batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l21729-l21864
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l21729-l21864
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: ARGUMENT. / THE DEATH OF HECTOR. / BOOK XXIII. / ARGUMENT.; lines 21729-21864
start: '21729'
end: '21864'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A speaker yields a prize and emphasizes friendship over pride. Achilles
awards Nestor a bowl as a memorial token for Patroclus and because Nestor is too
aged for the athletic contests. Nestor recalls his former victories and blesses
Achilles. Achilles then announces a boxing contest with a mule as prize for the
victor and a bowl for the defeated. Epeus boasts, Euryalus accepts with Tydides'
support, the fighters clash, and Epeus knocks Euryalus down. Euryalus is carried
away bleeding and dazed, while his friends receive the bowl.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A speaker yields a courser and says pride is not preferred before friendship.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Achilles gives a double bowl or goblet to Nestor as a memorial of the dead
Patroclus.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Achilles states that Nestor's age prevents him from competing in events such
as throwing, racing, and wrestling, though his past glory remains.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Nestor accepts the gift with joy, describes the failure of his aged limbs,
and recalls former athletic and martial victories.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Nestor urges Achilles to decorate the dead with martial honors and asks that
the gods return due distinctions to him another day.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: 'Achilles orders prizes for a boxing contest: an unbroken six-year-old mule
for the victor and a large round goblet or bowl for the defeated.'
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Epeus claims the mule as his right, boasts that he is best in this fight,
and threatens to crush his opponent's body.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Euryalus accepts the challenge, and Tydides girds him and binds boxing gloves
to his wrists.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Epeus and Euryalus fight with raised hands and clashing gauntlets until Epeus
strikes Euryalus on the cheek and knocks him down.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Euryalus lies bleeding and dazed; the victor helps raise him and gives him
to friends, who support him and receive the bowl.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: Euryalus is compared to a large fish thrown onto shore by a billow.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Atrides
description: Named as the one whose turn it is to yield; the speaker presents yielding
as an act of bending pride before friendship.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Achilles
description: Organizer of the awards and contests; he gives Nestor a memorial bowl
for Patroclus and announces the boxing prizes.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Nestor
description: Reverend, aged king who receives a bowl, recalls past victories, and
blesses Achilles for honoring sacred age.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Patroclus
description: Dead friend whose memory is marked by Achilles' gift to Nestor and
by martial honors.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Merion
description: Recipient of the golden talents before the remaining double bowl is
given to Nestor.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Noemon
description: Friend of the youthful chief who receives the resigned courser.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Epeus
description: Large boxer who chooses the combat, boasts, and defeats Euryalus with
a blow to the cheek.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Euryalus
description: Challenger who meets Epeus, is prepared by Tydides, and is knocked
down bleeding and senseless.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Tydides
description: Urges Euryalus to contend and helps prepare him by girding him and
binding gloves to his wrists.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Mecistheus
description: Euryalus' sire, remembered as a victor in Theban games held for dead
Oedipus.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Oedipus
description: The dead figure in whose honor earlier Theban games were ordained.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: yielding superior or reconciler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker says it is Atrides' turn to yield and that pride is not placed
before a friend.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: contest organizer and prize giver
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Achilles distributes prizes, gives Nestor the bowl, and announces the boxing
contest rewards.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: honorer of the dead
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Achilles frames the bowl as a memorial of dead Patroclus and later is urged
to decorate the dead with martial honors.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: aged honored elder
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Nestor is called a sacred sire and senior; Achilles says age has overthrown
his former vigor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: rememberer of past heroic contests
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Nestor recounts former victories in games and combat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: dead honoree
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:11
basis: Patroclus is named as dead and memorialized; Oedipus is named as the dead
person whose games were ordained to grace him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: prize recipient or handler
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Merion receives golden talents; Noemon receives the resigned courser.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: boxing contestant
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Epeus and Euryalus stand amid the circle as champions and fight with gauntlets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: victorious boaster
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Epeus boasts before the match and then knocks down Euryalus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: defeated challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Euryalus dares to meet Epeus but is struck down and carried away bleeding.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: role:11
label: second or supporter
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Tydides urges Euryalus to contend and binds the gloves to his wrists.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: ancestral exemplar
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Mecistheus is invoked as Euryalus' sire and as a former trophy winner.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: memorial bowl or goblet
literal_form: double bowl or goblet given by Achilles to Nestor in memory of Patroclus
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: boxing prizes
literal_form: unbroken mule for the victor and massy bowl for the defeated
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: caestus or gloves of death
literal_form: boxing gloves bound to Euryalus' wrists before the fight
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: martial honors for the dead
literal_form: honors with which Achilles is urged to decorate Patroclus
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: fish cast ashore simile
literal_form: fallen boxer compared to a large fish dashed against shore by a billow
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Yielding and prize transfer
summary: A speaker yields a courser, emphasizes friendship over pride, and the courser
is given to Noemon while other prizes remain to be assigned.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Achilles honors Nestor with a memorial bowl
summary: Achilles gives Nestor the remaining double bowl as a memorial of dead Patroclus
and as an honor suited to Nestor's age and former glory.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Nestor's memory of youth and blessing
summary: Nestor accepts the gift, recalls his past victories, acknowledges that
younger men now take up such tasks, urges Achilles to honor the dead, and prays
for divine return of due distinctions.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Announcement of boxing contest
summary: Achilles brings out a six-year-old unbroken mule and a large bowl, declaring
that two heroes should fight and that the victor will receive the mule while the
defeated receives the bowl.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Epeus' boast and Euryalus' preparation
summary: Epeus claims certain victory and threatens his opponent; Euryalus accepts,
and Tydides girds him and binds gloves to his wrists.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Boxing defeat of Euryalus
summary: The boxers clash with gauntlets until Epeus lands a heavy blow. Euryalus
falls, is likened to a fish cast ashore, and is carried away bleeding while his
friends receive the bowl.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Funeral games and honors for the dead
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage presents athletic prizes and contests in the setting of honors
for dead Patroclus, and Nestor explicitly urges martial honors for the dead.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage excerpt does not describe all funeral rites, only prize giving
and a boxing contest associated with them.
- id: motif:2
label: Commemorative gift to an aged elder
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Achilles gives Nestor a bowl as a memorial token for Patroclus, while acknowledging
Nestor's age and past glory; Nestor receives it as a pledge of benevolence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate; the passage shows formal gift exchange
and honor, not an explicit ritual covenant.
- id: motif:3
label: Contest prize won through single combat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Achilles offers prizes for boxing; Epeus and Euryalus fight, and the outcome
determines who receives the mule and who receives the bowl.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: This is an athletic combat rather than battlefield combat.
- id: motif:4
label: Boast before combat followed by decisive defeat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Epeus boasts that no one can deny his claim to victory and threatens bodily
destruction; he then knocks Euryalus down with a single heavy blow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The boast is fulfilled rather than punished or reversed.
- id: motif:5
label: Former heroic strength contrasted with old age
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Nestor contrasts his present failed limbs with former victories in games
and combat, stating that a younger race now succeeds to these tasks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames this as reminiscence and honor, not rejuvenation.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself links the present funeral-game setting for Patroclus with
another tradition of games held to honor a dead figure, since Mecistheus is remembered
as winning at Theban games ordained for dead Oedipus.
claim_level: same_function
target: Theban games held for dead Oedipus
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage gives only a brief allusion to the Theban games and does
not describe their rites or full narrative context.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 21729-21747
quote_or_summary: The speaker says Atrides should yield, that contention should
be waived before superior sway, and that he yields so all may know pride is not
preferred over a friend; the courser is handed to Noemon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 21748-21767
quote_or_summary: Merion receives golden talents; Achilles gives the remaining double
bowl or goblet to reverend Nestor as a memorial of dead Patroclus, noting that
Nestor's age prevents him from competing but leaves him past glory.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 21768-21798
quote_or_summary: Nestor joyfully replies that Achilles has honored a senior; he
says his strength has left him and recalls former victories in games and contests
against named opponents and rivals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 21799-21815
quote_or_summary: Nestor says a younger race now succeeds to such tasks; he accepts
Achilles' gift as a pledge of benevolence, rejoices that sacred age is honored,
urges Achilles to decorate the dead with martial honors, and prays that the gods
return due distinctions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 21816-21833
quote_or_summary: 'Achilles orders prizes for the caestus: an unbroken six-year-old
mule is bound in the circus, a large round goblet stands nearby, and he declares
that two heroes should fight, the victor taking the mule and the vanquished the
bowl.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 21834-21849
quote_or_summary: Epeus chooses the combat, seizes the beast, challenges someone
to take the bowl, claims the mule as his certain right, and warns that his hand
will crush his opponent's frame and bones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 21850-21864a
quote_or_summary: Euryalus dares to meet Epeus and is identified through his sire
Mecistheus, victor at Theban games ordained for dead Oedipus; Tydides urges Euryalus,
girds him, and binds gloves to his wrists.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 21864b-21864c
quote_or_summary: The two champions stand in the circle, raise their iron hands,
close with clashing gauntlets, and Epeus lands a heavy blow on Euryalus' cheek,
causing him to fall nerveless and extended.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 21864d-21864e
quote_or_summary: The fallen Euryalus is compared to a large fish dashed ashore
by a billow; he pants bleeding on the ground, is raised by the victor and supported
by friends, with head hanging, gore pouring from mouth and nostrils, and thought
obscured; his friends receive the bowl.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied line range. Some locators inside
the range are approximate because the passage was supplied as a continuous excerpt
rather than line-numbered text.
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 unprovided taxonomy IDs were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l21729-l21864
passage_sha256=6c326663eca5b29c64997f0469366f06ce73f8fd8428381bfec1079e54132f4e