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Aeneas begins the remembered calamity
summary: Aeneas responds to the Queen's request and agrees to recount Troy's fall,
even though the memory pains him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: The Greeks construct and conceal the horse stratagem
summary: The Grecian captains build a huge wooden horse, present it as connected
with their return, and hide chosen armed men inside its hollow body.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Feigned departure and Trojan inspection
summary: The Greeks hide at Tenedos; the Trojans believe they have sailed away,
open the gates, and inspect the abandoned camp and shore.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Dispute over the horse
summary: The Trojans debate the horse. Thymoetes advises bringing it into the citadel,
while Capys and others urge that it be destroyed or examined.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Laocoön's warning and spear test
summary: Laocoön warns that Greek gifts may be treacherous and hurls a spear into
the horse, which sounds hollow. Aeneas adds that Troy might have survived had
the warning been followed.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Sinon is brought before the king
summary: Dardanian shepherds bring a bound man before the king. The Trojans gather
and mock him, but his lament changes their mood.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Sinon's deceptive self-presentation
summary: Sinon claims Argolic birth, promises truth, invokes Palamedes' death, and
depicts himself as a victim of Ulysses' hostility while the narrator marks him
as false-hearted.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:13
- fig:15
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Deceptive offering concealing armed danger
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The horse is presented as a votive return object while secretly containing
armed Greek soldiers intended to enable Troy's defeat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is applied broadly to a deceptive object crossing
a civic boundary; the passage does not use the term trickster.
- id: motif:2
label: Feigned enemy departure before ambush
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The Greeks hide at Tenedos while the Trojans believe they have sailed home
and open their gates.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The departure is strategic and feigned, not a full heroic departure cycle.
- id: motif:3
label: Unheeded warning about hidden danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Capys and Laocoön warn against accepting the horse; Laocoön's spear reveals
a hollow sound, and Aeneas says Troy would have stood if the warning had been
followed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The wisdom taxonomy is broad; the passage emphasizes counsel and failure
to act rather than a wisdom-teaching episode.
- id: motif:4
label: False captive tale used as a snare
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Sinon is brought in bound, laments to gain sympathy, claims truthfulness,
and begins a tale while the narrator identifies him as prepared to spin snares
and as false-hearted.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage ends before the full effect of Sinon's deception is narrated,
though his intent to open Troy is stated.
- id: motif:5
label: Fate or doom overruling saving counsel
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Aeneas links the Trojans' failure to act on Laocoön's warning to divine ordinance
and the doom of Troy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage names divine ordinance and doom but does not elaborate a formal
judgment scene.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 798-815
quote_or_summary: Aeneas, addressed as lord and speaking to the Queen, says he will
recount the dreadful fall and last agony of Troy despite personal pain.
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 816-823
quote_or_summary: The Greek captains build a huge horse from fir by Pallas' craft,
spread a rumor that it is vowed for return, and hide selected armed men in its
hollow interior.
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 824-833
quote_or_summary: The Greeks hide at Tenedos; the Trojans think they have sailed
for Mycenae, open their gates, and visit the abandoned Greek camp and shore.
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 834-844
quote_or_summary: Trojans wonder at Minerva's deadly gift; Thymoetes advises bringing
it to the citadel, while Capys and others advise sea, fire, or piercing and exploring
the hollow place.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 845-859
quote_or_summary: Laocoön warns, "trust not the horse, O Trojans" and says he fears
Greeks even bearing gifts; he strikes the horse with a spear, and its hollow womb
sounds and groans.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/aeneid-mackail.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 859-863
quote_or_summary: Aeneas reflects that without divine ordinance or an infatuated
spirit, the Trojans would have attacked the Argolic hiding place and Troy would
still stand.
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 864-876
quote_or_summary: Dardanian shepherds bring a bound man before the king; Aeneas
says the man intended to lay Troy open to the Achaeans and was ready either to
spin snares or meet death.
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 877-884
quote_or_summary: The captive laments his lack of refuge; the Trojans' mood changes,
and he claims to the king that he is of Argolic birth and will tell the truth.
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 884-896
quote_or_summary: Sinon tells of Palamedes' innocent death, his own grief, and Ulysses'
hostility; the narrator calls him false-hearted as he continues.
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: high
notes: The passage gives clear narrative evidence for the horse stratagem, warnings,
and Sinon deception. Motif taxonomy assignments are cautious because the available
taxonomy is broad and not all passage patterns have exact listed references. No
comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not make a comparative
claim.
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: |-
Extraction uses only the provided passage and metadata. Figure labels preserve uncertainty where the passage gives a title or group rather than a fully specified identity.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-aeneid-mackail-gutenberg__l798-l896
passage_sha256=03a32c72b68d078a0ff4add3ea200887dcb2136ed25cfcf592d266f03014b71c