batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l4023-l4038
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l4023-l4038
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GREAT WORKS / THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN
AND EOIAE1701; lines 4023-4038
start: '4023'
end: '4038'
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: Tyndareus requires Helen's suitors to swear oaths with unmixed libations
that they will not act independently about her marriage and will jointly punish
anyone who takes her by force. The suitors comply, hoping to win the marriage.
Menelaus wins because he gives the greatest gifts. Chiron is tending the young
Achilles on woody Pelion; the passage states Achilles would have prevailed as
a suitor if Helen had still been unmarried, but Menelaus won her first.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Tyndareus does not send any suitor away and does not accept any gift before
requiring oaths.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The suitors are required to swear and vow with unmixed libations concerning
the marriage of the maid with shapely arms.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The required oath includes a rule that no one should act independently from
Tyndareus regarding the marriage.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The required oath includes a rule that if anyone takes the maid by force,
the others must pursue him together and make him pay a penalty.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: The suitors obey because each hopes to accomplish his marriage.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:6
text: Menelaus prevails over the other suitors because he gives the greatest gifts.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:7
text: Chiron is tending Achilles, son of Peleus, on woody Pelion while Achilles
is still a boy.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: The passage states that Achilles would have prevailed as a suitor for Helen
if he had found her unwed, but Menelaus won her before that.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Tyndareus
description: Lord who manages the suitors' oaths concerning the maid's marriage.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Helen / the maid with shapely arms
description: The woman whose marriage is sought by the suitors and won by Menelaus.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Suitors
description: Men who come for the maid's sake, swear the oaths, and hope to accomplish
the marriage.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Menelaus
description: Warlike son of Atreus who wins Helen after giving the greatest gifts.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Chiron
description: Figure tending Achilles on woody Pelion.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Achilles
description: Swift-footed son of Peleus, pre-eminent among men, still a boy and
being tended by Chiron on Pelion.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Peleus
description: Named as the father of Achilles.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Atreus
description: Named as the father of Menelaus.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
label: oath-setter and marriage arbiter
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Tyndareus requires the suitors' oaths and sets conditions for Helen's marriage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: desired bride
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The suitors come for her sake, and Menelaus wins her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: oath-bound suitors
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They swear the required oaths and hope to win the marriage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: successful suitor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Menelaus prevails over the others because he gives the greatest gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: guardian or tender of a young hero
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Chiron is described as tending Achilles while Achilles is still a boy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: young potential rival suitor
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Achilles is still a boy, but the passage says he would have prevailed for
Helen if she had been unwed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: named father
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Peleus is named as Achilles' father, and Atreus is named as Menelaus' father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: unmixed libations
literal_form: ritual libations used in oath-swearing
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: oaths and vows
literal_form: sure oaths and vows required of the suitors
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: marriage gifts
literal_form: gifts given in the competition for Helen's marriage
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: woody Pelion
literal_form: mountain setting where Chiron tends Achilles
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Tyndareus binds Helen's suitors by oath
summary: Tyndareus refuses to decide by accepting gifts at first and instead makes
all suitors swear with libations that they will not act apart from him and will
jointly punish any forceful seizure of Helen.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Menelaus wins Helen through gifts
summary: After the suitors obey the oath requirement, Menelaus prevails over them
because he gives the greatest gifts.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Achilles is absent as a boy on Pelion
summary: Chiron tends the young Achilles on woody Pelion; the passage notes that
Achilles would have prevailed for Helen if she had remained unwed, but Menelaus
won her earlier.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: oath-bound alliance over a contested marriage
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: The suitors are required to swear oaths and vows with libations and to act
collectively if the marriage is violated by force.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes an oath arrangement around marriage; it does not
use the term covenant.
- id: motif:2
label: prevention of bride seizure by collective retaliation
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Tyndareus requires the suitors to pursue and punish anyone who takes the
maid by force.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The forceful taking is a threatened contingency in the oath, not an event
that occurs within this passage.
- id: motif:3
label: marriage won by superior gifts
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Menelaus prevails in the suit for Helen because he gives the greatest gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage supports an exchange or gift-competition element, but the
available taxonomy label 'sacred_exchange' is broader and may overstate the ritual
dimension.
- id: motif:4
label: young hero fostered or tended on a mountain
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Chiron tends Achilles while he is still a boy on woody Pelion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: low
cautions: The passage gives tending or upbringing, not a full initiation episode.
- id: motif:5
label: absent younger rival who would have won
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states that Achilles would have prevailed in suit for Helen if
she had been unwed, but Menelaus won her earlier.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a narrative counterfactual rather than a developed episode in
the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: ll. 89-100 / markdown lines 4023-4032
quote_or_summary: 'Tyndareus requires all suitors for the maid to swear oaths with
unmixed libations: no one is to act independently about the marriage, and all
must pursue and punish anyone who takes her by force. The suitors obey, and Menelaus
wins because he gives the greatest gifts.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: ll. 100-106 / markdown lines 4034-4038
quote_or_summary: Chiron tends swift-footed Achilles, son of Peleus, on woody Pelion
while Achilles is still a boy; the passage says Achilles would have prevailed
for Helen if she had been unwed, but Menelaus won her first.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif assignment is more tentative
where available taxonomy labels are broader than the passage details. No comparison
claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly compare this
episode to another text or tradition.
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.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg__l4023-l4038
passage_sha256=7f0d1f3b91c208394f8cde766c85f70a04795e3ab3e687c5772c65dad8bfd740