batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l4886-l4903
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l4886-l4903
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
passage_locator:
label: II. 1745 / THE SHIELD OF HERACLES / THE MARRIAGE OF CEYX / THE GREAT EOIAE;
lines 4886-4903
start: '4886'
end: '4903'
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: Hermes drives stolen cattle through several regions to Tegea and onward
near the Lycaean mountains. Battus, who lives on a rock, notices the cattle and
agrees to keep silent for a reward. After hiding the cattle in a cave, Hermes
changes himself, tests Battus with another reward, and Battus reveals what he
knows. Hermes strikes Battus with his staff and changes him into a rock.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A figure drives heifers or cattle through Pelasgian country, Achaea in Phthia,
Locris, Boeotia, Megaris, Peloponnesus by way of Corinth and Larissa, and finally
to Tegea.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The route continues by the Lycaean mountains, past Maenalus and the watch-posts
of Battus.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Battus lives on the top of a rock and comes out when he hears the heifers
being driven past.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Battus recognizes that the cattle are stolen and asks for a reward to tell
no one about them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Hermes promises Battus a reward, and Battus swears not to speak about the
cattle to anyone.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Hermes hides the cattle in the cliff by Coryphasium and drives them into a
cave facing toward Italy and Sicily.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Hermes changes himself and returns to test whether Battus will keep his vow.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Hermes offers Battus a robe as a reward and asks whether he has noticed stolen
cattle being driven past.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Battus accepts the robe and tells Hermes about the cattle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Hermes becomes angry because Battus is double-tongued, strikes him with his
staff, and changes him into a rock.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The transformed Battus is described as never free from frost or heat.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hermes
description: Named figure who promises Battus a reward, hides the cattle, changes
himself, tests Battus, and transforms him into a rock.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Battus
description: A figure who lives on top of a rock, notices stolen cattle, vows silence,
reveals the cattle for a robe, and is changed into a rock.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: heifers / cattle
description: Cattle described as stolen, driven through various regions, hidden
near Coryphasium, and driven into a cave.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: driver and concealer of cattle
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hermes hides the cattle and drives them into a cave after the earlier route
of the cattle is described.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: witness to stolen cattle
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Battus hears the heifers, comes out, and knows that the cattle are stolen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: tester of a vow
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hermes changes himself and returns to test whether Battus will be true to
his vow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: punisher and transformer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hermes strikes Battus with his staff and changes him into a rock after Battus
reveals the cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: oath-breaker / double-tongued informant
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Battus swears to say nothing but later accepts a robe and tells about the
cattle; Hermes is angry that he is double-tongued.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: stolen herd
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The cattle are explicitly described as stolen and are concealed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cave concealment place
literal_form: cave facing toward Italy and Sicily
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: rock dwelling and transformed form
literal_form: rock
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: staff used for transformation
literal_form: staff
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: robe offered as reward
literal_form: robe
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: stolen cattle
literal_form: heifers / cattle
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Driving the cattle across regions
summary: The cattle are driven through a long sequence of Greek regions and brought
to Tegea, then past mountain landmarks and the watch-posts of Battus.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Battus notices the stolen cattle
summary: Battus, living on a rock, hears the cattle, comes out, recognizes that
they are stolen, and asks for a reward for silence.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Vow of silence and concealment
summary: Hermes promises a reward, Battus swears silence, and Hermes conceals the
cattle by Coryphasium in a cave.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Disguised test and betrayal
summary: Hermes changes himself, returns to Battus, offers a robe, and Battus reveals
information about the cattle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Transformation of Battus into rock
summary: Hermes punishes Battus for being double-tongued by striking him with a
staff and changing him into a rock that remains exposed to frost or heat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: theft and concealment of cattle
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: The passage repeatedly identifies the cattle as stolen and describes their
being driven across regions and hidden in a cave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage calls the cattle stolen but does not itself state that the
theft is sacred; the taxonomy link relies on the named figure Hermes and the mythic
context of the source.
- id: motif:2
label: disguised return to test an oath
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Hermes changes himself, returns to Battus, and tests whether Battus will
keep the vow of silence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states a change of self but does not specify the precise new
form.
- id: motif:3
label: punitive transformation into stone
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After Battus reveals the cattle, Hermes strikes him with a staff and changes
him into a rock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference specifically names petrification or transformation
into stone.
- id: motif:4
label: betrayal for a second reward
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Battus first asks for a reward to remain silent, then accepts a robe in exchange
for revealing the cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames Battus as double-tongued but does not develop a broader
moral interpretation beyond Hermes' anger.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4886-4892
quote_or_summary: The cattle are driven through Pelasgian country, Achaea, Locris,
Boeotia, Megaris, Peloponnesus, Corinth, Larissa, Tegea, and onward by the Lycaean
mountains and Maenalus.
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: lines 4892-4897
quote_or_summary: Battus lives on top of a rock, hears the heifers, comes out, knows
the cattle are stolen, and asks for a reward to tell no one.
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: lines 4897-4899
quote_or_summary: Hermes promises Battus a reward, and Battus swears to say nothing
to anyone about the cattle.
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 4899-4901
quote_or_summary: Hermes hides the cattle in the cliff by Coryphasium and drives
them into a cave facing toward Italy and Sicily.
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: lines 4901-4905
quote_or_summary: Hermes changes himself, returns to Battus to test his vow, offers
a robe, and asks whether he has noticed stolen cattle being driven past.
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: lines 4905-4908
quote_or_summary: Battus takes the robe and tells about the cattle; Hermes, angry
that Battus is double-tongued, strikes him with his staff and changes him into
a rock.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: line 4908
quote_or_summary: '"either frost or heat never leaves him"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied line range. Some locators are approximate
within the provided stable range because the passage text is supplied as a continuous
excerpt.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly compare this episode with another motif family, text, or tradition.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg__l4886-l4903
passage_sha256=61c4992b54a582f985d6b0deef273c85c74c7230c8c6c6a59dcffdb9783ef2fa