batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l11851-l11982
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l11851-l11982
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD.
/ FOOTNOTES; lines 11851-11982
start: '11851'
end: '11982'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A series of footnotes cites sources for folk customs, Adonis and Attis
rites, Cybele-related festival materials, Attis’s reported death and ritual mourning,
claims of Attis’s revival or resurrection, an agricultural interpretation involving
seeds, and source notes for the myth of Osiris.
language: English with Greek and Latin excerpts
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: At Smyrna, a blossom of the agnus castus is said to be used on St. John’s
Day for a similar omen-drawing purpose, though the method differs.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A Greek citation refers to sepulchral gardens for Adonis.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: One cited tradition says Attis was killed by a boar; another story about Attis
is also noted as current at Pessinus.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage cites sources on a festival associated with Cybele.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: A described ceremony places a simulacrum or idol supine on a litter, mourns
it with ordered laments, buries it, and mourns it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Frazer states that the ceremony described by Firmicus may be the mourning
and funeral rites of Attis.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The Hilaria is connected in the note with resurrection, with a claim that
one recently buried had revived.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The death and life of Attis are glossed in the cited passage as corresponding
to collected and sown or reborn seeds.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The idol is described as being brought out of burial, after which the participant
rejoices.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: A Greek statement cited by Damascius is summarized as indicating salvation
from Hades, and Firmicus preserves a formula addressing initiates of a saved god.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The connected form of the Osiris myth is said to be known from Plutarch, with
additional details from Egyptian sources.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Attis
description: A mythic figure whose death, funeral rites, and claimed resurrection
or revival are discussed in the notes.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Phrygians
description: A group said in the cited Firmicus passage to consecrate the queen’s
love with annual mourning and to claim that the recently buried figure revived.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the queen
description: A queen whose love is said to be consecrated by the Phrygians with
annual mourning.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Adonis
description: A named figure associated in the cited Greek phrase with sepulchral
gardens.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Osiris
description: A named figure whose myth is mentioned in a source note.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: slain mythic figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: A cited tradition says Attis was killed by a boar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: buried-and-revived ritual figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The notes connect Attis with funeral rites, resurrection, revival after burial,
and the bringing of an idol out of burial.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: annual mourners
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Phrygians are said to consecrate the queen’s love with annual mourning
and to claim that the buried figure revived.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: beloved queen associated with mourning
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The cited Firmicus passage refers to the queen’s love being consecrated with
annual laments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: figure associated with sepulchral gardens
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The cited Greek phrase refers to burial or sepulchral gardens for Adonis.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: subject of mythic source note
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage notes sources for the myth of Osiris.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: agnus castus blossom
literal_form: a blossom of the agnus castus used on St. John’s Day for omen drawing
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: sepulchral gardens
literal_form: gardens described as burial or sepulchral gardens for Adonis
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: boar
literal_form: boar that kills Attis in one cited tradition
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: ritual idol or simulacrum
literal_form: an image laid supine on a litter, mourned, buried, and later brought
out of burial
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: burial or sepulture
literal_form: the burial place or act from which the idol is brought out
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: seeds
literal_form: collected and sown or reborn seeds used to explain death and renewed
life
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: St. John’s Day blossom omen
summary: At Smyrna, an agnus castus blossom is used on St. John’s Day for omen drawing,
with a different method from the related practice being cited.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Attis killed by a boar
summary: A cited tradition attributes the death of Attis to a boar, while the note
also acknowledges another story.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Mourning and burial of the idol
summary: A ritual image is laid on a litter, lamented, buried, and mourned; Frazer
identifies this as probably related to Attis’s mourning and funeral rites.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Revival and Hilaria rejoicing
summary: 'The notes connect the Hilaria with resurrection: the buried figure is
said to have revived, the idol is brought from burial, and rejoicing follows.'
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Agricultural explanation of death and life
summary: The death and renewed life of Attis are explained through the annual handling
of seeds, from collection and storage to sowing or rebirth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: slain god or hero killed by boar
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: One cited tradition says Attis was killed by a boar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The note also mentions another story, so the boar-death version is only
one attested variant in this passage.
- id: motif:2
label: ritual mourning and burial of a divine image
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The ceremony describes a simulacrum laid on a litter, lamented, buried, and
mourned, and Frazer relates it to Attis’s funeral rites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the identification with Attis as probable rather
than absolutely certain.
- id: motif:3
label: buried figure revived or resurrected
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- dying_and_returning
- death_rebirth
basis: The Hilaria and cited Firmicus passages describe the recently buried figure
as revived, the idol brought out from burial, and rejoicing after mourning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The wording is mediated through Frazer’s scholarly note and cited late
antique sources.
- id: motif:4
label: seasonal seed cycle as explanation of divine death and life
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
- death_rebirth
basis: The cited explanation equates death with collected or stored seeds and life
with seeds sown or reborn annually.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is an interpretive gloss preserved in the cited source, not a full
narrative in the passage.
- id: motif:5
label: plant used for omen drawing on a calendrical feast day
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The agnus castus blossom is used at Smyrna on St. John’s Day to draw omens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage refers to a 'similar purpose' whose fuller context lies outside
the supplied excerpt.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself links Attis’s death and revived life to the annual seed
cycle, treating burial or death and renewed life as analogous to seed storage
and sowing or rebirth.
claim_level: same_function
target: seasonal agricultural cycle of seeds
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This comparison is reported through a cited late antique interpretation
and is not independently developed in the excerpt.
- id: claim:2
claim: Frazer compares Damascius’s notice of the Hilaria and Firmicus’s formula
for initiates of a saved god with Firmicus’s burial-and-rejoicing ceremony, concluding
that the ceremony is probably the resurrection of Attis.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Hilaria, Firmicus’s saved-god formula, and the burial/rejoicing ceremony
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage phrases the conclusion as probable, so the identification
should remain cautious.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage notes a similar St. John’s Day omen practice using agnus castus
at Smyrna, while also saying that the method of drawing the omens differs.
claim_level: same_function
target: a preceding omen-drawing custom referred to outside this excerpt
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: low
limitations: The compared practice is not included in the supplied passage, and
the excerpt only preserves a footnote reference.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 11855-11862; footnote 938
quote_or_summary: At Smyrna, a blossom of the agnus castus is used on St. John’s
Day for a similar purpose, though omens are drawn differently.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 11873-11874; footnote 942
quote_or_summary: A Greek citation refers to sepulchral gardens for Adonis.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 11879-11887; footnote 944
quote_or_summary: Hermesianax is cited for the statement that Attis was killed by
a boar; another story is attributed to Timotheus and identified with a Pessinus
version.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: citation
locator: lines 11893-11900; footnotes 947-948
quote_or_summary: Sources are cited for the festival, including references under
Cybele and late antique authors.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; citation summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 11907-11915; footnote 951
quote_or_summary: A ceremony is described in which a simulacrum is placed supine
on a litter, lamented, buried, and mourned; Frazer says it may be the mourning
and funeral rites of Attis.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 11916-11936; footnote 952
quote_or_summary: The Hilaria, resurrection, annual mourning, a claim that the buried
figure revived, seed-cycle explanation, idol brought from burial, rejoicing, salvation
from Hades, and a saved-god formula are cited and compared.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 11975-11978; footnote 965
quote_or_summary: The connected myth of Osiris is said to be known from Plutarch,
with additional details recovered from Egyptian sources.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The excerpt consists mainly of scholarly footnotes rather than continuous
mythic narrative. Literal details about Attis’s death, ritual mourning, burial,
revival, and seed-cycle interpretation are relatively clear, but several identifications
are mediated by Frazer’s inferences and cited sources.
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: |-
Only information present in the supplied passage and metadata was used. Taxonomy references were limited to available motif-family terms; no unsupported symbol taxonomy IDs were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l11851-l11982
passage_sha256=1d810b55f4acd0c2a091daa6f2596e1e6adfb21b8f2f34d1f43a9e1cf34dfa54