batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l17286-l17409
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l17286-l17409
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: THE SIXTH BATTLE, THE ACTS AND DEATH OF PATROCLUS / BOOK XVII. / ARGUMENT.
/ THE SEVENTH BATTLE, FOR THE BODY OF PATROCLUS.THE ACTS OF MENELAUS.; lines 17286-17409
start: '17286'
end: '17409'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Menelaus withdraws from danger while urging the Greeks to guard Patroclus'
body. He finds Antilochus and sends him to tell Achilles that Patroclus is dead
and that Hector has taken his armor. Antilochus weeps and runs with the message.
Menelaus returns to the struggle over the corpse. Ajax directs Menelaus and Meriones
to lift the body while Ajax and his brother hold off Hector and the Trojans. The
Greeks carry Patroclus' body away under attack, while Ajax serves as a rearguard
and the Trojans press them in battle.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Atrides withdraws from a dangerous position with weary limbs and an unwilling
pace, fearing that the enemy may gain Patroclus' body.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Atrides urges his men to guard the relics entrusted to them and remembers
Patroclus as gentle, skilled in obliging arts, a hero in death, and a friend in
life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Atrides searches through the ranks and finds the chief he sought on the left,
encouraging his men and killing enemies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Menelaus tells the beloved of Jove that Patroclus lies pale and dead on the
shore, that Achilles should be told, and that Hector has taken the dead man's
arms.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The youthful warrior hears the news in silent grief, begins to weep, gives
his arms to Laodocus, and runs to carry the mournful message.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Menelaus assigns Thrasymede to sustain the Pylian troops and returns to Patroclus'
body.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Menelaus says Achilles cannot aid them in battle because, although grief-stricken
and angry, he is unarmed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Ajax directs Menelaus, with Meriones' aid, to raise the corpse while Ajax
and his brother withstand Hector and his charging force.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The warriors lift the dead body from the ground, and the Trojans shout and
renew the fight.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Ajax turns against the attacking Trojans, and they tremble, grow pale, and
give way from the field.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The heroes carry the corpse aloft while battle rages behind them with confusion
among men, horses, and chariots.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: Ajax stands behind the corpse-bearers and breaks the force of the rushing
bands.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: Aeneas and Hector pursue fiercely while the Greeks retreat in a compact body,
with terror and crying among them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: Arms and armor lie scattered in heaps along and beyond the trench, and Jove
is said to have impressed horror upon the Greeks.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Atrides / Menelaus
description: A Greek chief and king who withdraws from danger, seeks Antilochus,
sends news to Achilles, and returns to the struggle over Patroclus' body.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Patroclus
description: The dead hero whose body is being guarded, lifted, and carried away;
remembered as gentle, obliging, heroic, and a friend.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Antilochus / the youthful warrior
description: The young warrior who receives the news of Patroclus' death, weeps,
gives his arms to Laodocus, and runs to report to Achilles.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Achilles
description: The absent warrior to whom Antilochus is sent; Menelaus says he is
grief-stricken and angry but unarmed.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Laodocus
description: The warrior to whom Antilochus gives his arms; he is near and driving
horses.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Thrasymede
description: The warrior ordered by Menelaus to sustain the Pylian troops.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Ajax
description: The warrior who directs the lifting of the corpse, stands with his
brother against Hector's force, and acts as a rearguard.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Ajax's brother
description: Ajax's unnamed brother, said to stand side by side with Ajax against
Hector and the charging Trojans.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Meriones
description: Named as the helper who is to aid in lifting the corpse.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Hector
description: Trojan chief who despoiled Patroclus of his arms and later presses
the Greek retreat with rage.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:12
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Trojans / Troy
description: The attacking force that attempts to gain Patroclus' body, shouts at
the sight of the lifted corpse, renews the fight, and pursues the Greeks.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Greeks / Achaians / Greece
description: The collective Greek force guarding and carrying Patroclus' body while
retreating under Trojan attack.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Aeneas
description: Trojan chief who storms after the retreating Greeks along with Hector.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Jove
description: Divine figure mentioned as beloved by one chief and as impressing horror
upon the Greeks.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: withdrawer from danger
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Atrides leaves a dangerous place reluctantly while fearing for Patroclus'
body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: fallen hero whose body is contested
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Patroclus is dead, his corpse is guarded and lifted, and his arms have been
taken by Hector.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: announcer of death news
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Menelaus tells Antilochus that Patroclus is dead and that Achilles must be
informed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: corpse-bearer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:9
basis: Ajax instructs Menelaus and Meriones to raise the weighty corpse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: grieving messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The youthful warrior weeps and runs to impart the mournful message.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: absent bereaved warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Achilles is the intended recipient of the news and is described as full of
rage and woe but unarmed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: supporter of troops
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Menelaus orders Thrasymede to sustain the Pylian bands.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: front-line defender against Hector
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Ajax says he and his brother will sustain the shock of Hector and his charging
train.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: rearguard shield
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Ajax stands behind the corpse-bearers and breaks the rush of the attacking
bands.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: pursuing attacker
assigned_to:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:13
basis: Hector, Aeneas, and the Trojans renew the fight and press the Greek retreat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:11
label: retreating defenders
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The Greeks carry the corpse and maintain a compact retreat amid fear and
battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: role:12
label: divine source of battlefield terror
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The passage says that Jove impressed horror upon the Greeks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lion driven from the fold
literal_form: A lion leaving the fold at dawn after being wounded and driven off
by herdsmen, hounds, darts, and blazing brands.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:2
label: eagle sighting hare
literal_form: A sacred eagle with sharp sight stooping from above to seize a hare.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: sym:3
label: wounded boar and hounds
literal_form: Voracious hounds driving a wounded boar but scattering when it turns
its glaring eye.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:16
- id: sym:4
label: city overwhelmed by fire
literal_form: Winds and rising flames overwhelming a city, with blazing temples
and sheets of smoke.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:17
- id: sym:5
label: mules dragging timber from a mountain
literal_form: Two mules dragging a heavy beam or mast down a rugged road from a
steep mountain, sweating and groaning.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: sym:6
label: flooded river divided by hill
literal_form: A river swollen by sudden rains spreading over plains until an interposing
hill divides and turns the waters.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:19
- id: sym:7
label: cranes threatened by falcon
literal_form: A flight of cranes shrieking while a falcon above threatens their
young.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:10
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:20
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Menelaus withdraws and commands protection of Patroclus' body
summary: Menelaus leaves his dangerous position reluctantly, fearing that the enemy
will take Patroclus, and urges his men to guard the dead hero's remains.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:14
- id: scene:2
label: Death news is sent to Achilles
summary: Menelaus finds Antilochus, tells him that Patroclus is dead and that Hector
has taken the armor, and sends him to inform Achilles. Antilochus weeps and runs
with the message.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:15
- id: scene:3
label: The Greeks raise Patroclus' corpse under attack
summary: Menelaus returns to the slain Patroclus. Ajax orders Menelaus and Meriones
to lift the body while Ajax and his brother withstand Hector. The Trojans shout
and renew the attack.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:16
- id: scene:4
label: Retreat with the corpse and Ajax's rearguard
summary: The Greeks carry Patroclus' body away amid confusion and combat. Ajax stands
behind them, breaking the force of the attackers, while Aeneas and Hector press
the retreat and the Greeks scatter arms and armor in fear.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:7
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:17
- ev:18
- ev:19
- ev:20
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: battle for the body of a fallen hero
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Patroclus' corpse is contested; Menelaus urges the Greeks to guard it, Ajax
directs its removal, and the Trojans attack as the Greeks carry it away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The label is a passage-level descriptive motif, not a supplied taxonomy
family.
- id: motif:2
label: grieving messenger sent to tell a beloved warrior of death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Menelaus sends Antilochus to Achilles with news that Patroclus has died;
Antilochus weeps and carries the message.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not show Achilles receiving the message.
- id: motif:3
label: slain warrior despoiled of armor
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: Menelaus says Hector has despoiled the slain Patroclus and taken the arms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is tentative because the passage reports battlefield
stripping of armor, not explicitly a sacred theft.
- id: motif:4
label: heroic rearguard protecting a retreat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ajax and his brother take the shock of Hector's attack, and Ajax later stands
behind the corpse-bearers to break the rush of the Trojans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: No broader historical or cross-cultural comparison is asserted.
- id: motif:5
label: divinely impressed battlefield panic
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage says that horror among the Greeks is impressed by Jove while
the battle continues.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The divine action is brief and not elaborated into a full judgment or
intervention scene.
- id: motif:6
label: animal and elemental similes intensifying battle narration
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage compares warriors and battle movement to a lion driven from a
fold, an eagle stooping on a hare, hounds and a boar, a firestorm, a swollen river,
and cranes threatened by a falcon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- ev:15
- ev:16
- ev:17
- ev:19
- ev:20
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a stylistic pattern in the passage rather than a mythic event
motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 17286-17300
quote_or_summary: Atrides leaves a dangerous place reluctantly, compared to a lion
driven from a fold, fearing the enemy may gain Patroclus.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 17301-17307
quote_or_summary: "“O guard these relics” and remember the dead hero as gentle,
obliging, and a friend."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 17308-17322
quote_or_summary: The chief searches rapidly through the ranks and finds the man
he sought on the left, cheering his men and spreading death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 17323-17332
quote_or_summary: Menelaus tells the beloved of Jove that Patroclus is dead on the
shore, Achilles must be told, and Hector has taken the slain man's arms.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 17333-17340
quote_or_summary: The youthful warrior weeps, cannot speak, gives his arms to Laodocus,
and runs with the mournful message.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 17341-17353
quote_or_summary: Menelaus orders Thrasymede to sustain the Pylian troops, returns
to Patroclus, and says Achilles cannot fight because he is unarmed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 17354-17362
quote_or_summary: Ajax tells Menelaus and Meriones to lift the corpse while he and
his brother withstand Hector and his charging force.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 17362-17365
quote_or_summary: The warriors heave the dead body from the ground; the Trojans
shout and renew the fight.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 17366-17375
quote_or_summary: The Trojans pour upon the retreating Greeks, but when Ajax turns,
they tremble and leave the field.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 17376-17383
quote_or_summary: The heroes carry the corpse aloft while war rages behind them
with confusion among men, horses, and chariots.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 17392-17399
quote_or_summary: Ajax stands behind the corpse-bearers and breaks the torrent of
the rushing bands like a hill dividing floodwaters.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 17400-17405
quote_or_summary: Aeneas and Hector press the rear while the Greeks retreat in a
compact body like cranes threatened by a falcon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 17406-17409
quote_or_summary: Weapons and armor lie scattered in heaps; Jove is said to have
impressed horror, and the battle continues.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 17286-17295
quote_or_summary: The passage compares Atrides to a lion leaving a fold at dawn
after darts and blazing brands drive it off.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 17310-17318
quote_or_summary: The chief's searching sight is compared to a sacred eagle seeing
a distant hare and stooping to seize it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:16
type: summary
locator: lines 17366-17371
quote_or_summary: The Trojan rush is compared to hounds driving a wounded boar,
then scattering when the boar turns.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:17
type: summary
locator: lines 17380-17387
quote_or_summary: Battle confusion is compared to winds and flames overwhelming
a city, with blazing temples and smoke rising.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:18
type: summary
locator: lines 17388-17392
quote_or_summary: The corpse-bearers' effort is compared to two mules dragging a
massive beam or mast from a steep mountain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:19
type: summary
locator: lines 17394-17399
quote_or_summary: Ajax's blocking action is compared to a hill dividing a rain-swollen
river and turning its waters.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:20
type: summary
locator: lines 17401-17405
quote_or_summary: The Greek retreat is compared to cranes shrieking while a falcon
hovers above and threatens their young.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels
are descriptive and passage-level; only one taxonomy reference is tentative. No
comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not support a specific
cross-textual comparison.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. The final illustration caption was not treated as part of the narrative scene.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l17286-l17409
passage_sha256=44937940367c9d38eabe104c0b863ba5e24cbe2aaf7ab493aaa7dffbb6b5e1e9