batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l2418-l2437
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l2418-l2437
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
passage_locator:
label: HESIODS WORKS AND DAYS / THE DIVINATION BY BIRDS / THE ASTRONOMY / THE PRECEPTS
OF CHIRON; lines 2418-2437
start: '2418'
end: '2437'
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: Four cited fragments from the Precepts of Chiron give maxims about sacrificing
to the gods when returning home, hearing both sides before deciding a suit, a
chain of comparative lifespans from crow to Nymphs, and a report about the age
at which children should receive literary education and the attribution of the
Precepts to Hesiod.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A speaker instructs the listener to mark the teachings in a wise heart.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The listener is told to offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods whenever
coming to the house.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A legal maxim says not to decide a suit until both sides have spoken.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: 'The passage gives a sequence of lifespans: a crow outlives nine generations
of aged men; a stag lives four times as long as a crow; a raven lives as long
as three stags; a phoenix outlives nine ravens; and the Nymphs outlive ten phoenixes.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The Nymphs are described as rich-haired daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: A later report says some held that children under seven should not receive
literary education, and that many earlier writers attributed this opinion to Hesiod
through the Precepts.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The report says Aristophanes was the first to reject the Precepts as a work
of Hesiod.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: listener or addressee
description: The person addressed by the instructional maxims.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: eternal gods
description: Divine recipients of good sacrifices when the listener comes to the
house.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: crow
description: A chattering crow whose lifespan is measured against nine generations
of aged men.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: aged men
description: Human generations used as the first measure in the lifespan comparison.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: stag
description: An animal whose life is said to be four times that of a crow.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: raven
description: A bird whose life is said to make three stags old.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: phoenix
description: A bird that outlives nine ravens.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Nymphs
description: Rich-haired daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder who outlive ten phoenixes.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Zeus the aegis-holder
description: Father of the Nymphs in the lifespan fragment.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: children under seven
description: Children described in a maxim about literary education.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Hesiod
description: Poet to whom the educational maxim in the Precepts was attributed by
many earlier writers.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Aristophanes
description: Critic said to have been the first to reject the Precepts as Hesiodic.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: recipient of instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The precepts are phrased as instructions to a listener.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: divine recipients of sacrifice
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The gods are to receive good sacrifices.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: member of comparative longevity sequence
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Each is placed in the chain of increasing lifespans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: human lifespan measure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Generations of aged men serve as the measure for the crow's lifespan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: divine daughters
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The Nymphs are called daughters of Zeus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: divine father
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Zeus is named as the father of the Nymphs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: children in educational maxim
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Children under seven are the subject of the reported educational precept.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: attributed authorial authority
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Many earlier writers are said to have affirmed that Hesiod held the educational
opinion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: critic of attribution
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Aristophanes is said to have rejected the Precepts as a work of Hesiod.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: household sacrifice
literal_form: good sacrifices offered to the eternal gods when coming to the house
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: comparative lifespan chain
literal_form: crow, aged men, stag, raven, phoenix, and Nymphs ordered by increasing
longevity
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: wise heart
literal_form: a wise heart in which the listener is told to mark the teachings
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Instruction to sacrifice at homecoming
summary: The addressee is told to keep the precepts in a wise heart and to offer
sacrifices to the eternal gods whenever coming to the house.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Judicial maxim
summary: A rule is given that a suit should not be decided until both sides have
spoken.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Chain of lifespans
summary: A sequence compares the lifespans of aged men, crow, stag, raven, phoenix,
and Nymphs, ending with the Nymphs as longest-lived.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Report on education and attribution
summary: A later report discusses a maxim that children under seven should not receive
literary education, its attribution to Hesiod, and Aristophanes' rejection of
the Precepts as Hesiodic.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: instructional wisdom precepts
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage consists of concise maxims about piety, judgment, lifespan knowledge,
and education, introduced as teachings to be kept in a wise heart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The fragments are excerpted testimonia and do not form a continuous narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: ritual offering to gods at household return
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The addressee is instructed to offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods
whenever coming to the house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a prescriptive maxim only, without a narrated ritual
scene.
- id: motif:3
label: graded longevity of animals and divine beings
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage presents an ascending sequence of lifespans from human generations
through birds and stag to phoenix and Nymphs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No broader mythic episode is narrated; the motif is limited to comparative
lifespan lore.
- id: motif:4
label: fair judgment by hearing both sides
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The legal maxim says not to decide a suit until both sides have spoken.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical or judicial maxim rather than a narrative motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 'lines 2418-2423; Fragment #1'
quote_or_summary: The addressee is told to mark the teachings in a wise heart and,
whenever coming to the house, to offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 'lines 2424-2426; Fragment #2'
quote_or_summary: "“Decide no suit until you have heard both sides speak.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 'lines 2427-2432; Fragment #3'
quote_or_summary: A lifespan sequence states that a crow lives nine generations
of aged men, a stag four crows, a raven three stags, a phoenix nine ravens, and
the rich-haired Nymphs, daughters of Zeus, ten phoenixes.
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: 'lines 2434-2437; Fragment #4'
quote_or_summary: A report says some held that children under seven should not receive
literary education; many earlier writers attributed the view to Hesiod, while
Aristophanes first rejected the Precepts as Hesiodic.
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: Extraction is based only on the supplied fragments. Motif labels are cautious
because the passage is a set of maxims and testimonia rather than a continuous
mythic narrative. No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does
not support a specific cross-textual comparison.
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 available symbol taxonomy refs apply directly to the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg__l2418-l2437
passage_sha256=a2a7e42f6ef845d58b1b06173d3c044e415f43b06585f23a330337152d8249d5