batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l12136-l12265
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l12136-l12265
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 12136-12265
start: '12136'
end: '12265'
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: "“There are far more plausible grounds for identifying Osiris with the moon
than with the sun”"
summary: The passage consists chiefly of footnotes. It argues that Osiris may be
more plausibly identified with the moon than with the sun, citing his twenty-eight-year
reign, dismemberment into fourteen pieces, hymnic language calling him God Moon,
lunar rituals, Apis traditions, and full-moon sacrifice. It also notes a perceived
relation between lunar phases and vegetation growth, reports a solar interpretation
of several dying or vegetation-associated gods, and gives references for Dionysus
as tree-associated.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The note states that there are more plausible grounds for identifying Osiris
with the moon than with the sun.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Osiris was said to have lived or reigned twenty-eight years.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Osiris's body was said to have been rent into fourteen pieces, and Typhon
was said to have found the body at the full moon.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A hymn supposed to be addressed by Isis to Osiris says that Thoth places Osiris's
soul in the bark Ma-at and uses the name God Moon for him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The same hymn says that Osiris comes as a child each month.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: At the new moon of the month Phanemoth, the Egyptians celebrated what they
called the entry of Osiris into the moon.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The bull Apis was regarded as an image of the soul of Osiris and was said
to be born of a cow impregnated by the moon.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Once a year, at the full moon, pigs were sacrificed simultaneously to the
moon and Osiris.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The author identifies Osiris as a god of vegetation and notes a commonly believed
relation between vegetation growth and phases of the moon.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The note reports that Osiris, Attis, Adonis, and Dionysus were all explained
by one interpreter as the sun, while Demeter was interpreted as the moon.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The passage gives references for Dionysus as tree-associated, including Dionysus
Dendrites, Endendros, and images on ancient vases.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: A tree associated with Dionysus in Pausanias is inferred by the author to
have been a pine, though Theocritus calls it a mastich-tree.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Osiris
description: A god discussed as lunar-associated, dismembered into fourteen pieces,
entering the moon, linked with Apis, and treated by the author as a vegetation
god.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Isis
description: The supposed addresser of a hymn to Osiris.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Thoth
description: In the quoted hymn, Thoth places Osiris's soul in the bark Ma-at.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Typhon
description: Said to have found the body of Osiris at the full moon.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Apis
description: A bull regarded as an image of the soul of Osiris and born from a cow
believed impregnated by the moon.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Dionysus
description: A god for whom the passage lists tree-associated names, rituals, and
images.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Attis
description: Named among gods explained by an interpreter as the sun.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Adonis
description: Named among gods explained by an interpreter as the sun.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Demeter
description: Named as a goddess interpreted by the same source as the moon.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: lunar-associated god
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The note gives multiple grounds for identifying Osiris with the moon and
quotes a hymn naming him God Moon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: vegetation god in the author's interpretation
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The author states that he takes Osiris to have been a god of vegetation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: supposed hymnic speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hymn is described as supposed to be addressed by Isis to Osiris.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: placer of Osiris's soul in the bark Ma-at
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The quoted hymn says Thoth places Osiris's soul in the bark Ma-at.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: finder of Osiris's body at the full moon
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The note says Typhon found the body of Osiris at the full moon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: image of the soul of Osiris
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The bull Apis is described as regarded as an image of Osiris's soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: tree-associated deity
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage cites Dionysus Dendrites, Endendros, vase images, and a tree
associated with Dionysus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: solar-interpreted god in reported exegesis
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:6
- fig:1
basis: The note reports that Osiris, Attis, Adonis, and Dionysus were all explained
by one interpreter as the sun.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: moon-interpreted goddess in reported exegesis
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The note reports that Demeter was interpreted as the moon by the same source.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: moon
literal_form: The moon as celestial body and as the hymnic name God Moon.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: twenty-eight years
literal_form: Osiris's stated life or reign of twenty-eight years.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: fourteen pieces
literal_form: The fourteen pieces into which Osiris's body was rent.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: bark Ma-at
literal_form: The bark Ma-at in which Thoth places Osiris's soul in the hymn.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: monthly child
literal_form: The hymnic statement that Osiris comes as a child each month.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Apis bull
literal_form: A bull regarded as an image of the soul of Osiris.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: pig sacrifice at full moon
literal_form: Pigs sacrificed once a year to the moon and Osiris at the full moon.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: tree
literal_form: Tree-associated names, images, and cult references for Dionysus.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: pine or mastich-tree
literal_form: The specific tree inferred as pine by the author, with Theocritus
naming a mastich-tree.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Arguments for lunar Osiris
summary: The footnote gathers several reported features of Osiris—twenty-eight-year
reign, fourteenfold dismemberment, full-moon timing, hymnic lunar naming, new-moon
ritual, Apis birth, and full-moon sacrifice—as grounds for lunar identification.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:2
label: Hymn to Osiris as God Moon
summary: A hymn supposed to be addressed by Isis to Osiris has Thoth place Osiris's
soul in the bark Ma-at and calls Osiris God Moon, also saying that he comes as
a child each month.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Ritual entry into the moon and Apis birth tradition
summary: At the new moon of Phanemoth, Egyptians celebrated the entry of Osiris
into the moon; Apis was linked to Osiris's soul and to a cow impregnated by the
moon.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Full-moon pig sacrifice
summary: Once yearly at the full moon, pigs were sacrificed simultaneously to the
moon and to Osiris.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Dionysus and trees
summary: The passage lists references associating Dionysus with trees, including
titles, sacrifices, images, and a tree described by later witnesses as pine or
mastich.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Dismembered god mapped to waning moon
taxonomy_refs:
- dying_and_returning
basis: The note says Osiris's body was rent into fourteen pieces and suggests this
may be interpreted as the waning moon losing a piece on each of fourteen days.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents this as a possible interpretation, not as a direct
ancient statement in the quoted wording.
- id: motif:2
label: Monthly renewal of deity as child
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The quoted hymn describes Osiris as coming as a child each month, in a context
identifying him with the moon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a short hymnic excerpt and does not narrate a complete
death-and-return sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: Vegetation growth linked to lunar phases
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The author notes a commonly believed intimate relation between vegetation
growth and the phases of the moon, after identifying Osiris as a vegetation god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a comparative explanatory claim by the author, supported here
by citations rather than a single mythic narrative.
- id: motif:4
label: Full-moon animal sacrifice to lunar deity and god
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage reports that pigs were sacrificed once a year at the full moon
simultaneously to the moon and Osiris.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not describe the ritual procedure beyond timing, animal,
and recipients.
- id: motif:5
label: Tree-associated god
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage cites Dionysus Dendrites, Endendros, sacrifices to Dionysus as
tree-associated, images from vases, and a specific tree linked to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy includes tree as a symbol but no exact motif family
for a tree-associated deity; sacred-tree-axis is not used because an axis-mundi
function is not stated.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Within the passage, Osiris is compared against solar interpretation and argued
to fit lunar interpretation more plausibly.
claim_level: same_function
target: solar identification of Osiris
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage is a scholarly footnote and presents some points as interpretive
possibilities rather than direct mythic statements.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage reports a comparative solar explanation that grouped Osiris with
Attis, Adonis, and Dionysus as sun figures.
claim_level: same_function
target: solar explanations of Attis, Adonis, and Dionysus
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: medium
limitations: The note reports another interpreter's view and does not endorse it;
the broader context argues against a solar reading for Osiris.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage links Osiris as a vegetation god with a broader ancient belief
that vegetation growth is related to lunar phases.
claim_level: same_function
target: ancient agricultural lunar-vegetation pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim is comparative and explanatory, not a discrete myth episode.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: footnote 1023
quote_or_summary: "“There are far more plausible grounds for identifying Osiris
with the moon than with the sun.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; short quotation.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: footnote 1023, points 1-2
quote_or_summary: Osiris was said to have lived or reigned twenty-eight years; his
body was rent into fourteen pieces; Typhon found the body at the full moon; the
author proposes a possible interpretation in terms of the waning moon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: footnote 1023, point 3
quote_or_summary: The hymn says Thoth “Placeth thy soul in the bark Ma-at” in the
name “GOD MOON,” and addresses Osiris as one “who comest to us as a child each
month.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: footnote 1023, point 4
quote_or_summary: At the new moon of Phanemoth, the beginning of spring, Egyptians
celebrated what they called the entry of Osiris into the moon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: footnote 1023, points 5-6
quote_or_summary: Apis was regarded as an image of Osiris's soul and born from a
cow believed impregnated by the moon; once a year at full moon, pigs were sacrificed
simultaneously to the moon and Osiris.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: footnote 1023, concluding paragraph
quote_or_summary: The author states that he takes Osiris to have been a god of vegetation
and refers to a commonly believed intimate relation between vegetation growth
and moon phases, citing ancient writers on agriculture.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: footnote 1028
quote_or_summary: Osiris, Attis, Adonis, and Dionysus were all explained by one
interpreter as the sun; Demeter was interpreted as the moon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: footnotes 1030-1034
quote_or_summary: The notes cite Dionysus Dendrites, Endendros, pictures of Dionysus's
images from ancient vases, and related references for Dionysus in connection with
trees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: footnote 1043
quote_or_summary: A Pausanias reference does not specify the tree, but the author
infers from Euripides and Philostratus that it was a pine, while Theocritus speaks
of it as a mastich-tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is largely footnotes and scholarly comparison rather than a continuous
myth narrative. Literal details are clear, but motif assignments depend on the
author's interpretive framing.
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 the supplied passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy refs were limited to available supplied refs and omitted where no exact supported family was available.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l12136-l12265
passage_sha256=b15aebbde4cbd7c4c5cfe61684b23b7db8ea81fa7f319c5941ec08f0c8806034