batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l11901-l12024
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l11901-l12024
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: THE THIRD BATTLE, AND THE ACTS OF AGAMEMNON. / BOOK XII. / ARGUMENT. / THE
BATTLE AT THE GRECIAN WALL.; lines 11901-12024
start: '11901'
end: '12024'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The Trojan forces accept Polydamas' advice, leave their chariots, and divide
into five bands for an assault on the Greek wall and ships. Asius alone drives
his chariot toward a gate, where two Lapith-descended Greek chiefs, Polyptes and
Leonteus, resist him and his followers. The fighting is described through similes
of oaks, boars, snow, and wasps. Asius laments that Heaven and Jove have deceived
Trojan expectations, but Jove's purpose remains unchanged and Hector is destined
for the chief glory of the battle.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Hector rises after the counsel is approved, and the chiefs and their followers
leave their chariots for ordered infantry ranks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Trojan and allied forces are divided into five bands led by named chiefs.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The first band hopes to burn the fleet and imagines the Greeks defeated at
their feet.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Asius alone does not follow Polydamas' advice and instead urges his chariot
and horses toward battle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The narrator states that Asius will not return with his horses to Troy and
that Idomeneus will boast of his fall behind the Greek wall.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Polyptes and Leonteus guard the gates and are compared to tall oaks standing
before a wall.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The two gate defenders rush from the portals and resist Asius' band; they
are also compared to wild boars defending against dogs and men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Stones and darts fly between the armies, with the missile storm compared to
winter snow driven by Boreas.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Asius, repulsed and angry, accuses Heaven and questions whether Jove can deceive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Asius compares the Greek defense at the gates to wasps guarding the entrance
of a common hive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The narrator says Asius' words do not move Jove's unalterable mind, and that
the destined glory of the fight is owed to Hector.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The passage closes with fighting at all gates, stony showers, flames, flashing
arms, and Greek defenders continuing the war while guardian gods do not assist.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hector
description: A Trojan leader who rises after the counsel, leads the foremost band,
and is later named as the figure to whom the destined glory of the battle is owed.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Polydamas
description: Described as wise; his advice is obeyed by the Trojans and allies except
Asius.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Cebriones
description: Named with Hector and Polydamas in the first band.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Paris
description: Leads or stands before the next band with Alcathous and Agenor.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Alcathous
description: Named with Paris and Agenor in the next band.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Agenor
description: Named with Paris and Alcathous in the next band.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Deiphobus
description: A son of Priam appearing with the third band.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Helenas the seer
description: A son of Priam, explicitly described as a seer, appearing with the
third band.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Asius
description: A mighty warrior of Hyrtacus' blood who alone keeps to his chariot,
attacks the gate, is foretold not to return, and later accuses Heaven.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Antenor's sons
description: A group said to guide the fourth battalion.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: great neas
description: Named as born on fountful Ide and associated with the fourth battalion
in the passage text.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Sarpedon
description: Called divine; the last band obeys him, and he is said to be braver
than the hosts he led.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Glaucus
description: Named as aiding Sarpedon.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Asteropaeus
description: Named as aiding Sarpedon.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Polyptes
description: A gate defender descended from the Lapiths and called heir of Perithous.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Leonteus
description: A gate defender descended from the Lapiths and compared to the god
of war.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Idomeneus
description: Named by the narrator as the Greek warrior who will boast of Asius'
fall.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: Orestes
description: Named among Asius' associated fighters at the gate.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:19
name_or_label: Acamas
description: Named among Asius' associated fighters at the gate.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:20
name_or_label: nomaus
description: Named among Asius' associated fighters at the gate.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:21
name_or_label: Thoon
description: Named among Asius' associated fighters at the gate.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:22
name_or_label: Jove
description: An immortal power whom Asius says may deceive; the narrator says Jove's
mind remains unaltered.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:23
name_or_label: Grecians / Greeks
description: The defending army at the wall, gates, towers, and fleet.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:24
name_or_label: Trojans and allies
description: The attacking army divided into bands and advancing against the Greek
wall and fleet.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: fig:25
name_or_label: guardian gods
description: Gods of Greece described as in dismay and not assisting with their
arms.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: foremost Trojan leader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hector is described as glorious in the van of the first band.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: wise counselor whose advice is obeyed
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage says every Trojan and ally obeys the advice of wise Polydamas,
except Asius.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: battalion leader or named allied chief
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
basis: These figures are named in the division of the forces into five bands.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: doomed chariot attacker
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Asius alone keeps to his chariot, drives at the gate, and is foretold not
to return to Troy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: gate defender
assigned_to:
- fig:15
- fig:16
basis: The two chiefs guard the gates, call on the Greeks, and stand against Asius'
band.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: divine or destined arbiter of battle glory
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:22
basis: Jove's unalterable mind is not moved, and the destined glory is said to belong
to Hector's might.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: seer
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Helenas is explicitly called the seer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:8
label: speaker accusing Heaven
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Asius speaks after being repulsed and asks whether immortals can deceive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: future slayer or claimant of Asius' fall
assigned_to:
- fig:17
basis: The narrator says Idomeneus shall boast of Asius' fall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:10
label: attacking fighters at the gate
assigned_to:
- fig:18
- fig:19
- fig:20
- fig:21
basis: These names appear around Asius' assault on the gates.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:11
label: defending army
assigned_to:
- fig:23
basis: The Greeks defend the gates, wall, towers, and fleet against the Trojan assault.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: attacking army
assigned_to:
- fig:24
basis: The Trojan and allied forces advance in bands and attack the Greek wall and
gates.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:13
label: non-assisting divine guardians
assigned_to:
- fig:25
basis: The guardian gods are described as in dismay and with unassisting arms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire against the fleet
literal_form: Fire and flames associated with the threatened burning of the Greek
ships and the battle's blaze.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:24
- fig:23
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: Grecian wall and gates
literal_form: The wall, gates, portals, ramparts, towers, and forts where the battle
is concentrated.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:23
- fig:24
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: ships or fleet
literal_form: The Greek fleet and navies that the Greeks try to protect and the
Trojans hope to burn or capture.
associated_figures:
- fig:23
- fig:24
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: chariot and coursers
literal_form: Asius' car, wheels, and vaunted yellow coursers.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: tall oaks
literal_form: Two tall oaks with roots in earth and heads in the sky, used as a
simile for Polyptes and Leonteus.
associated_figures:
- fig:15
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: wild boars
literal_form: Two wild boars springing from a den against dogs and men, used as
a simile for the gate defenders.
associated_figures:
- fig:15
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: winter snow and rocky shower
literal_form: Snow driven by Boreas and a rocky shower from the ramparts, used to
describe the density of missiles.
associated_figures:
- fig:23
- fig:24
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: wasps and common hive
literal_form: Wasps guarding the entrance of a hive, used by Asius to describe the
Greek defense.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:23
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:9
label: the main
literal_form: The sea or main into which the attackers hope to plunge the Greeks.
associated_figures:
- fig:23
- fig:24
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Trojan mustering into five bands
summary: After counsel is approved, Hector rises, the chiefs dismount from chariots,
and the army is arranged into five bands under named leaders.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:24
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Asius' separate chariot assault
summary: Unlike the others, Asius trusts his chariot and horses, drives toward a
gate, and is marked by the narrator as doomed not to return to Troy.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:9
- fig:17
- fig:23
- fig:24
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Lapith defenders at the gate
summary: Polyptes and Leonteus guard the gate, call on the Greeks, and confront
Asius' band; their resistance is presented through oak and boar similes.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:18
- fig:19
- fig:20
- fig:21
- fig:23
- fig:24
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Missile storm at the wall
summary: Both sides exchange stones and darts, and the density of missiles is compared
to winter snow.
figure_refs:
- fig:23
- fig:24
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Asius' complaint and Jove's unchanged purpose
summary: After the repulse, Asius accuses Heaven and compares the Greeks to wasps
at a hive, but the narrator states that Jove's mind is unchanged and the glory
is destined for Hector.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:22
- fig:23
- fig:25
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:8
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Doomed warrior ignores prudent counsel
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Asius alone refuses the general advice to leave chariots behind, drives at
the gate, and is immediately marked as destined not to return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a battlefield instance; it does not develop the motif
beyond this episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Heroic gate defense by a small number against a larger force
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Two Greek chiefs guard the gates, repel Asius' army, and are described as
sufficient to resist a larger attack.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is an action pattern in the passage, not a named taxonomy motif in
the supplied list.
- id: motif:3
label: Divine destiny overrides human expectation
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Asius expected Trojan victory and accuses Heaven, while the narrator says
Jove's unalterable mind is not moved and that Hector is owed the destined glory.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The evidence concerns divine fate or allotment of battle glory; it is
not clearly a moral judgment.
- id: motif:4
label: Threatened burning of ships
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The attacking force hopes to fire the Greek fleet, and later the scene includes
the blaze of flames near the forts and gates.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports threat and battlefield flame imagery, not the actual
burning of the ships in this excerpt.
- id: motif:5
label: Battle described through natural and animal similes
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage compares defenders and missiles to oaks, boars, winter snow,
and wasps guarding a hive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a poetic pattern of imagery rather than a mythic plot motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 11901-11927
quote_or_summary: Hector rises after the counsel; chiefs leave chariots, troops
divide into five bands, and leaders including Hector, Polydamas, Paris, Deiphobus,
Helenas, Asius, Antenor's sons, neas, Sarpedon, Glaucus, and Asteropaeus are named.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 11928-11937
quote_or_summary: The legions advance in close array, imagining the fleet burned
and the Greeks defeated; the Trojans and allies obey Polydamas.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 11938-11954
quote_or_summary: Asius alone trusts his chariot and horses, drives left toward
a partly open gate, is called unhappy and doomed not to return to Troy, and is
said to be fated to fall behind the Greek wall by Idomeneus.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 11955-11989
quote_or_summary: Polyptes and Leonteus, Lapith-descended chiefs, guard the gates;
they are likened to tall oaks and to wild boars, and they resist Asius' fighters
while Greeks defend the wall and fleet with stones and darts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 11990-12000
quote_or_summary: Darts and stones fall thickly on both armies; the passage compares
them to winter snow brought by Boreas, with shields battered and echoes sounding.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 12001-12014
quote_or_summary: Asius, ashamed and angry after being repulsed, accuses Heaven
and Jove, asks how two warriors can guard the gates, and compares the Greeks to
wasps defending a hive.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 12015-12024
quote_or_summary: Asius' words do not move Jove's unalterable mind; the glory of
the destined fight belongs to Hector, fighting continues at all gates, flames
and arms flash, and Greece continues while guardian gods do not assist.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is explicit about named figures, battlefield actions, similes,
and Jove's unchanged purpose. Motif labels are cautious because most patterns
are local battle-poetic patterns rather than formal taxonomy matches. No external
comparison claims were made.
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 provided passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to supplied motif families and symbols where directly supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l11901-l12024
passage_sha256=c51329d2c1bd8acb2375e80a18c871d86a3e75e14129f6a83853a4abad1915b4