batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l2602-l2647
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l2602-l2647
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.;
lines 2602-2647
start: '2602'
end: '2647'
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: 'Frazer describes the Boeotian Little and Great Daedala festivals: a raven
selects an oak from which a bride-like wooden image is made, processed, stored,
and later burned with other images and animal sacrifices on Mount Cithaeron. An
aetiological story explains the rite as Zeus''s deceptive mock marriage to the
nymph Plataea, which reconciles Hera to him. Frazer then compares the festival
to European spring and midsummer customs involving felled, dressed, adorned, immersed,
or burned trees and May-bushes.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Boeotians of Plataea held a festival called the Little Daedala every few
years.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Festival participants entered an ancient oak forest, placed boiled meat on
the ground, watched birds, and followed a raven that carried meat to an oak.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The selected oak was cut down, and its wood was made into an image dressed
as a bride and placed on a bullock-cart with a bridesmaid beside it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The bride-like image was drawn to the banks of the river Asopus and back to
the town, accompanied by piping, dancing, and a crowd.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: After each Little Daedala, the image was stored until the Great Daedala, which
occurred once in sixty years.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: At the Great Daedala, accumulated images were dragged on carts to the river
Asopus and then to the top of Mount Cithaeron.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: On Mount Cithaeron, animals, the wooden altar, and the images were burned,
producing a blaze visible for many miles.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: The explanatory story says Hera quarrelled with Zeus and left him; Zeus announced
a planned marriage to the nymph Plataea to lure Hera back.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: In the story, Zeus had a wooden image dressed and veiled as a bride and carried
on a bullock-cart.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:10
text: Hera tore the veil from the supposed bride, discovered the deceit, laughed,
and was reconciled with Zeus.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:11
text: Frazer states that the Boeotian festival resembles European spring and midsummer
festivals involving felled, dressed, adorned, immersed, or burned trees.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Boeotians of Plataea
description: People who held the Little Daedala festival and performed the described
tree-selection, image-making, procession, storage, and burning rites.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: raven
description: Bird observed carrying away a piece of boiled meat and settling on
an oak, thereby indicating the tree to be cut down.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: bride-like wooden image
description: Image made from the selected oak, dressed as a bride, placed on a bullock-cart,
stored after the Little Daedala, and later burned at the Great Daedala.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: bridesmaid
description: Figure placed beside the bride-like image on the bullock-cart.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: piping and dancing crowd
description: Crowd attending the procession of the image to the river Asopus and
back to the town.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Hera
description: In the explanatory story, Hera quarrels with Zeus, leaves him, reacts
with rage and jealousy to the supposed bride, discovers the deceit, laughs, and
is reconciled with Zeus.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Zeus
description: In the explanatory story, Zeus lures Hera back by announcing that he
will marry the nymph Plataea and by having a veiled wooden bride-image conveyed
on a bullock-cart.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: nymph Plataea
description: Named in the explanatory story as the supposed bride of Zeus and daughter
of the river Asopus.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: river Asopus
description: Named both as a river to whose banks the image is drawn and as the
father of the nymph Plataea in the explanatory story.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: festival participants
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They hold and carry out the Little and Great Daedala rites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: tree selector
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The people follow the raven to the oak on which it settles and cut down that
tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: ritual bride image
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wood is made into an image dressed as a bride, processed, stored, and
burned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: attendant figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The bridesmaid is placed beside the bride-like image on the cart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: processional attendants
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The crowd accompanies the image with piping and dancing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: estranged and reconciled spouse
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Hera leaves Zeus after a quarrel and is reconciled after discovering the
mock bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: deceptive reconciler
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Zeus uses a false marriage announcement and a veiled wooden image to bring
Hera back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: supposed bride
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Plataea is named as the nymph Zeus claims he is about to marry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: river and divine parent
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The Asopus is a procession destination and is named as Plataea's father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: oak forest and selected oak
literal_form: ancient oak forest; oak selected by the raven and cut down
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: boiled meat offering or lure
literal_form: boiled meat placed on the ground for birds
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: raven
literal_form: raven carrying meat and settling on an oak
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: bride image
literal_form: wooden image dressed and veiled as a bride
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: bullock-cart
literal_form: cart carrying the bride-like wooden image
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: river Asopus
literal_form: river banks visited by the procession; river named as Plataea's father
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: Mount Cithaeron
literal_form: mountain top where the Great Daedala burning occurs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:8
label: wooden altar and brushwood
literal_form: altar of square wood blocks surmounted by brushwood
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:9
label: sacrificial flames
literal_form: fire consuming animals, altar, and images
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:10
label: European felled festival trees
literal_form: birch, fir or pine, May tree, poplar, summer pole, and May-bush in
Frazer's comparisons
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
- fire
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Little Daedala tree selection and bride-image making
summary: The Boeotians enter an ancient oak forest, use meat and the behavior of
a raven to identify an oak, cut it down, and make its wood into a bride-like image.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Little Daedala procession
summary: The bride-like image, with a bridesmaid beside it, is carried on a bullock-cart
to the river Asopus and back amid piping and dancing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Great Daedala burning on Mount Cithaeron
summary: Images accumulated over many Little Daedala festivals are processed to
the river and mountain, then burned with animals, the altar, and brushwood in
a large blaze.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:4
label: Mythic explanation of Hera's reconciliation
summary: Zeus uses a veiled wooden bride-image and a false claim that he will marry
Plataea to provoke Hera; Hera discovers the deceit and is reconciled with him.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:5
label: Frazer's European festival comparisons
summary: Frazer compares the Boeotian rite with European spring and midsummer customs
in which trees or bushes are cut, dressed or adorned, carried, immersed, set up,
or burned.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: ritual felling and transformation of a tree into a human-like image
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: A raven-selected oak is cut down and made into an image dressed as a bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes a ritual tree and image but does not explicitly
call the tree an axis or world tree.
- id: motif:2
label: procession of a bride-like effigy to water and mountain
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The image is carried to the river Asopus in the Little Daedala, and accumulated
images are later carried to the river and Mount Cithaeron in the Great Daedala.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The seasonal or calendrical interpretation is supported chiefly by Frazer's
comparison to spring and midsummer festivals, not by an explicit ancient seasonal
date for the Daedala in this passage.
- id: motif:3
label: burning of ritual images and sacrificial animals
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- fire
basis: At the Great Daedala, animals are sacrificed by burning, and the altar and
images are consumed by flames.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The precise theological meaning of the burning is not explained in the
passage.
- id: motif:4
label: mock marriage used to reconcile divine spouses
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: The explanatory story has Zeus announce a marriage to Plataea and stage a
veiled wooden bride to provoke Hera, after which Hera and Zeus are reconciled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The marriage is pretended rather than consummated; the passage presents
it as an aetiology for the festival.
- id: motif:5
label: European spring or midsummer tree rites involving cutting, dressing, immersion,
or burning
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: Frazer explicitly compares the Boeotian festival with Russian, Bohemian,
Pyrenean, Angoulême, Cornish, and Dublin customs involving felled trees or bushes
used in spring or midsummer rites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports Frazer's comparative judgment; it does not demonstrate
historical connection among the customs.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Frazer states that the Boeotian Daedala festival closely resembles European
spring and midsummer festivals involving ritual treatment of trees.
claim_level: same_motif
target: European spring and midsummer tree festivals
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage asserts resemblance and lists parallels but does not establish
historical contact, shared origin, or identical meaning.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Russian Whitsuntide custom of felling a birch, dressing it in women's
clothes, carrying it with dance and song, and throwing it into water is presented
as especially similar in form to the Boeotian bride-image procession.
claim_level: same_function
target: Russian Whitsuntide dressed-birch rite
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is formal and functional; the passage does not show
that the Russian birch is a bride or that the rites have the same mythic explanation.
- id: claim:3
claim: The Bohemian, Pyrenean, Angoulême, Cornish, and Dublin examples are presented
as parallels to the Daedala's use and burning of a felled tree or tree-like object.
claim_level: same_motif
target: European May Day and midsummer tree-burning customs
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The listed European customs vary in date, object, and details; the
passage does not prove common inheritance or direct borrowing.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2602-2611
quote_or_summary: At the Little Daedala, the Boeotians of Plataea go to an ancient
oak forest, place boiled meat for birds, follow a raven to an oak, cut it down,
make a bride-dressed image from the wood, place it on a bullock-cart with a bridesmaid,
and process it to the river Asopus and back with piping and dancing.
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 2611-2620
quote_or_summary: Images from Little Daedala festivals are kept until the Great
Daedala every sixty years, then dragged on carts to the river Asopus and Mount
Cithaeron, where animals, the wooden altar, brushwood, and the images are burned
in a very large blaze.
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 2620-2628
quote_or_summary: The festival is explained by a story in which Hera leaves Zeus
after a quarrel; Zeus pretends he will marry Plataea, has a veiled wooden bride-image
conveyed on a bullock-cart, and Hera tears off the veil, discovers the deceit,
laughs, and is reconciled to Zeus.
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: summary
locator: lines 2629-2635
quote_or_summary: Frazer says the festival resembles European spring and midsummer
festivals, including a Russian Whitsuntide custom where villagers fell a birch,
dress it in women's clothes, carry it with dance and song, and throw it into water
on the third day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2635-2647
quote_or_summary: 'Frazer lists further European parallels: a Bohemian midsummer
fir or pine adorned and burned; a Pyrenean May tree kept until midsummer and burned
on a hill; an Angoulême poplar burned on St. Peter''s Day; a Cornish midsummer
bonfire with a summer pole; and a Dublin May-bush cut and burned.'
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 ritual sequence and Frazer's stated comparisons are explicit. Motif labels
are candidate analytic groupings and should be reviewed, especially the use of
sacred_tree_axis for non-cosmic ritual tree material.
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 provided passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to supplied motif-family and symbol lists where support was present.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l2602-l2647
passage_sha256=de7ab664be25a0f67f7f1c968e4210dc194007cea50d54bb49885775a851cd21