batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l13285-l13395
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l13285-l13395
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: ARGUMENT. / THE BATTLE AT THE GRECIAN WALL. / BOOK XIII. / ARGUMENT.; lines
13285-13395
start: '13285'
end: '13395'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: In battle near the Greek wall and ships, Harpalion is killed while fleeing
and is carried away by Paphlagonians as his father mourns. Paris, moved by the
sight, shoots Euchenor, a Corinthian whose father had foretold his death either
abroad in war or at home by disease. Hector remains at the central assault near
the sea and ships while Greek forces are organized by contingents. The two Ajaxes
fight side by side like yoked bulls, with Locrian archers and slingers supporting
from the rear. The Greeks begin to drive the Trojans back until Polydamas prepares
to advise Hector.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Harpalion followed his father to the war out of filial love and left his native
shore without returning.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Harpalion threw an unsuccessful spear at the Spartan king's shield and then
fled.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Merion struck Harpalion through the hip with a shaft, causing a fatal wound.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The Paphlagonian train carried Harpalion from the battlefield in a procession,
while his father mourned without revenge.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Paris saw the procession, was moved by pity and anger, and shot an arrow at
the enemy.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Euchenor was the son of Polydus, a renowned seer, and had been told he would
die either by arms abroad or by slow disease at home.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Euchenor chose to sail to war and was killed by an arrow beneath the ear.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Hector remained near the central area where gates had been forced and the
bulwarks gained, close to the naval station by the sea.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Ajaxes fought side by side and are compared to two bulls yoked together
at a plough.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Locrian fighters were positioned in the rear and used arrows and sling-stones
rather than heavy close-combat gear.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: Polydamas began to address Hector with counsel after the Greeks threatened
to drive the Trojans back to their walls.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Harpalion
description: Son of Pylmenes who followed his father to war, fled after an unsuccessful
spear cast, and was killed by Merion.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Pylmenes / Harpalion's father
description: Martial father of Harpalion; mourns as his dead son is borne from the
field.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Merion
description: Warrior whose shaft kills Harpalion as he flees.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Paphlagonian train
description: Group that bears Harpalion from the plain in slow procession.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Paris
description: Trojan archer who reacts to Harpalion's removal with pity and fury
and shoots Euchenor.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Euchenor
description: Brave Corinthian, son of Polydus, who chooses war abroad and is killed
by Paris's arrow.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Polydus
description: Renowned seer and father of Euchenor who foretold his son's alternatives
of death.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Hector
description: Trojan leader remaining in the central fighting near the forced gates
and naval station.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: He that shakes the solid earth
description: Divine figure said to give aid as the Greek force prevails on the left.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: The Ajaxes
description: Two Greek champions who labor side by side in the fighting and are
likened to yoked bulls.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Locrian squadrons
description: Rear-positioned fighters skilled with arrows and sling-stones rather
than heavy arms.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Polydamas
description: Wise Trojan counselor who begins to address Hector after the Greeks
gain advantage.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fallen warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:6
basis: Both Harpalion and Euchenor are described dying in battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: filial follower to war
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Harpalion follows his father to war through filial love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: mourning or concerned father
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:7
basis: Harpalion's father mourns his dead son; Polydus is Euchenor's father and
foretells his doom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: slayer by projectile
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
basis: Merion kills Harpalion with a shaft, and Paris kills Euchenor with an arrow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: funeral escort from battlefield
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Paphlagonian train carries Harpalion from the plain in procession.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: avenger moved by pity and fury
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Paris sees Harpalion's removal, is softened by pity and swollen with fury,
and shoots.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: chooser of death abroad
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Euchenor chooses the path to death in war rather than remaining home for
disease.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: seer of doom
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Polydus is identified as a seer who had told Euchenor's doom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: central battlefield commander
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Hector remains where the gates were forced and bulwarks gained.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: divine helper in battle
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The passage says the earth-shaking figure gave aid as Greek force prevailed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: paired front-line champions
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The two Ajaxes fight side by side with equal effort.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: rear ranged fighters
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Locrians are placed in the rear and use arrows and sling-stones.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:13
label: battle counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Polydamas addresses Hector with counsel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: bloody armour
literal_form: Armour stripped from a still-heaving corpse and received by the captor's
train.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: arrow or shaft
literal_form: Projectile weapon used by Merion against Harpalion and by Paris against
Euchenor.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: vessel to war
literal_form: Ship climbed by Euchenor when he chooses the path to death abroad.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: sea and beating tides
literal_form: The hoary deep and beating tides near the Greek naval station and
low walls.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: sevenfold shield
literal_form: Great Ajax's sevenfold shield, carried by attendants when he rests.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: yoked bulls and ploughshare
literal_form: Two bulls joined to one yoke forcing a bright ploughshare through
fallow soil in a simile for the Ajaxes.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: stone-and-arrow storm
literal_form: Locrian stones and arrows filling the sky and falling on Trojan ranks.
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Death of Harpalion
summary: Harpalion, having followed his father to war, fails in his attack, flees,
and is killed by Merion's shaft.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Mourning procession from the field
summary: The Paphlagonians carry Harpalion away from the battlefield while his father
mourns without revenge.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Paris kills Euchenor
summary: Paris sees the procession, is stirred by pity and anger, and shoots Euchenor,
who had knowingly chosen death in battle over disease at home.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Hector at the central wall and ships
summary: Hector remains in the central fighting near the forced gates, bulwarks,
ships, and sea as Greek contingents hold the area.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Ajaxes and Locrian ranged support
summary: The Ajaxes hold the front like two yoked bulls, while Locrian archers and
slingers in the rear pour missiles on the Trojans.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Polydamas prepares counsel
summary: As the Greeks threaten to push the Trojans back to their walls, Polydamas
begins to counsel Hector.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: son follows father to war and dies far from home
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Harpalion follows his father through filial love, leaves his native shore,
and dies on the battlefield.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a battlefield death and father-son relation, but does
not elaborate a wider mythic cycle.
- id: motif:2
label: mourning father and unavenged son
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Harpalion's father attends the procession, weeps, and remains unable to avenge
his dead offspring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local battlefield lament motif within the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: foretold alternatives of death and chosen heroic death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Euchenor is told by his seer father that he will die by arms abroad or disease
at home, and he chooses the war path.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage supports prophecy and choice of death, but no specific taxonomy
reference is supplied for this pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: paired champions likened to yoked animals
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Ajaxes fight side by side with equal labor and are compared to two bulls
joined to one yoke at the plough.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives an explicit simile, not necessarily a separate mythic
episode.
- id: motif:5
label: rear ranged fighters supporting armored front line
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Locrian archers and slingers remain behind the front-line Telamonian troops
and shower missiles on Trojan ranks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: This may be primarily a tactical pattern rather than a mythic motif.
- id: motif:6
label: wise counselor intervenes during battle reversal
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: After the Greeks gain advantage, Polydamas is described as discreetly brave
and begins to advise Hector.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: Only the opening of the counsel appears in this passage; the content of
the advice lies beyond the excerpt.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the two Ajaxes' coordinated labor in battle
to two yoked bulls ploughing fallow soil.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: agrarian yoked-bull ploughing image
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal poetic simile in the passage, not evidence of historical
contact or shared origin with another tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 13285-13304
quote_or_summary: Harpalion, son of Pylmenes, followed his father to war out of
filial love, failed to strike the Spartan king, fled, and was killed by Merion's
shaft through the hip.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 13305-13310
quote_or_summary: The Paphlagonians carried Harpalion from the plain in slow procession
while his father attended, wept, and mourned his son unavenged.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 13311-13317
quote_or_summary: Paris saw the procession, felt pity and fury, and bent his bow
to send an arrow in vengeance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 13318-13330
quote_or_summary: Euchenor, son of the seer Polydus, had been told he would die
by arms abroad or disease at home; he sailed to war and was killed by Paris's
arrow beneath the ear.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 13331-13344
quote_or_summary: Hector is unaware of reverses elsewhere and remains at the center
near forced gates, bulwarks, the naval station, the hoary deep, and low walls;
the earth-shaking divine figure gives aid.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 13345-13361
quote_or_summary: Various Greek contingents and leaders hold the shore of Troy,
including Boeotians, Ionians, Locrians, Phthians, Epeans, Athenians, Medon, and
Podarces.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 13362-13378
quote_or_summary: The two Ajaxes labor side by side through battle like two bulls
yoked to a plough; attendants carry great Ajax's sevenfold shield when he pauses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 13379-13391
quote_or_summary: The Locrians lack heavy close-combat equipment but are skilled
with arrows and sling-stones; from the rear they shower missiles on Trojan ranks.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 13392-13395
quote_or_summary: The Greeks nearly win lasting fame and drive the Trojans back,
but Polydamas, described as discreetly brave, begins to counsel Hector.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain text supplied in request.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Main actions and figures are explicit in the supplied passage. Motif labels
are descriptive and limited to passage evidence; only the internal bull-plough
simile is treated as a comparison claim.
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 external sources or unsupported taxonomy identifiers were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l13285-l13395
passage_sha256=7e0f99cdc324f2dc81acf6a5486d9661d6d63c163a3802b6512a79f4ac262fd5