batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l9536-l9682
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l9536-l9682
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 9536-9682
start: '9536'
end: '9682'
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: 'The passage is a sequence of numbered scholarly footnotes. Most entries
are bibliographic citations. Two notes contain substantive statements: one reports
Herodorus''s unusual account of Prometheus as a Scythian king bound by the Scythians
after the Eagle river flooded the plains, and another notes that Babylonian and
Assyrian kings seem to have been regarded as gods, while lacking evidence for
temples and priests devoted to royal worship.'
language: English, with a Greek quotation in footnote 172
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage consists primarily of numbered footnotes citing classical, ethnographic,
and religious-historical sources.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A scholion on Apollonius Rhodius is cited for Herodorus's unusual account
of the bonds of Prometheus.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: In the cited account, Prometheus is said to have been king of the Scythians.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Prometheus is said to have been unable to provide necessities to his subjects
because the river called Eagle flooded the plains.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The Scythians are said to have bound Prometheus.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: A note cites scholarship on Egyptian royal worship and the worship of kings.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Babylonian and Assyrian kings are said to seem to have been regarded as gods.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The oldest royal names on Babylonian and Assyrian monuments are said to be
preceded by a star, described as the mark for “god.”
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The note says there is no trace in Babylon and Assyria of temples and priests
for worship of the kings.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Prometheus
description: In the cited Herodorus account, Prometheus is described as a king of
the Scythians who is bound after failing to provide necessities because of flooding.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Scythians
description: The Scythians are described as Prometheus's subjects and as the group
who bound him.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Egyptian kings
description: Mentioned in connection with cited scholarship on Egyptian religion
and the worship of kings.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Babylonian and Assyrian kings
description: Described as rulers who seem to have been regarded as gods, with royal
names marked by a star sign for “god.”
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: bound ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Prometheus is identified as a Scythian king and is said to have been bound
by the Scythians.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: subjects and binders
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Scythians are implied as Prometheus's subjects and are explicitly said
to bind him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: worshiped kings
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The footnote cites scholarship on Egyptian religion and “the worship of the
kings.”
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: divinized kings
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The note states that Babylonian and Assyrian kings seem to have been regarded
as gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Eagle river flooding the plains
literal_form: river called Eagle flooding the plains
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: bonds of Prometheus
literal_form: binding or bonds imposed on Prometheus
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: star mark for god
literal_form: star preceding old royal names on monuments
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Prometheus as bound Scythian king
summary: Herodorus is cited for an unusual account in which Prometheus is a king
of the Scythians; after flooding by the Eagle river prevents him from providing
necessities, the Scythians bind him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Royal divinization in cited scholarship
summary: The notes cite Egyptian royal worship and state that Babylonian and Assyrian
kings seem also to have been regarded as gods, while noting a lack of temples
and priests for their worship.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: bound ruler after failure to provide necessities
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The cited Herodorus account presents Prometheus as a Scythian king who cannot
provide necessities because of flooding and is then bound by the Scythians.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a brief footnote summary of a cited ancient scholion, not a full
narrative passage.
- id: motif:2
label: royal divinization or divine kingship
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The notes refer to Egyptian king worship and state that Babylonian and Assyrian
kings seem to have been regarded as gods, marked by a star sign for “god.”
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is secondary scholarly apparatus and explicitly qualifies
the Babylonian and Assyrian case with absence of temples and priests for king
worship.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage cautiously aligns Babylonian and Assyrian royal divinization
with Egyptian royal worship by saying those kings seem also to have been regarded
as gods.
claim_level: same_function
target: Egyptian royal worship and Babylonian/Assyrian royal divinization
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
limitations: The note itself stresses that Babylon and Assyria show no trace of
temples and priests for worship of the kings, so the comparison is limited to
royal divine status, not identical cult institutions.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 9536-9682, footnotes 163-212
quote_or_summary: The line range is a sequence of numbered footnotes citing works
by Humboldt, Waitz, Frazer's classical and ethnographic sources, ancient authors,
and later scholars.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: footnote 172, within lines 9536-9682
quote_or_summary: The scholion on Apollonius Rhodius is cited for Herodorus's unusual
account concerning the bonds of Prometheus, saying that Prometheus was king of
the Scythians.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: footnote 172, within lines 9536-9682
quote_or_summary: Prometheus is said to have been unable to provide necessities
because the river called Eagle flooded the plains, and therefore to have been
bound by the Scythians.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: citation
locator: footnote 185, within lines 9536-9682
quote_or_summary: Tiele's History of the Egyptian Religion is cited, with additional
scholarship “On the worship of the kings.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: footnote 188, within lines 9536-9682
quote_or_summary: Babylonian and Assyrian kings are said to seem also to have been
regarded as gods; the oldest royal names on monuments are preceded by a star,
described as the mark for “god.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: footnote 188, within lines 9536-9682
quote_or_summary: The note says there is no trace in Babylon and Assyria of temples
and priests for the worship of kings.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is almost entirely footnote apparatus rather than a continuous
mythic narrative. Motif extraction is limited to the few substantive statements
contained in the notes.
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: |-
No figures, motifs, or comparisons were inferred from cited works beyond what is stated in the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l9536-l9682
passage_sha256=a3808f1e1a7686779298277d904a275035fb01fe200cebe1c4c367ab49d7cba9