batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l20909-l20966
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l20909-l20966
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: ARGUMENT. / BOOK XXII. / ARGUMENT. / THE DEATH OF HECTOR.; lines 20909-20966
start: '20909'
end: '20966'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A widowed wife laments her dead husband, imagines the future suffering
of their son as an orphan, grieves that Hector lies exposed away from family care,
and resolves that woven garments should be burned as an offering. The women around
her answer with shared tears.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker addresses her dead husband as gone to the dismal realms and describes
herself as abandoned, desolate, and alone.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speaker says an only child remains and will no longer have a father to
smile on, help, or defend him.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The speaker imagines the child as an orphan losing protection, social regard,
food, and access to his paternal inheritance.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The child is named Astyanax, and the passage links that name with the guarded
walls of Ilion and Hector’s defense of Troy.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Hector is described as lying exposed in the air, far from the care of his
parents and wife.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker says the martial scarf and robe she wove are now useless to Hector
and should be given to devouring flames as a sacrifice.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The surrounding matrons hear the mournful woman and answer with sighs and
tears.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: mournful wife or widowed mother
description: Female speaker who laments her dead husband, describes herself as abandoned,
and speaks of her child as Astyanax.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hector
description: Dead husband of the speaker, father of Astyanax, and former defender
of Troy.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Astyanax
description: Only child of the speaker and Hector; imagined as an orphaned boy deprived
of paternal protection.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: matrons
description: Women who hear the mourner and respond with sighs and tears.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: lamenting widow
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She addresses her dead husband and describes herself as abandoned and alone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: mother of the orphaned child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She speaks of an only child remaining and later calls herself the widowed
mother to whom he returns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: dead husband
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The speaker calls him her dead husband and says he has gone to the dismal
realms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: fallen defender of Troy
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage says Astyanax’s name is no longer secure because Hector no longer
guards Troy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: orphaned child
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The child is left without fatherly help or defense and is imagined as an
outcast after the father’s death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: communal mourners
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The matrons hear the lament and answer with sighs and tears.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: dismal realms or shades
literal_form: realm of the dead described as dismal realms and shades
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: devouring flames
literal_form: fire that will consume the scarf and robe
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: martial scarf and robe of triumph
literal_form: woven garments made by the wife for Hector
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: well-guarded walls of Ilion
literal_form: city walls associated with the name Astyanax and Hector’s guardianship
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: widow’s address to the dead husband
summary: The speaker laments shared fate, addresses the ghost of her dead husband,
and describes herself as abandoned.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: imagined orphanhood of Astyanax
summary: 'The speaker imagines the child’s future without his father: loss of protection,
property, social support, food, and honor.'
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Hector exposed and garments offered to fire
summary: The speaker says Hector lies exposed away from family care and that the
garments she wove for him should be burned as an offering.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: communal mourning
summary: The matrons respond to the mourner with reciprocal sighs and tears.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: widow’s lament for the fallen husband
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A wife addresses her dead husband, names her own desolation, and mourns the
consequences of his death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a specific lament scene; no broader comparative claim
is made here.
- id: motif:2
label: orphaned child deprived by the father’s death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The child Astyanax is imagined as losing protection, inheritance, social
standing, and daily sustenance after his father’s death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes social and familial loss rather than a full independent
orphan tale.
- id: motif:3
label: funerary offering consumed by fire
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The speaker proposes that the scarf and robe woven for Hector be given to
devouring flames and calls the act a sacrifice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The sacrifice is described as an honor to the living, not the dead, limiting
claims about its ritual function.
- id: motif:4
label: departure of the dead to the underworld or shades
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The dead husband is described as gone to the dismal realms, and the father’s
death is described as sending him to the shades.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage names the realm of the dead but does not narrate a detailed
afterlife journey.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 20909-20921
quote_or_summary: The speaker laments a shared unhappy fate, addresses the ghost
of her dead husband, says he has gone to the dismal realms, and calls herself
abandoned and alone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 20922-20944
quote_or_summary: The speaker says an only child remains without fatherly help or
defense, then imagines the orphan losing friends, property, food, and social care.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 20945-20955
quote_or_summary: Astyanax is imagined returning in tears to his widowed mother;
the passage contrasts his former princely nurture with the loss of Hector, who
had guarded Troy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 20956-20964
quote_or_summary: Hector lies exposed far from parental and wifely care; the wife
says the scarf and robe she wove are useless to him and should be burned as a
sacrifice honoring the living.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 20965-20966
quote_or_summary: The mournful dame speaks, and the matrons respond with sighs and
tears.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Figures and scenes are explicit in the passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and limited to passage evidence; no comparison claims were added because the passage
itself does not make a comparative link.
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; no external identifications beyond names present in the passage were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l20909-l20966
passage_sha256=037768f5e04fea2612e52119990bf4e955d10a816df9ac13c9e8c485f6d8f034