batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l10987-l11030
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l10987-l11030
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 10987-11030
start: '10987'
end: '11030'
translation: The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A group formerly altered into animal form is restored by plant juices,
an inverted wand, and reverse charms. They embrace their chief in gratitude. The
narrator says he remained there for a year and heard from one of Circe's ritual
handmaids about a venerated marble statue of a youth with a woodpecker on its
head in a sacred temple.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The first-person group is sprinkled with juices from harmless plants.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The group is struck on the head by an inverted wand while reverse charms are
spoken.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: As the charms continue, the group rises upright from the ground and loses
bristles and cloven-foot features.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The group's shoulders and arms return to human arrangement.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: The restored group embraces its chief, who is also in tears, and expresses
gratitude before speaking further.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The narrator remains there for a year and reports seeing and hearing many
things.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: One of four handmaids appointed for rites privately informs the narrator about
a matter concerning Circe.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: A snow-white marble statue of a youth carries a woodpecker on its head and
stands in a hallowed temple decorated with chaplets.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The handmaid tells Macareus that the story will show the power of her mistress.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Macareus and the restored companions
description: The first-person plural group, including the narrator addressed as
Macareus, is restored from a bristled, cloven-footed form to human bodily features.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Circe
description: The female mistress associated with the wand, charms, rites, and later
private time with the group's chief.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: The chief
description: The leader of the restored group; he is embraced by the companions
and is described as weeping.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: One of four ritual handmaids
description: A handmaid appointed for rites who privately tells Macareus about the
statue and introduces a story concerning her mistress's power.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Youth represented by the marble statue
description: A youthful figure represented in snow-white marble, bearing a woodpecker
on its head and venerated in a sacred temple.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: restored transformed subjects
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They lose animal features and regain human shoulders and arms after the ritual
actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: enchantress or ritual mistress
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage links her wand and charms to the transformation's reversal, and
her handmaid calls attention to her power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: chief of the companions
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The restored group embraces the figure called their chief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: ritual attendant and informant
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: She is one of four handmaids appointed for rites and privately informs Macareus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: venerated temple image
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The youth appears as a statue in a hallowed temple, decorated with chaplets
and explicitly venerated.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: harmless plant juices
literal_form: Juices of harmless plants used in the restoration rite
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: inverted wand
literal_form: A wand held or used inverted to strike the head
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: reverse charms
literal_form: Charms described as the converse of previously uttered charms
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: woodpecker on statue's head
literal_form: A woodpecker carried on the head of a youthful marble statue
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: hallowed temple with chaplets
literal_form: Sacred temple setting with chaplets decorating the statue
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Restoration from animal form
summary: The group is sprinkled with plant juices, struck with an inverted wand,
and restored by reverse charms from bristled and cloven-footed animal traits to
upright human form.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Grateful reunion with the chief
summary: After restoration, the companions embrace their weeping chief and express
gratitude.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Handmaid introduces the temple statue
summary: During the narrator's year-long stay, a ritual handmaid points out a white
marble statue of a youth with a woodpecker in a hallowed temple and begins to
explain its connection with her mistress's power.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Reversal of animal transformation by counter-magic
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The passage describes a group losing bristles and cloven-foot traits and
regaining human posture and limbs through plant substances, an inverted wand,
and reverse charms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage excerpt shows restoration rather than the original transformation
event.
- id: motif:2
label: Ritual restoration through plant, wand, and spoken formula
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: 'The restoration occurs through a sequence of ritual elements: plant juices,
a wand-blow, and repeated charms opposite to earlier charms.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches this ritual complex beyond
its relation to transformation.
- id: motif:3
label: Venerated cult image with animal attribute
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A youthful marble statue with a woodpecker on its head is placed in a hallowed
temple, decorated with chaplets, and described as venerated.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The identity and story behind the statue are only introduced, not narrated
within this excerpt.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The editorial footnotes connect this Circe-related passage with Homeric Odyssey
material, especially Book 10's Moly plant and a differing count of companions.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Homer, Odyssey Book 10 Circe and Moly episode
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is supported by the passage's footnotes, not by a full
parallel analysis within the excerpt itself.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10987-10994
quote_or_summary: The group is sprinkled with harmless plant juices, struck on the
head with an inverted wand, and restored as reverse charms are chanted; bristles
and cloven-foot features vanish and human shoulders and arms return.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10994-10996
quote_or_summary: The restored group tearfully embraces its chief and indicates
gratitude before speaking further.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10997-11002
quote_or_summary: The narrator says a year detained him there and that one of four
handmaids appointed for rites privately informed him while Circe was apart with
his chief.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 11002-11010
quote_or_summary: The handmaid points out a snow-white marble statue of a youth
carrying a woodpecker on its head, set in a hallowed temple and adorned with chaplets;
she tells Macareus to learn the power of her mistress.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: note
locator: footnote 24, lines 11016-11019
quote_or_summary: The note says Homer gives a different number for the companions,
mentioning Eurylochus and twenty-two others.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: note
locator: footnote 26, lines 11022-11025
quote_or_summary: The note says Homer, in the tenth book of the Odyssey, describes
the plant Moly as having a black root and a milk-like flower.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Core narrative extraction is direct. Motif labels are cautious because the
excerpt includes restoration and an introduced statue story rather than the full
surrounding narrative. The comparison claim relies on editorial footnotes included
in the supplied passage.
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: |-
No figures or statue identity beyond names and labels present in the supplied passage have been inferred.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg__l10987-l11030
passage_sha256=f1871dfd7e850ccdafdbbcd898268042ec3c799ebf9b5e068084b2eae62a809d