batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l2323-l2391
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l2323-l2391
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2323-2391
start: '2323'
end: '2391'
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: Hercules hears his wife as Nessus carries her off, shoots Nessus with a
poisoned arrow, and Nessus uses his poisoned blood to give Deianira a garment
as a deceptive love-charm. Later, Rumour tells Deianira that Hercules loves Iole;
Deianira sends the blood-dyed garment by Lichas to restore Hercules' love. Hercules
wears it while sacrificing to Jupiter, and the heated poison spreads over his
body, causing extreme torment. He appeals to the Daughter of Saturn and asks for
death as relief.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Hercules reaches the bank, takes up his bow, recognizes his wife's voice,
and addresses Nessus as a ravisher and two-shaped monster.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Hercules shoots Nessus in the back with an arrow, and the barbed steel protrudes
from Nessus' breast.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: When the arrow is removed, blood flows from Nessus' wounds mixed with Lernaean
poison.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Nessus says to himself that he will not die unrevenged and gives a warm blood-dyed
garment to Deianira as though it were an incentive to love.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: After a long interval, Hercules returns victorious from Oechalia and prepares
a vowed sacrifice to Cenean Jupiter.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Personified Rumour reports to Deianira that Hercules is in love with Iole.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Deianira believes the report, weeps, considers various responses, and contemplates
desperate action against her rival.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Deianira chooses to send the garment dyed with Nessus' blood in order to restore
Hercules' declining love.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Deianira gives the fatal gift to Lichas, who delivers it to Hercules; Hercules
receives it in ignorance and puts it on his shoulders.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Hercules offers frankincense, prayer, and wine at marble altars while flames
rise.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The poison becomes heated by the flames and spreads over Hercules' limbs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Hercules' pain overcomes his endurance; he pushes down the altars, cries out
on woody Oeta, and tries to tear off the garment, which tears away his skin or
exposes his limbs and bones.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Hercules' blood hisses and boils with burning poison; he raises his hands
toward the stars and addresses the Daughter of Saturn, asking for relief through
death.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hercules / son of Amphitryon / hero
description: The husband of Deianira, archer against Nessus, victor from Oechalia,
and sufferer from the poisoned garment during sacrifice.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Nessus
description: A two-shaped monster addressed as a ravisher; he carries off Deianira,
is shot by Hercules, and gives a blood-dyed garment as revenge.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Deianira
description: Hercules' wife; she receives Nessus' garment and later sends it to
Hercules after hearing Rumour's report about Iole.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lichas
description: The unsuspecting bearer to whom Deianira gives the garment for delivery
to Hercules.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Iole
description: The woman whom Rumour says Hercules loves, perceived by Deianira as
a rival.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Rumour
description: A personified report that adds false things to truth and reaches Deianira
with news about Hercules and Iole.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Cenean Jupiter
description: The deity to whom Hercules prepares a vowed sacrifice.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Daughter of Saturn / step-mother
description: A cruel goddess and step-mother whom Hercules addresses during his
torment.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: husband and avenging archer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hercules hears his wife, addresses Nessus as a ravisher, and overtakes him
with an arrow rather than on foot.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: abductor or ravisher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Nessus is described as preparing to rob Hercules of what had been entrusted
to him, and Hercules calls him a ravisher.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: dying revenger and deceptive giver
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After being wounded, Nessus says he will not die unrevenged and gives Deianira
a blood-dyed garment as if it were a love incentive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: jealous wife and sender of fatal gift
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Deianira believes Rumour's report, fears a rival, and sends the garment to
restore Hercules' love, not knowing what she gives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: unsuspecting messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Lichas receives the garment from Deianira and is to deliver it to Hercules.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: reported rival
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Rumour reports that Hercules is passionate for Iole, and Deianira treats
her as a rival.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: personified rumor-bearer
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Rumour is personified as running before to Deianira's ears and enlarging
truth with lies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: tormented sacrificial performer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hercules wears the garment while offering incense, prayer, and wine, then
suffers the heated poison.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: recipient of vowed sacrifice
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Hercules prepares a sacrifice vowed to Cenean Jupiter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: divine addressee in suffering
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The passage mentions the hatred of Hercules' step-mother, and Hercules addresses
the Daughter of Saturn during his anguish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: river crossing
literal_form: stream or river bank crossed by Hercules
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: bow and poisoned arrow
literal_form: bow and arrow with barbed steel that pierces Nessus
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: poisoned blood
literal_form: blood from Nessus' wounds mingled with Lernaean poison
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: blood-dyed garment
literal_form: garment dyed in warm blood, later called a fatal gift
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: sacrificial flames and altars
literal_form: rising flames, frankincense, wine, and marble altars during sacrifice
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: burning poison
literal_form: venom of the Lernaean Echidna that warms, spreads, hisses, and boils
on Hercules' body
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: stars of heaven
literal_form: stars toward which Hercules lifts his hands while speaking
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Nessus' attempted abduction and wounding
summary: At the river, Hercules hears Deianira, identifies Nessus as a ravisher,
and wounds him with an arrow as Nessus flees.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Nessus' revenge gift
summary: Dying from the arrow wound, Nessus mixes his blood with poison and gives
Deianira a blood-dyed garment under the appearance of a love charm.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Rumour and Deianira's fear of Iole
summary: Long afterward, Rumour reaches Deianira with a report that Hercules loves
Iole; Deianira weeps and debates how to respond to the perceived rival.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Sending the fatal garment
summary: Deianira sends the blood-dyed garment through Lichas to restore Hercules'
love, and Hercules receives it without knowing its danger.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Sacrifice and torment on Oeta
summary: While Hercules sacrifices to Jupiter, the flames activate the poison in
the garment; Hercules' body is torn and burned, and he appeals to the Daughter
of Saturn for release through death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: attempted abduction of the wife or beloved
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Nessus is described as preparing to carry off Hercules' wife and is addressed
as a ravisher.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents an attempted carrying-off rather than a completed
long-term abduction.
- id: motif:2
label: revenge through a deceptive love gift
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Nessus resolves not to die unrevenged and gives Deianira a blood-dyed garment
as though it were an incentive to love; Deianira later sends it to Hercules to
restore love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference precisely names the poisoned garment or
fatal love-charm pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: fatal gift delivered by an unsuspecting messenger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Deianira, not knowing what she gives, entrusts the fatal garment to unsuspecting
Lichas for delivery to Hercules.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The messenger role is literal, but the broader motif label is inferred
from the sequence.
- id: motif:4
label: sacrifice interrupted by destructive fire and poison
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Hercules is performing a vowed sacrifice when the sacrificial flames heat
the poison in the garment and cause his torment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The sacrifice is a setting for the catastrophe; the passage does not frame
the suffering itself as a sacrificial offering.
- id: motif:5
label: appeal to hostile divinity for death as relief
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: In extreme agony, Hercules addresses the Daughter of Saturn and says that
death would be a gain to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage supplies an appeal and accusation, but no divine response
appears within the selected lines.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2323-2335
quote_or_summary: Hercules reaches the bank, takes up his bow, hears his wife's
voice, calls Nessus a ravisher and two-shaped monster, and shoots him with an
arrow as he flees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2335-2341
quote_or_summary: Nessus' blood flows from both wounds mixed with Lernaean poison;
saying he will not die unrevenged, he gives Deianira a garment dyed in warm blood
as though it were a love incentive.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2342-2351
quote_or_summary: After much time, Hercules returns victorious from Oechalia and
prepares a vowed sacrifice to Cenean Jupiter; Rumour reports to Deianira that
he loves Iole.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2351-2363
quote_or_summary: Deianira believes the report, weeps, fears her rival, debates
whether to complain, leave, stay, or commit a desperate act against the rival.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2364-2371
quote_or_summary: Deianira sends the garment dyed with Nessus' blood to restore
Hercules' love, gives the fatal gift to unsuspecting Lichas, and Hercules unknowingly
puts the venomous garment on his shoulders.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2371-2381
quote_or_summary: Hercules offers incense, prayer, and wine at the altars; the poison
is heated by the flames, spreads over his limbs, and the garment tears away his
skin when he tries to remove it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2381-2391
quote_or_summary: Hercules' blood hisses and boils with burning poison; he raises
his hands to the stars, addresses the Daughter of Saturn, and asks that death
end his agonies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The main narrative sequence and figures are explicit in the passage. Motif
labels beyond the available taxonomy, especially fatal love-gift and divine appeal,
are descriptive and should be reviewed.
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 comparison claims were added because the supplied passage does not itself make a cross-textual or tradition-level comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg__l2323-l2391
passage_sha256=2d3e273df1a7e9c72d5d51a95d94ac37f4d6c89e6df8568c478ea0baf60abd10