batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l4687-l4786
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l4687-l4786
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4687-4786
start: '4687'
end: '4786'
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: Actaeon, in stag form, is pursued over difficult terrain by his own hunting
dogs. Unable to speak his identity, he is wounded, surrounded, and torn apart
while his human companions unknowingly call for him and urge the pack on. The
passage states that Diana's rage is not satisfied until Actaeon dies from many
wounds. Editorial footnotes add genealogical and comparative comments, including
a note on water sprinkling before transformation and a reported Lucianic variant
about Diana releasing the dogs after Actaeon saw her naked.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A pack pursues its prey over rocks, cliffs, crags, steep paths, and places
without a road.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Actaeon flees along routes where he had often pursued prey before.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Actaeon wishes to cry out that he is Actaeon and the dogs' master, but words
fail him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Named dogs wound Actaeon on the back and shoulder before the rest of the pack
arrives.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The dogs fasten their teeth into Actaeon's body, leaving no room for more
wounds.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Actaeon groans with a sound described as neither properly human nor properly
stag-like.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Actaeon bends his knees, looks suppliant, and turns silent looks as though
they were arms.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Actaeon's companions do not recognize him, urge on the dogs, and call out
Actaeon's name as if he were absent.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Actaeon turns his head when he hears his name.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The dogs tear their master apart while he is under the form of an imaginary
stag.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The passage says Diana's rage is not satiated until Actaeon's life ends by
many wounds.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: An editorial footnote describes ceremonial sprinkling before transformation
by offended goddesses and compares it with an episode from the Arabian Nights.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: An editorial footnote reports that Lucian has Juno say Diana let loose Actaeon's
dogs after he saw Diana naked.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Actaeon
description: The master of the dogs, in stag form, fleeing and then killed by his
own pack.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Actaeon's dog pack
description: The hunting pack described as Actaeon's own servants; named dogs include
Melanchaetes, Theridamas, and Oresitrophus.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Actaeon's companions
description: Human companions who do not recognize Actaeon and urge on the dogs
while calling his name.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Diana
description: The quiver-bearing goddess whose rage is said to be satisfied only
when Actaeon dies; a footnote reports a Lucianic statement that she released the
dogs after Actaeon saw her naked.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: transformed hunted master
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Actaeon flees his own servants, cannot identify himself in speech, and is
torn apart under stag form.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: attacking former servants
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The dogs are called Actaeon's own servants and then wound, bite, and tear
apart their master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: ignorant companions
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The companions urge on the pack and call Actaeon's name as though he were
absent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: divine punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage attributes the completed death to the unsatisfied rage of quiver-bearing
Diana.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: stag form
literal_form: Actaeon is described as being under the form of an imaginary stag.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: dog pack
literal_form: A pack of hunting dogs, including named dogs, bites and tears its
master.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: rocky mountain terrain
literal_form: Rocks, cliffs, crags, steep paths, a hill, and well-known mountains
frame the chase and attack.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: failed human speech
literal_form: Actaeon wishes to announce his identity, but words are wanting; he
can only groan.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: ceremonial water sprinkling
literal_form: An editorial footnote refers to ceremonial sprinkling before transformation.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Flight over difficult terrain
summary: Actaeon flees before the pack across rocky, steep, roadless ground that
he had previously used while hunting.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Failed self-identification
summary: Actaeon wants to tell the dogs that he is their master, but he cannot form
the words and hears only barking.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: The pack wounds and surrounds Actaeon
summary: Named dogs begin the attack, the rest of the pack arrives, and the dogs
bite Actaeon's body while he groans and kneels in supplication.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Companions call for the absent Actaeon
summary: Actaeon's companions, unaware of his stag form, call his name and urge
the dogs on, while Actaeon reacts to hearing his name.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Death under stag form and Diana's satiation
summary: The dogs tear their master apart in stag form, and the passage states that
Diana's rage is not satisfied until his life ends by many wounds.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Editorial comparison of sprinkling and transformation
summary: A footnote comments on ceremonial sprinkling as a visible material agency
before transformation and compares classical offended goddesses with Arabian Nights
enchantresses.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Hunter becomes hunted by his own hounds
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Actaeon, who had often pursued along the same routes, flees from his own
servants and is torn apart by his own dogs while under stag form.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage excerpt presupposes the earlier transformation rather than
narrating it in full.
- id: motif:2
label: Divine punishment completed through animal attack
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The narrative connects Actaeon's many-wound death with the rage of quiver-bearing
Diana being satisfied.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The immediate cause of Diana's anger is supplied only indirectly in the
included footnote, not in the main narrative excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: Loss of speech prevents recognition after transformation
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Actaeon wishes to identify himself as master, but cannot speak; his companions
call his name without recognizing him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes the failed communication but does not explicitly
analyze it as a recognition motif.
- id: motif:4
label: Water sprinkling as agency of transformation
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The editorial footnote states that ceremonial sprinkling before transformation
is present in the classical mythological material and compares it to another supernatural
transformation episode.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This motif is drawn from an editorial note rather than the narrative lines
of Actaeon's death.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The editorial note presents ceremonial sprinkling as serving a similar functional
role in classical transformation stories and in an Arabian Nights episode involving
Beder under Queen Labè.
claim_level: same_function
target: 'Arabian Nights’ Entertainments: Beder and Queen Labè transformation episode'
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is made by the translator-editor in a footnote; it does
not establish historical contact or a shared source.
- id: claim:2
claim: The footnote reports a nearby literary variant in Lucian in which Diana lets
loose Actaeon's dogs after he sees her naked.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Lucianic version of Actaeon and Diana
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage provides only a brief reported statement of Lucian's version,
not the full text or context.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4687-4692
quote_or_summary: The pack pursues over rocks, cliffs, crags, steep paths, and roadless
ground, while Actaeon flees along routes where he had often pursued prey.
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: quote
locator: lines 4692-4696
quote_or_summary: "“I am Actæon, recognize your own master.” Words are wanting to
his wishes; the air resounds with their barking."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4696-4702
quote_or_summary: Melanchaetes wounds Actaeon's back, Theridamas follows, Oresitrophus
fastens on his shoulder, and the rest of the pack arrives and bites his body.
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 4702-4706
quote_or_summary: Actaeon groans with a sound unlike a man and unlike a stag, fills
the mountains with moans, bends his knees, and looks suppliant.
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 4707-4714
quote_or_summary: The companions unknowingly urge on the pack, look for Actaeon,
call his name as if he were absent, and Actaeon turns his head at the name.
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 4714-4718
quote_or_summary: The dogs gather around, bury their jaws in Actaeon's body, tear
their master apart under stag form, and Diana's rage is said not to be satisfied
until his death by many wounds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: footnote 25, lines 4775-4784
quote_or_summary: The note discusses ceremonial sprinkling before transformation
by offended goddesses and compares it with enchantresses in the Arabian Nights,
specifically Beder under Queen Labè.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: footnote 26, lines 4785-4786
quote_or_summary: The note reports that Lucian has Juno say Diana let loose Actaeon's
dogs because he had seen Diana naked.
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: medium
notes: The main Actaeon death scene is explicit. Some transformation-related motifs
rely on the passage's reference to stag form and on editorial footnotes rather
than on a full narrated transformation within this 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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to provided motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg__l4687-l4786
passage_sha256=071bf92f2b50ee0e5c81bdc637fa5d9bf2bc80f9cec42ea92796fb0ec6a5cd34