batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l8970-l9009
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg-l8970-l9009
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
passage_locator:
label: THE SINGLE COMBAT OF HECTOR AND AJAX. / BOOK VIII. / ARGUMENT. / THE SECOND
BATTLE, AND THE DISTRESS OF THE GREEKS.; lines 8970-9009
start: '8970'
end: '9009'
translation: The Iliad
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: 'Full hecatombs lay burning on the shore: / The winds to heaven the curling
vapours bore.'
summary: After a leader speaks, the host applauds, unyokes horses, brings animals,
wine, and bread, and burns hecatombs on the shore. The narrator states that the
offering does not win divine favor for Priam, his sons, or Troy. The troops sit
by many fires before Ilion, described through a moonlit-night simile, while guards,
horses, and warriors wait for morning.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A leader speaks, and the surrounding host answers with applause along the
shore.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The troops unyoke smoking steeds and fasten headstalls to the chariot side.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Sheep, oxen, wine, and bread are brought from the town, and hecatombs burn
on the shore.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Smoke or vapors from the burning offerings are carried upward by the winds
toward heaven.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that the immortal powers remain angry with Troy and do
not grant grace to Priam or his sons.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The troops sit in order around the fires, which illuminate the ground.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A simile compares the many fires to a clear moonlit night with planets, stars,
trees, mountains, vales, rocks, and a bright sky.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Many flames burn before Ilion and cast reflected light on Xanthus, walls,
spires, and the field.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Each flaming pile is attended by fifty guards; horses neigh over heaps of
corn while warriors wait for morning.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: the leader
description: Unnamed leader who speaks at the beginning of the passage.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the host or troops
description: The assembled warriors who applaud, unyoke horses, sit around fires,
and wait for morning.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the immortal powers
description: Divine powers to whom offerings are made, but whose wrath remains upon
Troy.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Priam and his sons
description: Named Trojan royal figures who do not obtain grace from the immortal
powers.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Troy or Ilion
description: The city described as hated by the immortal powers and as the place
before which many flames blaze.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: guards
description: Fifty guards attend each flaming pile.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: coursers
description: Horses that neigh over heaps of corn.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The figure is introduced as speaking before the host responds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: assembled army
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The host applauds, manages horses, sits by fires, and waits for morning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: divine recipients withholding favor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Offerings are made to the immortal powers, but their wrath remains and their
grace is not obtained.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: objects of divine wrath
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Priam, his sons, and Troy are described as not receiving divine grace and
as hated by the immortal powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: night watch or encamped warriors
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:6
basis: Warriors and guards remain by the fires through the night awaiting morning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: burning hecatombs
literal_form: sacrificial animals burning on the shore
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: fire
literal_form: campfires, flaming piles, and burning offerings
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: smoke rising to heaven
literal_form: curling vapors borne upward by the winds
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: moonlit sky
literal_form: moon, planets, stars, and bright night sky in the simile
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: mountain heads in moonlight
literal_form: mountain tops tipped with silver in the simile
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: Xanthus lit by firelight
literal_form: the river or place named Xanthus glimmering with rays from the fires
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Offerings and encampment after the leader’s speech
summary: The leader speaks, the host applauds, horses are unyoked, food and sacrificial
animals are brought, and hecatombs burn on the shore.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Divine disfavor toward Troy
summary: The narrator states that the offerings do not win favor because the immortal
powers remain wrathful toward Troy, Priam, and Priam’s sons.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Night fires before Ilion
summary: The troops sit in ordered groups by many fires before Ilion; the fires
are compared to moonlit brightness and reflect on Xanthus, walls, spires, and
the field while guards, horses, and warriors wait for morning.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacrifice offered to divine powers
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The army brings sheep, oxen, wine, and bread, and burns hecatombs whose vapors
rise toward heaven as offerings to immortal powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes the rite’s failure to secure divine grace; it does
not describe a successful exchange.
- id: motif:2
label: divine wrath against a city and royal house
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The immortal powers are said to keep wrath over the Trojan towers and to
deny grace to Priam, his sons, and Troy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states divine hatred and wrath but does not narrate a specific
judgment event within this excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: watchfires before a besieged city
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Many fires blaze before Ilion, with guards attending each pile and warriors
waiting for morning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this military-night-watch pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: celestial simile for earthly firelight
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage compares the army’s many fires to moonlight, planets, stars,
and a luminous night sky.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a poetic image rather than a narrative mythic event.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 8970-8974
quote_or_summary: A leader speaks; the surrounding host applauds along the shore,
unyokes smoking steeds, and fastens headstalls to chariots.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 8975-8978
quote_or_summary: "“Fat sheep and oxen from the town are led, / With generous wine,
and all-sustaining bread, / Full hecatombs lay burning on the shore: / The winds
to heaven the curling vapours bore.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 8979-8984
quote_or_summary: The offering is called ungrateful to the immortal powers; their
wrath remains over Troy, and Priam, his sons, and Troy do not obtain divine grace.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8985-9000
quote_or_summary: The troops sit in order around fires; a simile describes a clear
moonlit night with planets, stars, trees, mountains, vales, rocks, and rejoicing
swains.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 9001-9009
quote_or_summary: Many flames blaze before Ilion, light Xanthus, reflect on walls
and spires, and gild the field; fifty guards attend each pile while horses neigh
and warriors await morning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/iliad-pope.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal actions and images are clear in the passage. Motif classification
is limited to the supplied taxonomy and should be reviewed, especially the divine_judgment
label and symbolic tagging of mountain and water imagery in a simile.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself support a specific cross-textual or cross-traditional comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-iliad-pope-gutenberg__l8970-l9009
passage_sha256=c558ac3c2f8f1e345dc1f8d7c214823a7b41afaeea3a7bc3e6628c4b54723b30