batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l15183-l15275
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l15183-l15275
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: JUNO DECEIVES JUPITER BY THE GIRDLE OF VENUS. / BOOK XV. / ARGUMENT. / THE
FIFTH BATTLE AT THE SHIPS; AND THE ACTS OF AJAX.; lines 15183-15275
start: '15183'
end: '15275'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Hector, strengthened by Jove, leads the Trojans in a fierce attack on the
Greek ships. He seizes the stern of the ship associated with Protesilaus and orders
the warriors to bring fire. Ajax holds his ground near the oars, exhorts the Greeks
by reminding them that there is no city or retreat behind them, and kills Trojan
warriors who approach the ships with flaming brands.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ajax moves swiftly from ship to ship while the crew marvels at him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Hector rushes before the Trojan crowd toward the ships and is compared to
an eagle descending on swans or cranes near water.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Jove is described as leading Hector on and breathing fierce spirits into Hector's
following band.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The Greeks continue fighting from despair, while the Trojans hope to see the
Greek fleet burning and the shore red with slain heroes.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Hector first seizes a ship on the contested strand, identified as the ship
connected with dead Protesilas.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The fighting at the ships is close combat with swords, axes, shortened darts,
shields, blood, and bodies on the shore.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Hector grasps the high stern of a ship and commands the warriors to bring
flames.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Hector says Jove has moved from delaying them to calling them to arms with
thunder and aiding their fires.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Ajax pauses under the thick flight of javelins, then stands by the oars to
defend the ships and encourage the Greeks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Ajax tells the Greeks that they have no aids, no bulwarks, no friends, and
no city to defend them; the Trojans stand on one side and the sea on the other.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Ajax kills Trojan warriors who approach the black ships with flaming brands;
twelve fall in a moment.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ajax
description: Greek warrior who moves among the ships, defends the naval position,
exhorts the Greeks, and kills Trojans approaching with flaming brands.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hector
description: Trojan leader who advances against the ships, seizes a stern, and commands
the warriors to bring flames.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Jove
description: Divine figure said to lead Hector on, give spirit to his followers,
call to arms with thunder, and aid the Trojan fires.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Greeks / Grecian band
description: Defenders of the ships who continue the war despite peril and are exhorted
by Ajax.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Trojans / Trojan crowd / Trojan warriors
description: Attackers who follow Hector, press the ships, and approach with flaming
brands.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Protesilas
description: Dead warrior associated with the ship seized by Hector; the passage
says this ship was the first to touch the Trojan shore.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: ship defender
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ajax stands near the oars, defends the ships, and kills men approaching them
with fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: assault leader
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Hector leads the Trojan rush, seizes a ship's stern, and commands the bringing
of flames.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: divine battle supporter
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Jove leads Hector, breathes spirit into his followers, and is said to aid
the Trojan attack.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: besieged defenders
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: Ajax and the Greeks stand with the ships, with no city or retreat available
and the sea behind them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: attacking force
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Trojans press the ships under Hector and warriors approach with flaming
brands.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: dead former ship-associated hero
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage identifies the contested ship as the one connected with dead
Protesilas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ships as contested position
literal_form: Greek ships, beaky prores, high stern, oars, sable ships
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: fire for ship destruction
literal_form: flames, fires, flaming brands, blaze
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: sea behind the defenders
literal_form: main, deep, flood, shore
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: eagle simile
literal_form: strong eagle descending from airy height
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: swans or cranes in the simile
literal_form: swans or cranes gathered in flight and lighting for food
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:6
label: shades of hell
literal_form: the shades of hell as the destination of slain warriors
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hector's divinely supported rush to the ships
summary: Hector advances before the Trojans toward the ships; the passage compares
him to an eagle descending on water birds, and Jove is said to lead him and strengthen
his followers.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Close battle at Protesilas's ship
summary: The Greeks and Trojans fight at close quarters around the ship associated
with Protesilas, using blades, axes, shields, and darts, with blood and bodies
covering the shore.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Hector commands the burning of the fleet
summary: Hector grasps the ship's stern and orders flames to be brought, declaring
that Jove now supports the Trojan attack.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Ajax's last stand and exhortation
summary: Ajax holds near the oars, inspires the Greeks, reminds them that no retreat
or city protects them, and kills Trojans approaching the ships with flaming brands.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divinely aided warrior assault
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hector's attack is explicitly supported by Jove, who leads him and gives
spirit to his band; Hector also attributes the moment to Jove's thunderous call
to arms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents divine aid in a battlefield context only; it does
not develop a broader divine-judgment structure.
- id: motif:2
label: last stand at the ships with no retreat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ajax tells the Greeks that there are no allies, walls, or city behind them,
only the sea, and that their fate is in their own hands.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is local to this battle scene and should not be generalized
beyond the passage without wider context.
- id: motif:3
label: fire attack on enemy vessels
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hector orders flames, the Trojans approach with flaming brands, and Ajax
kills those who try to burn the black ships.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: Although fire is prominent, the scene concerns tactical destruction of
ships rather than cosmic or world-destroying fire.
- id: motif:4
label: heroic exhortation in extremity
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ajax calls on the Greeks to remember their renown and ancestors and emphasizes
that their fate depends on their own action.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a battlefield speech motif; no initiation or ritual frame is present
in the passage.
- id: motif:5
label: predatory bird simile for a warrior attack
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hector's rush is compared to an eagle descending from above upon swans or
cranes near the water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: This is an explicit poetic simile, not evidence by itself for historical
transmission of an animal motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares Hector's advance on the ships to a strong
eagle stooping from above upon swans or cranes by the water.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: eagle descending on water birds as an image for a warrior assault
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal simile in the passage; it does not establish historical
contact, common inheritance, or recurrence outside this text.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 15183-15196
quote_or_summary: Ajax moves from ship to ship; Hector rushes before the Trojans
toward the ships, compared to an eagle descending on swans or cranes; Jove leads
him and strengthens his band.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 15197-15206
quote_or_summary: The battle roars at the ships; the Greeks fight from despair,
while the Trojans hope to see the fleet blazing and heroes slain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 15207-15223
quote_or_summary: Hector seizes the ship associated with dead Protesilas; the warriors
fight hand to hand with blades, axes, shields, darts, blood, and bodies on the
shore.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 15224-15238
quote_or_summary: Hector grasps the high stern and commands the bringing of flames,
saying Jove now calls them to arms and supports their fires.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 15239-15251
quote_or_summary: Ajax pauses under thick javelins, then stands near the oars, defends
the ships, and inspires the Greeks amid attacks, deaths, darts, and fires.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 15252-15265
quote_or_summary: Ajax exhorts the Greeks, saying they have no aids, bulwarks, friends,
or city; the Trojans stand before them and the deep lies behind them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 15266-15275
quote_or_summary: Ajax turns his javelin to battle and kills Trojan warriors who
approach the black ships with flaming brands; twelve fall and are sent to the
shades of hell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction relies only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and not tied to external taxonomy except for available literal symbols fire and
water.
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: |-
The supplied locator label mentions Juno, Jupiter, and Venus, but these figures do not appear in the passage text itself; they were not extracted as figures for this record.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l15183-l15275
passage_sha256=f1d7a83750d983dcae10bad1f115ed9607867279433fb77aaa415c32ab1b68a6