batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l7960-l8101
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l7960-l8101
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: THE EPISODES OF GLAUCUS AND DIOMED, AND OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE. / BOOK
VII. / ARGUMENT / THE SINGLE COMBAT OF HECTOR AND AJAX.; lines 7960-8101
start: '7960'
end: '8101'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Ajax and Hector agree to cease combat at nightfall and exchange gifts.
Each returns to his own army. The Greeks sacrifice and feast, and Nestor advises
collecting and burning the dead, raising a common tomb, and fortifying the camp.
In Troy, Antenor advises returning Helen and the treasures; Paris offers treasures
but refuses to return Helen. Priam proposes night watch, a herald to the Greeks,
and a truce to burn the dead. Idus carries the Trojan offer and truce request
to the Greek council.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ajax says Hector, as the one who provoked the chiefs to fight, should ask
for the night-sanctioned end to the combat.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Hector agrees that night should be obeyed and says they may meet again later
in war, with the gods deciding life or death.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Hector proposes that he and Ajax exchange gifts so Greece and Troy may say
they contended for glory, not hate.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Hector gives Ajax a silver-starred sword with decorated baldric and sheath;
Ajax gives Hector a radiant purple belt.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: Hector returns to the Trojans and is joyfully received as alive and vigorous
from his wound.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Ajax returns to the Greeks, and Agamemnon designates a five-year-old steer
for sacrifice.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Greeks slaughter, prepare, and share the sacrificial animal, with Agamemnon
placing the honorary chine before Ajax.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Nestor advises a pause in battle so the Greeks can collect the dead, burn
them, keep their bones in urns, raise a common tomb, and build a wall, towers,
gates, and a trench.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: At Priam's palace gate, Trojan peers meet in a fearful and disorderly night
council.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Antenor advises restoring Sparta's treasures and returning Helen to her former
husband, saying broken sworn ties provoke the gods.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Paris offers to restore the treasures and add Trojan wealth for peace, but
refuses to restore Helen.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Priam instructs the Trojans to eat, guard the walls, send a herald at dawn,
request a truce to burn and inurn the dead, and then return to war under Jove's
decision.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: At dawn, Idus goes to the Greek ships and repeats the Trojan offer concerning
treasures and the request for a truce to burn the dead.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ajax
description: Greek champion who agrees to halt combat, exchanges gifts with Hector,
returns to the Greeks, and receives an honorary portion at the feast.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hector
description: Trojan champion who agrees to halt combat at night, exchanges gifts
with Ajax, and returns to the Trojans alive after the duel.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Agamemnon
description: Greek king who designates the sacrificial steer and gives Ajax the
honorary portion.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Nestor
description: Greek elder and counselor whose advice is accepted by the sceptred
Greek kings.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Greek kings and army
description: The Greek leaders and host who hear counsel, feast, and receive the
Trojan herald's message.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Trojan bands and peers
description: Trojan collectives who receive Hector, hold a night council, and later
take refreshment and guard the walls.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Antenor
description: Trojan elder who advises the return of Helen and the treasures.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Paris
description: Husband of the Spartan bride in Troy; he offers treasures for peace
but refuses to give up Helen.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Priam
description: Trojan monarch who composes discord and orders a dawn embassy and truce
request.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Idus
description: Herald sent from Troy to the Greek ships with Paris's offer and the
truce request.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Helen
description: The Spartan bride whom Antenor says should return to her ancient lord
and Paris refuses to restore.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Gods and Jove
description: Divine powers invoked as deciding life, death, success, and conquest,
and as provoked by broken sworn ties.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: duel combatant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: Ajax and Hector are the two chiefs whose fight is halted at nightfall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: gift-exchanging foe
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The two enemies exchange a sword and belt and frame the exchange as evidence
of glory rather than hate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: returned champion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Trojans hail Hector as champion of their state and carry him toward Troy's
gates.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: sacrificial feast participant and honoree
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
basis: Agamemnon appoints the sacrificial steer and places an honorary portion before
Ajax.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: elder counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:7
basis: Nestor and Antenor each address councils with advice about the war and the
dead or Helen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: assembled war council or host
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Greek and Trojan groups assemble, deliberate, feast, or prepare for guard
and truce actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: refusing possessor of Helen
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Paris refuses to restore the bride while offering treasures for peace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: pacifying monarch
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Priam rises to compose discord and sets out a practical plan for guard, embassy,
truce, and renewed war.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: herald
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Idus goes at dawn to the Greek ships and proclaims Troy's message.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: contested bride
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Helen is described as the Spartan bride whose return is demanded by Greece
and refused by Paris.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:12
label: divine decider or offended power
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The passage says gods decide life and death, broken sworn ties provoke the
gods, and Jove decides conquest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: night as boundary of combat
literal_form: night and gloomy shade
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: exchanged sword
literal_form: sword with stars of silver, studded baldric, and decorated sheath
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: exchanged belt
literal_form: radiant belt glowing with purple
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: sacrificial steer
literal_form: five-year-old steer of noble kind
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: funeral fire
literal_form: flames for the slaughtered dead and burning of heroes
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: urns and common tomb
literal_form: urns for snowy bones and a general tomb raised over the dead
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: fortified camp boundary
literal_form: embattled wall, lofty towers, gates for chariots, and deep trench
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: Helen and treasures as contested objects of peace
literal_form: Sparta's treasures, Trojan wealth, and the Spartan bride
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Duel halted and gifts exchanged
summary: Ajax and Hector accept nightfall as the stopping point for combat and exchange
a decorated sword and purple belt before parting to their armies.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Hector received by Trojans
summary: The Trojan bands joyfully receive Hector as alive after his encounter with
Ajax and bring him toward Troy's gates.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Greek sacrifice, feast, and counsel
summary: Ajax returns to the Greeks; Agamemnon conducts a sacrificial feast; Nestor
advises funeral rites for the dead and fortification of the camp.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Trojan night council
summary: Trojan leaders meet at Priam's gate; Antenor urges returning Helen and
the treasures, Paris refuses to return Helen, and Priam proposes a guarded night,
embassy, and truce for funeral rites.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Idus carries the Trojan proposal
summary: At dawn, Idus comes to the Greek ships and announces Paris's offer of treasures
and Troy's request for a truce to burn and inurn the dead.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Gift exchange between honorable enemies
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Hector and Ajax suspend combat and exchange valuable objects so both sides
may remember their contest as glory rather than hatred.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy term is approximate; the passage presents heroic gift exchange,
not explicitly a ritual covenant.
- id: motif:2
label: Animal sacrifice before communal feast
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Agamemnon appoints a steer; the Greeks slaughter, prepare, divide, and eat
it, with Ajax receiving an honorary portion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives the sacrificial action in martial-feast context without
extended ritual details.
- id: motif:3
label: Divine decision of war and fate
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Hector says the gods will decide death or life; Antenor says broken sworn
ties provoke the gods; Priam and Idus refer conquest to mighty Jove.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage invokes divine decision and displeasure but does not narrate
a direct divine verdict within this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: Contested or withheld bride as cause of war
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Antenor urges Helen's return to her former husband, while Paris, called author
of the war by the herald, offers treasures but refuses to restore the bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage assumes the larger Helen narrative but here only reports the
council dispute and offer.
- id: motif:5
label: Truce for funeral rites of war dead
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: Both Nestor and Priam propose a pause from fighting so the dead may be burned
and their bones placed in urns, and Idus conveys the truce request to the Greeks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a specific funeral-truce motif;
'covenant' is used only for the negotiated temporary agreement.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7960-7990
quote_or_summary: Ajax asks that Hector request the night-sanctioned end to the
duel; Hector accepts, invokes future combat and divine decision, proposes a memorial
gift exchange, gives a silver-starred sword, and receives Ajax's purple belt.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7991-7997
quote_or_summary: The Trojans wait for Hector, hail him as champion, see him alive
after Ajax, and bear him toward Troy's gates.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7998-8014
quote_or_summary: Ajax leads the Greeks to Agamemnon; Agamemnon appoints a five-year-old
steer for sacrifice; the victim is prepared, shared, and Ajax receives the honorary
chine.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8015-8038
quote_or_summary: Nestor laments the dead and advises a pause to collect bodies,
burn the slain, keep bones in urns, raise a common tomb, and build a wall, towers,
gates, and a trench around the Greek camp.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 8039-8056
quote_or_summary: The Trojan peers hold a fearful night council at Priam's gate;
Antenor tells Trojans, Dardans, and allies to restore Spartan treasures and Helen,
warning that broken sworn alliances provoke the gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 8057-8071
quote_or_summary: Paris, described as husband of the Spartan bride, rejects Antenor's
advice, offers to restore treasures and add his own for peace, but says the bright
possession must remain his.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 8072-8094
quote_or_summary: Priam rises to compose discord, orders the Trojans to eat and
guard the walls at night, and says a herald will ask the Greeks for a truce to
burn and inurn the dead before war resumes under Jove's decision.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 8095-8101
quote_or_summary: At dawn Idus goes to the Greek ships, announces Paris's offer
to return spoils and add wealth but not Helen, and asks a truce to burn the slaughtered
heroes and inurn their bones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Passage events and figures are explicit. Motif taxonomy assignments are cautious
because the available taxonomy is broad. No comparison claims were made because
the passage itself does not compare traditions or motif families beyond its own
narrative.
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 Iliad context was added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l7960-l8101
passage_sha256=6ef92c6365e044efe62ec52520d85ca0eaf0a0b6de9254776ce65ad51616749c