batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l2284-l2336
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l2284-l2336
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
passage_locator:
label: INTRODUCTION / BIBLIOGRAPHY / HESIOD / HESIODS WORKS AND DAYS; lines 2284-2336
start: '2284'
end: '2336'
translation: Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage gives calendrical instructions about favorable and unfavorable
days for births, marriages, gelding animals, agricultural work, building, opening
jars, yoking animals, and launching ships. It explains the danger of fifth days
through the birth of Horcus by Eris with the assistance of the Erinyes, and concludes
that happiness comes to the person who knows the nature of days, observes bird
omens, avoids transgressions, and does not offend the gods.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The sixth of the mid-month is described as unfavorable for plants, good for
the birth of males, and unfavorable for a girl to be born or married.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The first sixth is said not to be fit for a girl to be born, but kindly for
gelding kids and sheep and for fencing in a sheep-cote.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A boy born on the favorable sixth is described as fond of sharp speech, lies,
cunning words, and stealthy converse.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: 'The eighth and twelfth days are assigned to gelding specific animals: boar
and bull on the eighth, and hard-working mules on the twelfth.'
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The twentieth in full day is said to be the time when a wise and sound-witted
man should be born.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The tenth is favorable for a male birth, while the fourth day of the mid-month
is favorable for a girl.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The fourth of the month is prescribed for bringing home a bride, with instruction
to choose the best omens for the business.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Fifth days are to be avoided because they are called unkindly and terrible.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Erinyes are said to have assisted at the birth of Horcus, whom Eris bore
to trouble the forsworn.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Demeter's holy grain is to be thrown onto the well-rolled threshing floor
on the seventh of the mid-month.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The passage assigns days for cutting house beams and ship timbers, beginning
to build narrow ships, opening wine-jars, yoking animals, and hauling a ship to
the sea.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The ninth is described as a good day for begetting or being born for both
male and female, and never wholly evil.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: The final instruction says that a person is happy and lucky if he knows these
things, works without offending the deathless gods, discerns bird omens, and avoids
transgressions.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: male child or boy born on favorable days
description: Male births are repeatedly assigned favorable days; one boy is described
as becoming fond of sharp speech, lies, cunning words, and stealthy converse.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: girl or bride
description: Girls are mentioned in relation to unfavorable and favorable birth
days, and a bride is to be brought home on the fourth day with good omens.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: wise man born on the great twentieth
description: A wise man born on the great twentieth in full day is described as
very sound-witted.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Erinyes
description: The Erinyes are named as assisting at the birth of Horcus on a fifth
day.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Horcus (Oath)
description: Horcus, identified parenthetically as Oath, is born on a fifth day
and is said to trouble the forsworn.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Eris (Strife)
description: Eris, identified parenthetically as Strife, is said to have borne Horcus.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Demeter
description: Demeter is named in relation to holy grain used on the threshing floor.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: deathless gods
description: The passage says a person should do his work without offending the
deathless gods.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: happy and lucky knowledgeable man
description: A man is described as happy and lucky if he knows the nature of the
days, discerns omens of birds, avoids transgressions, and works without offending
the gods.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: birth subject with day-linked character
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage links male birth days with favorability and, for one boy, later
traits of speech, lying, cunning, and stealthy converse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: female birth and marriage subject
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage gives favorable or unfavorable days for girls to be born and
for bringing home a bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: sound-witted birth figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The great twentieth is described as the day when a wise, sound-witted man
should be born.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: birth-assisting divine figures
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Erinyes are said to have assisted at the birth of Horcus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: divine oath who troubles the forsworn
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Horcus is identified as Oath and is born to trouble those who swear falsely.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: mother of Horcus
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Eris is said to have borne Horcus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: deity associated with holy grain
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The grain used on the threshing floor is called Demeter's holy grain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: gods not to be offended
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The final maxim says work should be done without offending the deathless
gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: knower of days and omens
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The happy and lucky man knows the days, discerns bird omens, and avoids transgressions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: calendar days
literal_form: numbered days of the month, including sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth,
twentieth, fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth, twenty-seventh, and fourth after the
twentieth
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: Demeter's holy grain
literal_form: holy grain thrown onto the well-rolled threshing floor
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: omens of birds
literal_form: bird omens to be discerned by the knowledgeable man
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: wine-jar
literal_form: jar or wine-jar opened on prescribed days
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: ship and sea
literal_form: swift ship hauled down to the sparkling sea, and narrow ships begun
on the fourth day
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: yoke
literal_form: yokes placed on the necks of oxen, mules, and horses
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: oath
literal_form: Horcus, parenthetically identified as Oath
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Calendar rules for birth, marriage, and animal gelding
summary: The passage lists specific days that are favorable or unfavorable for male
and female births, marriage, and gelding animals.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: scene:2
label: Mythic explanation of fifth days
summary: Fifth days are warned against, and the warning is explained by the claim
that the Erinyes assisted at the birth of Horcus, whom Eris bore to trouble the
forsworn.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Calendar rules for grain, building, jars, yokes, and ships
summary: The passage assigns particular days for throwing Demeter's grain on the
threshing floor, cutting building and ship timbers, beginning ship construction,
opening jars, yoking animals, and launching a ship.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: scene:4
label: Final teaching on knowing days and omens
summary: The closing statement says that the happy and lucky man knows the nature
of the days, works without offending the gods, discerns bird omens, and avoids
transgressions.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Auspicious and inauspicious calendar days govern human and practical actions
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage repeatedly assigns favorable, unfavorable, harmless, holy, or
dangerous qualities to specific days for births, marriage, gelding, farming, building,
jars, yokes, and ships.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: This is a calendrical instruction pattern rather than a narrative mythic
episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Birth date determines or signals character and fate
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage links particular birth days with male or female favorability
and with traits such as wisdom, sound-wittedness, and cunning or deceitful speech.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not describe a full life story; it gives prognostic statements
tied to days.
- id: motif:3
label: Divine oath punishes or troubles the forsworn
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Horcus, identified as Oath, is born from Eris with the assistance of the
Erinyes and is said to trouble the forsworn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief etiological notice, not an extended judgment
scene.
- id: motif:4
label: Wisdom as knowledge of sacred timing, omens, and avoidance of transgression
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The concluding maxim says the happy and lucky man knows the nature of the
days, discerns bird omens, avoids transgressions, and works without offending
the deathless gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The wisdom is practical and ritual-calendrical; no separate sage narrative
is presented.
- id: motif:5
label: Bird omens guide correct action
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says the happy and lucky man discerns the omens of birds while
doing work and avoiding transgressions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: Bird omens are mentioned only at the end and are not described in detail.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: ll. 782-789
quote_or_summary: The sixth of the mid-month is unfavorable for plants, good for
male birth, unfavorable for a girl to be born or married; the first sixth is bad
for a girl's birth but good for gelding kids and sheep and fencing a sheep-cote;
a boy born then will favor sharp speech, lies, cunning words, and stealthy converse.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: ll. 790-791
quote_or_summary: On the eighth day one should geld the boar and bull, and on the
twelfth the hard-working mules.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: ll. 792-799
quote_or_summary: The great twentieth in full day is proper for the birth of a wise,
sound-witted man; the tenth favors male birth and the fourth of the mid-month
favors female birth; the fourth at the beginning and ending of the month is fate-laden
and should be handled carefully.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: ll. 800-801
quote_or_summary: The fourth day is prescribed for bringing home a bride, with attention
to choosing the best omens.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: ll. 802-804
quote_or_summary: Fifth days are to be avoided as unkindly and terrible; on a fifth
day, the Erinyes assisted at the birth of Horcus, whom Eris bore to trouble the
forsworn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: ll. 805-809
quote_or_summary: On the seventh of the mid-month, Demeter's holy grain is to be
thrown onto the threshing floor; the woodman should cut house beams and ship timbers,
and on the fourth day narrow ships should begin to be built.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: ll. 810-813
quote_or_summary: The ninth of the mid-month improves toward evening, while the
first ninth is harmless and good for begetting or birth for both male and female.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: ll. 814-821
quote_or_summary: The twenty-seventh is best for opening a wine-jar, yoking oxen,
mules, and horses, and hauling a ship to the sea; the fourth day is also for opening
a jar, and the fourth day after the twentieth is best in the morning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: ll. 822-828
quote_or_summary: The days are blessings to men, while others are changeable or
luckless; the happy and lucky man knows these things, works without offending
the gods, discerns bird omens, and avoids transgressions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is explicit about calendrical rules, divine names, and omen knowledge.
Motif labels are cautious because the passage is didactic and calendrical rather
than narrative. No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does
not compare traditions or motifs.
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 references were limited to the provided list.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg__l2284-l2336
passage_sha256=8c6108aa79f34e144a730a5fb3f339c2ed19ee5152ba9f22bf032db1bb66ce80