batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l2844-l2893
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l2844-l2893
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SECOND.; lines 2844-2893
start: '2844'
end: '2893'
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: As Phaëton’s uncontrolled solar chariot passes too near the earth, clouds
smoke, elevated regions and mountains catch fire, cities and nations burn, and
many rivers, springs, lakes, and lands are dried, scorched, or set aflame. Phaëton
is surrounded by heat, smoke, ashes, and darkness and is carried along by the
winged horses. The passage also gives etiological notes for the dark hue of the
Æthiopians, the dryness of Libya, and the hidden head of the Nile.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Moon notices that her brother’s horses run lower than her own.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Clouds are scorched and emit smoke.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Elevated regions, trees, grass, corn, cities, nations, woods, and mountains
are burned or dried by flames.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Many named mountains, including Athos, Taurus, Ætna, Parnassus, Olympus, the
Alps, and the Apennines, burn.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Phaëton sees the world on fire on every side and cannot endure the heat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Phaëton’s chariot catches fire, and he is surrounded by ashes, embers, smoke,
and darkness.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The winged steeds carry Phaëton along while he does not know where he is going.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The passage says the Æthiopians acquired their black hue at this time.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Libya is made dry when its moisture is carried off by heat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Nymphs lament springs and lakes with dishevelled hair.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: Many rivers smoke, burn, boil, melt their gold, dry up, or lose their streams.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: The Nile flees to remote parts of the earth, hides his head, and leaves seven
mouths empty of stream.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Moon
description: A celestial figure who wonders that her brother’s horses run lower
than her own.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Phaëton
description: The chariot rider who sees the world burning, cannot endure the heat,
and is carried away by the winged steeds.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Winged steeds
description: The horses that carry Phaëton onward while he is lost in smoke and
darkness.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Nymphs
description: Female figures who lament the springs and lakes with dishevelled hair.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Nile
description: A personified river that flees, hides his head, and leaves seven mouths
empty.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: celestial observer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Moon is described as wondering at the lower path of her brother’s horses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: overwhelmed chariot rider
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Phaëton sees the world burning, suffers heat and smoke, and loses his way.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: runaway conveyers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The winged steeds carry Phaëton along at their pleasure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: lamenters of waters
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Nymphs lament the damaged springs and lakes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: fleeing river
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Nile flees, hides his head, and leaves its mouths empty.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire
literal_form: Flames, scorching heat, embers, and burning regions
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: mountains on fire
literal_form: Named mountains burning, including Athos, Taurus, Ætna, Parnassus,
Olympus, the Alps, and the Apennines
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: drying and burning waters
literal_form: Springs, lakes, and rivers that smoke, burn, boil, flee, or dry up
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: solar chariot in danger
literal_form: Phaëton’s chariot, itself catching fire amid heat, ashes, embers,
smoke, and darkness
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Earth and mountains burn
summary: The passage describes scorched clouds, dried regions, burned vegetation,
destroyed cities and nations, and many named mountains catching fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Phaëton lost in smoke and heat
summary: Phaëton sees the world burning, feels furnace-like heat, discovers his
chariot is on fire, and is carried onward by the winged steeds while surrounded
by smoke and darkness.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Lands and waters are altered by heat
summary: The passage attributes the dark hue of the Æthiopians and the dryness of
Libya to the heat, while Nymphs lament waters and many rivers smoke, boil, burn,
or dry up.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: world-consuming fire
taxonomy_refs:
- world_destroying_fire
basis: The passage repeatedly describes the world, cities, nations, forests, mountains,
lands, and waters being burned, scorched, boiled, or dried by excessive celestial
heat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is an episode within Phaëton’s myth and does not by itself
describe the final destruction of the entire cosmos.
- id: motif:2
label: waters dried by cosmic heat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Springs, lakes, rivers, and the Nile are described as lamented, smoking,
burning, boiling, fleeing, or becoming empty channels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No specific available taxonomy reference exactly matches this water-drying
pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: runaway celestial vehicle causing disaster
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Phaëton’s chariot catches fire and he is carried by winged steeds while unable
to control his direction amid worldwide burning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The wider narrative context may clarify the vehicle and its cause, but
this extraction uses only the supplied passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2844-2852
quote_or_summary: The Moon observes her brother’s horses running lower; scorched
clouds smoke; elevated regions split into chasms, lose moisture, and vegetation
burns; cities and nations perish in flames.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2852-2869
quote_or_summary: Woods and mountains burn; a long catalogue of named mountains
and regions, including Athos, Taurus, Ætna, Parnassus, Olympus, the Alps, and
the Apennines, is described as on fire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2870-2879
quote_or_summary: Phaëton sees the world burning on all sides, breathes scorching
air, perceives his chariot on fire, is covered by ashes, embers, smoke, and darkness,
and is carried by winged steeds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2879-2886
quote_or_summary: The passage attributes the black hue of the Æthiopians to this
event, says Libya is dried by heat, and describes Nymphs lamenting springs and
lakes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2886-2891
quote_or_summary: Named rivers and waters, including Tanais, Peneus, Euphrates,
Orontes, Ganges, and others, smoke, burn, or are in flames; Alpheus boils and
Tagus’s gold melts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2891-2893
quote_or_summary: The Nile flees and hides his head, leaving seven mouths empty;
other rivers, including Hebrus, Strymon, Rhine, Rhone, Po, and Tiber, are dried
by the same fate.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage directly supports extraction of fire, mountain, and water imagery
and the world-burning motif. No passage-internal comparison to another corpus
is present, so comparison claims are omitted.
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 limited to the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg__l2844-l2893
passage_sha256=6ffc05c35b870e4602291412767d4d9ddf7e2e0df80fdff58caf843e8fd439b7