batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l10199-l10275
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l10199-l10275
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 10199-10275
start: '10199'
end: '10275'
translation: The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Pandion tearfully entrusts Philomela to his son-in-law Tereus and joins
their hands as a pledge. During the sea voyage Tereus exults that he has obtained
the object of his desire. On reaching his own shore he takes Philomela to a concealed
dwelling in an ancient wood, imprisons and violates her. Philomela denounces him
and threatens to reveal the crime to people, woods, rocks, Heaven, and the gods.
Tereus binds her and cuts out her tongue to prevent speech. He later returns to
Progne, falsely reports Philomela's death, and Progne performs mourning rites
for an imaginary shade.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Pandion entrusts Philomela to Tereus and asks him to protect her with paternal
love and return her quickly.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Pandion joins the right hands of Tereus and Philomela as a pledge of fidelity
before their departure.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: After Philomela boards the painted ship and the land is left behind, Tereus
says he has gained the object of his desires.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Tereus is compared to the ravenous bird of Jupiter keeping watch over a captured
hare.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: After the voyage, Tereus drags Philomela into a lofty dwelling concealed in
an ancient wood and shuts her up.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Philomela is described as pale, trembling, dreading everything, and asking
where her sister is.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Tereus violates Philomela by force while she calls on her father, sister,
and the gods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Philomela denounces Tereus for confounding family and marriage bonds and says
he has made her the supplanter of her sister.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Philomela threatens to declare Tereus's deeds publicly, or, if imprisoned
in the woods, to fill the woods and move the rocks with her complaint.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Tereus draws his sword, seizes Philomela by the hair, bends her arms behind
her back, and compels her to submit to chains.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Tereus cuts out Philomela's tongue while she is trying to speak and calling
on her father.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: The severed tongue is described as quivering on the dark earth like the tail
of a mangled snake.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: Tereus returns to Progne and falsely tells her that Philomela is dead.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: Progne puts on black garments, sets up an honorary sepulchre, offers expiation
to an imaginary shade, and laments her sister.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Pandion
description: Father who entrusts Philomela to Tereus and asks for her return.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Philomela
description: Daughter of Pandion taken on the ship, imprisoned in the woods, violated,
and mutilated by Tereus.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tereus
description: Pandion's son-in-law who transports Philomela, imprisons her, violates
her, cuts out her tongue, and deceives Progne.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Progne
description: Philomela's sister and Tereus's wife, who is falsely told that Philomela
is dead and mourns her.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Gods above / Heaven
description: Divine witnesses invoked by Pandion and Philomela.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: entrusting father
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pandion tearfully commits Philomela to Tereus's protection and asks for her
quick return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: entrusted daughter
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Philomela is given to Tereus's care with instructions to return to her father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: imprisoned and silenced victim
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She is shut in a concealed woodland dwelling, assaulted, chained, and has
her tongue cut out.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: affinal guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Tereus receives Philomela from Pandion as a son-in-law charged to protect
her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: captor and violator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He takes Philomela away, imprisons her, violates her, and mutilates her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: deceiver
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He tells Progne a fictitious story of Philomela's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: deceived mourner
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Progne believes Tereus's false report and performs mourning rites for Philomela.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: invoked divine witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Pandion appeals to the gods in entrusting Philomela, and Philomela calls
on Heaven and the gods to hear her complaint.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: painted ship and sea voyage
literal_form: painted ship, oars, sea, land left behind
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: concealed woodland dwelling
literal_form: lofty dwelling concealed in an ancient wood
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: right hands joined as pledge
literal_form: right hands of Tereus and Philomela joined by Pandion
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: ravenous bird and hare simile
literal_form: bird of Jupiter with crooked talons holding a hare in its nest
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: wounded lamb, wolf, and bloodied dove similes
literal_form: frightened lamb snatched from a wolf; dove with blood-soaked feathers
dreading talons
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: severed tongue like mangled snake
literal_form: cut-out tongue quivering on black earth like the tail of a mangled
snake
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: imaginary sepulchre and shade
literal_form: honorary sepulchre and imaginary shade for Philomela
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Pandion's farewell and pledge
summary: Pandion tearfully entrusts Philomela to Tereus, asks for her protection
and return, joins their hands, and sends greetings to his absent daughter and
grandson.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Voyage and predatory desire
summary: Philomela is taken aboard a ship; once the land is behind them, Tereus
exults that he has obtained the object of his desire and is likened to a predatory
bird watching a captive hare.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Concealed imprisonment and violation
summary: On his own shore Tereus takes Philomela into a hidden dwelling in an ancient
wood, shuts her up, and violates her as she calls on her family and the gods.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Philomela's denunciation and threat to testify
summary: Philomela denounces Tereus for violating kinship and marriage bonds and
declares that she will reveal the crime to people or to the woods, rocks, Heaven,
and the gods.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Mutilation and enforced silence
summary: Tereus binds Philomela and cuts out her tongue; the tongue is described
as quivering on the dark ground like a mangled snake's tail.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: False death report and mourning rites
summary: Tereus returns to Progne, falsely reports Philomela's death, and Progne
puts on mourning garments, erects a sepulchre, offers expiation, and laments her
sister.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: entrusted woman abducted by her guardian
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Philomela is entrusted by her father to Tereus, but he treats her as the
object of his desire, carries her away, imprisons her, and violates her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy label is approximate because the passage emphasizes predatory
abduction and violation rather than reciprocal beloved status.
- id: motif:2
label: silencing of a witness through mutilation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After Philomela threatens to reveal the crime, Tereus binds her and cuts
out her tongue to prevent speech.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this motif.
- id: motif:3
label: false death report leading to mistaken mourning rites
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Tereus tells Progne that Philomela has died, and Progne mourns, erects a
sepulchre, and offers rites for an imaginary shade.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level narrative pattern without a supplied taxonomy
reference.
- id: motif:4
label: appeal to divine witnesses for future satisfaction
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Philomela invokes Heaven and the gods and declares that Tereus will one day
give satisfaction if the gods behold these things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage contains an appeal and expectation of satisfaction, but no
divine judgment is enacted within this passage.
- id: motif:5
label: predator-prey imagery for captive victim
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Tereus and Philomela are described through images of a bird holding a hare,
a wolf and lamb, a bloodied dove, and a mangled snake-like tongue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is an imagery pattern rather than a narrative event motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10199-10218
quote_or_summary: Pandion tearfully commits Philomela to Tereus, asks him to protect
her and return her soon, joins their right hands as a pledge, and says farewell
with foreboding.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10218-10228
quote_or_summary: After Philomela is placed on the painted ship and the land is
left behind, Tereus exults that the object of his desires is with him and is compared
to Jupiter's bird holding a hare in its nest.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10228-10240
quote_or_summary: At his own shore Tereus drags Philomela into a lofty dwelling
hidden in an ancient wood, shuts her up, violates her by force, and she calls
on her father, sister, and the gods; similes compare her to a lamb and dove escaping
predators.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 10240-10259
quote_or_summary: Philomela denounces Tereus, says he has made her the supplanter
of her sister and husband of both, wishes for death before the crime, and threatens
to proclaim his deeds to people, woods, rocks, Heaven, and the gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 10260-10270
quote_or_summary: Tereus, angered and afraid, draws his sword, seizes Philomela,
binds her, cuts out her tongue as she tries to speak and calls on her father,
and the severed tongue quivers like a mangled snake's tail.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 10271-10275
quote_or_summary: Tereus returns to Progne, falsely reports Philomela's death, and
Progne puts on black garments, erects a sepulchre, offers expiation to an imaginary
shade, and laments.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is strong from the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy mapping
is limited because several clear patterns in the passage do not have direct supplied
taxonomy labels. No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does
not support comparison beyond its own imagery and events.
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: |-
Extraction uses only the provided passage and metadata; no external plot continuation or later transformation episodes are included.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg__l10199-l10275
passage_sha256=a17ae4d32cbcecf20215e3bd369b7d7221b1818a51b967adf89f677c0d85b3b3