batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l3556-l3606
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l3556-l3606
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SECOND. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3556-3606
start: '3556'
end: '3606'
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: Sea gods grant a request. The daughter of Saturn travels through the liquid
air in a chariot drawn by newly tinted peacocks. The narrator recalls a raven
formerly white but changed to black because of its chattering tongue. Coronis
of Larissa is described as beautiful and pleasing to the Delphian god while chaste;
the bird of Phoebus discovers her infidelity and flies to report it, while a crow
follows and warns that the errand is fruitless.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The gods of the sea grant a request to a female figure referred to as the
daughter of Saturn.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The daughter of Saturn enters the liquid air in a graceful chariot with variegated
peacocks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The peacocks are described as recently tinted after the killing of Argus.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: A garrulous raven is said to have been transformed suddenly into a black-winged
bird, though it had previously been white.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The raven formerly had a silver hue and snow-white feathers comparable to
spotless doves, watchful geese, and a swan.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The raven’s tongue and chattering are given as the cause of its disgrace and
reversal from white to black.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Coronis of Larissa is described as the most beautiful woman in Hæmonia.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Coronis pleased the Delphian god while she remained chaste or free from remark.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The bird of Phoebus discovers Coronis’s infidelity and flies to disclose the
hidden offence to his master.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: A prattling crow follows the bird of Phoebus, asks about the journey, and
warns him not to despise the presages of her voice.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Gods of the sea
description: Divine beings who grant the request at the opening of the passage.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Daughter of Saturn
description: Female divine figure who enters the liquid air in a chariot with variegated
peacocks.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Peacocks
description: Variegated birds drawing or accompanying the daughter of Saturn’s chariot,
described as recently tinted after Argus was killed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Argus
description: Figure whose killing is connected with the recent tinting of the peacocks.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Garrulous raven
description: Bird formerly white or silver-hued, transformed into black wings because
of its chattering tongue.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Coronis
description: Larissæan woman described as exceptionally beautiful and as pleasing
the Delphian god while chaste.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Delphian God / Phoebus
description: Divine figure pleased by Coronis and master of the bird that discovers
her infidelity.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Bird of Phoebus
description: Bird who discovers Coronis’s infidelity and flies to tell his master.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Prattling crow
description: Crow who follows the bird of Phoebus and warns him that his errand
is fruitless.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: request-granting sea gods
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They grant the request at the beginning of the passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: divine chariot rider
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She enters the liquid air in a chariot with peacocks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: newly tinted chariot birds
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The peacocks are variegated and described as lately tinted.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: slain figure linked to bird coloration
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The peacocks’ tinting is linked to the killing of Argus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: transformed bird
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The raven is said to have changed from white to black wings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: disgraced talker
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Its tongue and chattering are identified as the cause of its disgrace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: beautiful Larissæan woman
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Coronis is described as unsurpassed in beauty in Hæmonia.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: beloved of a god while chaste
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: She pleased the Delphian god while she remained chaste or unremarked upon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: divine lover and master
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Delphian god is pleased by Coronis and is master of the informing bird.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: informer bird
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The bird discovers Coronis’s infidelity and flies to disclose it to his master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:11
label: warning crow
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The crow follows and warns that the errand is fruitless.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: graceful chariot
literal_form: Chariot traveling through the liquid air with variegated peacocks.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: variegated peacocks
literal_form: Peacocks described as recently tinted after Argus was killed.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: black wings
literal_form: Black wings of the raven after transformation.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: white feathers
literal_form: The raven’s former silver hue and snow-white feathers.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: chattering tongue
literal_form: The raven’s tongue, named as the cause of disgrace.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: hidden offence
literal_form: Coronis’s infidelity discovered by the bird of Phoebus.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: presaging voice
literal_form: The crow’s voice, whose presages she tells the other bird not to despise.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sea gods grant request and divine chariot flight
summary: The gods of the sea grant a request, and the daughter of Saturn enters
the liquid air in her chariot with variegated peacocks.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Raven changed from white to black
summary: The narrator describes a formerly white, silver-hued raven whose chattering
tongue caused its disgrace and transformation into black wings.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Coronis discovered and reported
summary: Coronis, beloved by the Delphian god while chaste, is discovered in infidelity
by the bird of Phoebus, who flies to report the hidden offence to his master.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Crow warns the informer
summary: A prattling crow follows the bird of Phoebus, asks about his errand, and
warns him that the journey is fruitless and that her presaging voice should not
be despised.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: bird transformed through speech-related fault
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The raven is said to have been transformed from white to black, and its chattering
tongue is named as the cause of its disgrace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives the transformation and cause but not the full narrative
circumstances in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: divine beloved whose infidelity is discovered
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: Coronis pleases the Delphian god while chaste, and the bird of Phoebus discovers
her infidelity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt does not include the consequences for Coronis or the full
divine relationship.
- id: motif:3
label: animal informer carrying hidden knowledge to a divine master
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The bird of Phoebus discovers a hidden offence and flies to disclose it to
his master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: No specific taxonomy reference is available for this animal-informer pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: warning voice ignored or at risk of being ignored
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The crow warns the bird of Phoebus that his errand is fruitless and tells
him not to despise the presages of her voice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage records the warning but not whether it is heeded in this excerpt.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3556-3562
quote_or_summary: Sea gods grant a request; the daughter of Saturn enters the liquid
air in a graceful chariot with variegated peacocks, described as lately tinted
after Argus was killed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3562-3564
quote_or_summary: The raven is addressed as garrulous and said to have been suddenly
transformed into a black-winged bird, though formerly white.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3564-3568
quote_or_summary: The raven was formerly silver-hued, with snow-white feathers,
and is compared with spotless doves, watchful geese, and a swan.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 3568-3570
quote_or_summary: "“His tongue was the cause of his disgrace; his chattering tongue
being the cause” that white became the reverse of white."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3572-3574
quote_or_summary: Coronis of Larissa is described as most beautiful in Hæmonia and
as pleasing the Delphian god while chaste or not the object of remark.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3574-3577
quote_or_summary: The bird of Phoebus discovers Coronis’s infidelity and flies to
his master to disclose the hidden offence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 3577-3580
quote_or_summary: A prattling crow follows, asks the reason for the journey, and
says the errand is fruitless, warning him not to despise her voice’s presages.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are conservative;
several full narrative consequences lie outside the excerpt.
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: |-
Footnotes in the supplied passage were used only to clarify locators and wording where directly relevant; no external identifications beyond the passage were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg__l3556-l3606
passage_sha256=8628174e28a3a7cb2f15e404f0dc8874377678560fe9b94dac71cd8a7aeb8a46