batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l1279-l1324
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l1279-l1324
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS;
lines 1279-1324'
start: '1279'
end: '1324'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Frazer discusses variant explanations of Adonis's connection with the boar
or pig, Syrian and Jewish taboos concerning swine, and the interpretation that
animals later treated as unclean may once have been sacred and ritually consumed
as divine embodiments.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: 'The passage reports several explanations for Adonis''s connection with a
boar: death by a boar, birth from a tree whose bark a boar rent, and death by
Hephaestus on Mount Lebanon while hunting wild boars.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: At Hierapolis, pigs were neither sacrificed nor eaten, and touching a pig
made a person unclean for the rest of the day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that some people explained the pig taboo by uncleanness
and others by sanctity.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage proposes that sanctity and uncleanness may be undifferentiated
under the category of taboo.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage argues that the pig may have been held as an embodiment of the
divine Adonis.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The passage allows that pigs ordinarily not sacrificed or eaten by worshippers
could be killed and eaten on solemn occasions as representatives of the god.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The passage describes Greek uncertainty over whether Jews worshipped swine
or abominated them, noting rules against eating and killing swine.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The passage says that some Jews met secretly in gardens to eat swine and mice
as a religious rite down to the time of Isaiah.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage concludes that so-called unclean animals were originally sacred
because they were divine.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Adonis
description: A divine figure connected with the boar; in one story he is an infant
born in a tree, and in other stories he is killed in relation to boars or hunting.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: boar / pig / swine
description: An animal connected with Adonis, treated as taboo at Hierapolis, and
discussed as sacred, unclean, or a divine embodiment.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Hephaestus
description: Named in one version as killing Adonis on Mount Lebanon while Adonis
hunted wild boars.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Syrians at Hierapolis
description: A group associated with pig taboos at the religious metropolis of Hierapolis.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: worshippers of Attis and presumably of Adonis
description: Worshippers described as not sacrificing or eating pigs under ordinary
rules, with a possible exception for solemn sacramental occasions.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Jews / Israelites
description: A group whose attitude to swine is described as ambiguous, with rules
against eating and killing swine and a reported secret rite involving swine and
mice.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Dionysus and Demeter
description: Named as analogies for interpreting a god as embodied in an animal.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: mouse
description: An animal whose flesh is said to have been eaten with swine in a secret
religious rite and interpreted as once venerated as divine.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: deity associated with animal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Adonis is repeatedly connected with the boar or pig in reported legends and
interpretation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: sacred or taboo animal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:8
basis: The pig is described as sacred, unclean, taboo, or divine; mice are included
in the reported rite and interpreted as formerly divine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: agent in explanatory death or injury variant
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: A boar is linked to Adonis's death or birth-tree injury in some variants,
while Hephaestus kills Adonis in another variant.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: ritual community observing animal prohibitions or rites
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Syrians, worshippers of Attis or Adonis, and Jews are described in relation
to prohibitions or rites involving pigs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: comparative analogy invoked by author
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Dionysus and Demeter are cited as analogies for interpreting animal embodiment
of a god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacred boar or pig
literal_form: boar / pig / swine
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: tree of Adonis's infant birth
literal_form: tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Mount Lebanon hunting place
literal_form: Mount Lebanon
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: sacred mouse
literal_form: mouse
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: secret ritual gardens
literal_form: gardens
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Variant explanations of Adonis and the boar
summary: The passage lists different stories explaining Adonis's association with
boars, including death by a boar, birth from a tree opened by a boar, and death
by Hephaestus during a boar hunt on Mount Lebanon.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Pig taboo at Hierapolis
summary: The passage describes a Syrian religious setting where pigs are not sacrificed
or eaten, touching a pig causes temporary uncleanness, and the animal is variously
explained as unclean or sacred.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Sacramental animal as divine representative
summary: The passage interprets the pig as a possible embodiment of Adonis and describes
the possibility that a normally protected sacred animal could be killed and eaten
on solemn occasions as the god.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Jewish ambiguity toward swine and secret rite
summary: The passage compares Jewish rules about swine with Syrian ambiguity, then
reports a secret garden rite involving eating the flesh of swine and mice.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Sacred animal treated as taboo or unclean
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The pig is described as both sacred and unclean, with the author framing
this ambiguity as taboo where sanctity and uncleanness are not differentiated.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The duality taxonomy is broad; the passage concerns ritual classification
rather than a narrative dualism.
- id: motif:2
label: Animal embodiment of a god sacramentally killed and eaten
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage says a sacred animal may be slain as a representative of the
god and consumed sacramentally by worshippers as a god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is Frazer's interpretive reconstruction rather than a narrated ritual
witnessed directly in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: Infant deity born from a tree
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
basis: One reported variant says a boar rent the bark of the tree in which the infant
Adonis was born.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The birth episode is mentioned briefly only as one explanatory variant
for the boar connection.
- id: motif:4
label: Secret consumption of divine animal flesh
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage reports secret garden meetings to eat swine and mice as a religious
rite, interpreted as sacramental eating of formerly divine animals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The rite is presented through the author's comparative interpretation
and not described in procedural detail.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage compares Adonis with Dionysus and Demeter to support the idea
that a god could be viewed as embodied in an animal.
claim_level: same_function
target: Dionysus and Demeter as analogies for divine embodiment in animals
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage names the analogies but does not provide their details
in this excerpt.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage compares Syrian and Jewish attitudes to swine as similarly ambiguous
between sanctity and uncleanness.
claim_level: same_function
target: Syrian and Jewish swine taboos
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is framed by Frazer's interpretation and depends on
reported Greek and biblical-era evidence not fully quoted here.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage links Attis and Adonis worshippers by similar pig prohibitions
and the possible solemn sacramental killing of the animal.
claim_level: same_function
target: Attis and Adonis cult pig prohibitions and sacramental exception
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage uses cautious language, especially for Adonis, and describes
the sacramental exception as a possibility.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1279-1287
quote_or_summary: 'Different stories explain Adonis''s connection with the boar:
killed by a boar, born from a tree opened by a boar''s tusk, or killed by Hephaestus
on Mount Lebanon while hunting wild boars.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1288-1297
quote_or_summary: At Hierapolis pigs were neither sacrificed nor eaten; touching
a pig caused uncleanness for the day; people differed on whether pigs were unclean
or sacred, which the passage identifies with taboo.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1298-1307
quote_or_summary: The passage interprets the pig as possibly an embodiment of Adonis,
invokes Dionysus and Demeter as analogies, and states that a sacred animal may
be killed and eaten sacramentally as a god.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1308-1317
quote_or_summary: 'The passage describes Jewish attitudes to pigs as ambiguous:
Greeks could not decide whether Jews worshipped or abominated swine, since they
might neither eat nor kill them.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1318-1324
quote_or_summary: The passage says some Jews met secretly in gardens to eat swine
and mice as a religious rite and interprets this as an ancient sacramental eating
of divine animals; it concludes that so-called unclean animals were originally
sacred.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about ritual taboos, sacred animals, and Frazer's
comparisons, but several motif identifications depend on Frazer's interpretive
reconstruction rather than a primary myth narrative.
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: |-
All comparisons and motifs are limited to claims made or directly supported within the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l1279-l1324
passage_sha256=baab54fe3269a26bcc820b37762ad56643fc60e106dbf9eecd00d0091b91f3a4