batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l9743-l9815
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l9743-l9815
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SIXTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 9743-9815
start: '9743'
end: '9815'
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: Still did she weep on... she dissolves; and even yet does the marble distil
tears.
summary: A grieving woman is carried by a mighty wind to her native land, becomes
fixed on a mountain top, dissolves into marble, and the marble is said still to
shed tears. Notes identify the mountain as Mount Sipylus and describe a rock there
resembling a sorrowful female figure.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The female figure continues weeping before being carried away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A mighty wind envelops her and bears her to her native land.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: She is fixed on the top of a mountain and dissolves.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The marble continues to distil tears.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: A note identifies the mountain as Mount Sipylus and says a summit rock resembled
a sorrowful female figure from a distance.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: A note says Latona fled from the serpent Python and gave birth to Apollo and
Diana on Delos.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: A note says Tantalus, father of Niobe, was accused of divulging the secrets
of the gods.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Niobe
description: A grieving woman implied by the notes to be Niobe; she is borne to
her native land and becomes marble that sheds tears.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Latona
description: Mentioned in a note as fleeing from the serpent Python and being in
labor with Apollo and Diana.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Python
description: A serpent said in a note to have been sent against Latona by Juno.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Apollo and Diana
description: Children of Latona, named in a note concerning Latona's labor on Delos.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Tantalus
description: Identified in notes as the father of Niobe and accused of divulging
divine secrets.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: mourning transformed figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She continues weeping, is carried away, and becomes marble that sheds tears.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: daughter of Tantalus
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: A note identifies Tantalus as the father of Niobe.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: fleeing mother in labor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: A note says Latona fled Python and was in labor with Apollo and Diana.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: pursuing serpent
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: A note identifies Python as the serpent sent against Latona.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: children born to Latona
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: A note names Apollo and Diana in connection with Latona's labor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: father of Niobe
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Notes identify Tantalus as Niobe's father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: revealer of divine secrets
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: A note says Tantalus was accused of divulging the secrets of the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mountain top
literal_form: top of a mountain; Mount Sipylus
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: weeping marble
literal_form: marble that distils tears
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: mighty wind
literal_form: hurricane of mighty wind
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: serpent Python
literal_form: serpent Python
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: Delos as appearing island
literal_form: Delos, formerly floating, becoming immovable and rising to the surface
of the sea
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Niobe borne to the mountain and turned to marble
summary: The weeping figure is carried by wind to her native land, fixed on a mountain
top, transformed into marble, and the marble is said still to shed tears.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Latona, Python, and Delos in explanatory note
summary: A note recounts that Latona fled the serpent Python, Delos became immovable
for her childbirth, and Apollo and Diana were born there.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: mourner transformed into enduring stone
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The passage describes a weeping figure becoming fixed on a mountain and changing
into marble that continues to shed tears.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The supplied taxonomy lacks a more specific petrification or metamorphosis-into-stone
category; 'shapeshifter' is used broadly for bodily transformation.
- id: motif:2
label: serpent pursuit of divine mother
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
- sacred_birth
basis: The explanatory note says Latona fled the serpent Python while in labor with
Apollo and Diana, and Delos became immovable for the birth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: This is contained in a footnote explaining an allusion rather than in
the main narrative lines.
- id: motif:3
label: forbidden disclosure of divine secrets
taxonomy_refs:
- forbidden_knowledge
basis: A note says Tantalus was accused of indiscreetly divulging the secrets of
the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief explanatory note, not a narrative episode.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The note links the story of Niobe's transformation with a visible rock on
Mount Sipylus that resembles a sorrowful female figure.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: rock on the summit of Mount Sipylus resembling a sorrowful female figure
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim is based on the translator's explanatory note and concerns
visual resemblance, not independent evidence for historical origin.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 9743-9745
quote_or_summary: '"Still did she weep on... she dissolves; and even yet does the
marble distil tears."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short excerpt used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 9808-9815, footnote 44
quote_or_summary: Footnote identifies the mountain as Mount Sipylus and says Pausanias
reports a summit rock resembling a sorrowful female figure, with the resemblance
said to persist.
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 9769-9779, footnote 37
quote_or_summary: Footnote says Latona fled the serpent Python sent by Juno; Delos
became immovable for Latona's labor with Apollo and Diana and was associated with
rising visibly from the sea.
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: summary
locator: lines 9780-9783, footnote 38
quote_or_summary: Footnote says Tantalus, father of Niobe, was accused of indiscreetly
divulging the secrets of the gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 9746-9748, footnote 31
quote_or_summary: Footnote identifies Tantalus as Niobe's father and king of both
Phrygia and Lydia.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The main narrative is brief and much of the additional material comes from
explanatory footnotes. Motif labels using the supplied taxonomy are approximate
where no exact petrification category exists.
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 provided passage and metadata were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg__l9743-l9815
passage_sha256=80a6433e07bad790c2fba68cb7fb05a6955eb9672dd754ae5cb0ecc7790e0e6d