batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l297-l312
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l297-l312
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: THE METAMORPHOSES. / BOOK VIII. / BOOK IX. / BOOK X.; lines 297-312
start: '297'
end: '312'
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 Book X summary states that Hymenaeus attends nuptials including those
of Orpheus, followed by the bad omen of Eurydice's death and failed restoration.
Orpheus withdraws to mountain solitude, where trees gather at the sound of his
lyre. The summary then lists songs of abduction, divine beloveds, deaths, transformations
into plants, animals, stones, and a statue becoming a living woman.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Hymenaeus attends nuptials and then attends those of Orpheus.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The nuptials of Orpheus are associated with a bad omen.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Eurydice dies soon afterward and cannot be brought to life.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: In sorrow, Orpheus goes to solitary places in the mountains.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Trees flock around Orpheus at the sound of his lyre.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The pine is identified as a tree into which Atys has been changed.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: The cypress is identified as produced from the transformation of Cyparissus.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: Orpheus sings of the rape of Ganymede.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: Orpheus sings of Hyacinthus, beloved and slain by Apollo, being changed into
a flower.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:10
text: Orpheus sings of the Cerastae being transformed into bulls and the Propoetides
being changed into stones.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:11
text: Orpheus sings of Pygmalion's statue being changed into a living woman who
became the mother of Paphos.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:12
text: Orpheus sings that Myrrha, after incestuous intercourse with her father, was
changed into the myrrh tree.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: The passage says Venus relates the transformation of Hippomenes and Atalanta
into lions to Adonis.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:14
text: Adonis was transformed into an anemone.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hymenaeus
description: A figure who attends nuptials, including those of Orpheus.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Orpheus
description: Bridegroom of Eurydice; after her death he goes to mountain solitude
and draws trees with his lyre; he sings multiple transformation tales.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Eurydice
description: Orpheus's bride who dies soon after the nuptials and cannot be brought
to life.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Atys
description: A figure changed into a pine.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Cyparissus
description: A figure whose transformation produces the cypress.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Ganymede
description: A figure whose rape is sung by Orpheus.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hyacinthus
description: A figure beloved and slain by Apollo and changed into a flower.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Apollo
description: The figure who loved and slew Hyacinthus.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Cerastae
description: A group transformed into bulls.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Propoetides
description: A group changed into stones.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Pygmalion
description: Associated with a statue that becomes a living woman.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Pygmalion's statue / living woman
description: A statue changed into a living woman who became the mother of Paphos.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Paphos
description: Child of the woman who had been Pygmalion's statue.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Myrrha
description: A figure changed into the myrrh tree after incestuous intercourse with
her father.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Myrrha's father
description: The father with whom Myrrha had incestuous intercourse.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Adonis
description: A figure to whom Venus relates a transformation story; he is transformed
into an anemone.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Venus
description: A figure who relates the transformation of Hippomenes and Atalanta
into lions to Adonis.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: Hippomenes
description: A figure transformed into a lion.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:19
name_or_label: Atalanta
description: A figure transformed into a lion.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: attendant at nuptials
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hymenaeus attends nuptials and then those of Orpheus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: bereaved bridegroom
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Orpheus's nuptials are followed by Eurydice's death and his sorrow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: singer or narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:17
basis: Orpheus sings several tales; Venus relates a transformation tale to Adonis.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: dead beloved not restored to life
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Eurydice dies soon after the nuptials and cannot be brought to life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: transformed figure or group
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:12
- fig:14
- fig:16
- fig:18
- fig:19
basis: The passage lists these figures or groups as changed into plants, animals,
stones, or a living form.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: abducted figure
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage refers to the rape of Ganymede.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: beloved and slain youth
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Hyacinthus is described as beloved and slain by Apollo.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: divine lover and slayer
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Apollo is the figure who loved and slew Hyacinthus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: owner or maker associated with statue
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The passage refers to the statue of Pygmalion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:10
label: mother
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The living woman became the mother of Paphos.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:11
label: child
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Paphos is the child of the woman transformed from Pygmalion's statue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:12
label: incest partner named by kinship
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Myrrha's intercourse is described as incestuous and with her father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:13
label: recipient of narrated tale
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: Venus relates the transformation of Hippomenes and Atalanta to Adonis.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: nuptials with bad omen
literal_form: nuptials
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: mountain solitude
literal_form: mountains
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: lyre
literal_form: lyre
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: gathering trees
literal_form: trees
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: pine of Atys
literal_form: pine
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: cypress of Cyparissus
literal_form: cypress
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:7
label: flower of Hyacinthus
literal_form: flower
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:8
label: bull transformation
literal_form: bulls
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:9
label: stone transformation
literal_form: stones
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:10
label: animated statue
literal_form: statue changed into a living woman
associated_figures:
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:11
label: myrrh tree
literal_form: myrrh tree
associated_figures:
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:12
label: lion transformation
literal_form: lions
associated_figures:
- fig:18
- fig:19
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:13
label: anemone transformation
literal_form: anemone
associated_figures:
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Nuptials, bad omen, and Eurydice's death
summary: Hymenaeus attends Orpheus's nuptials, a bad omen is noted, and Eurydice
dies soon afterward without being brought back to life.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Orpheus in the mountains
summary: Orpheus goes in sorrow to mountain solitude, where trees gather around
him at the sound of his lyre, including trees linked to Atys and Cyparissus.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Orpheus's songs of abduction, beloveds, and transformations
summary: Orpheus sings a series of myths involving Ganymede, Hyacinthus, Cerastae,
Propoetides, Pygmalion's statue, Myrrha, Adonis, Hippomenes, and Atalanta.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:17
- fig:18
- fig:19
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
- sym:11
- sym:12
- sym:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Failed restoration of a dead beloved
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- stolen_beloved
basis: Eurydice dies after Orpheus's nuptials and cannot be brought to life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is a summary and does not describe the attempted recovery
in detail; 'stolen_beloved' is only loosely applicable through loss by death.
- id: motif:2
label: Mourning musician whose song moves nature
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: In sorrow, Orpheus goes to the mountains, and trees flock around him at the
sound of his lyre.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly names enchanted music or nature
responding to song.
- id: motif:3
label: Human transformation into trees
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Atys is changed into a pine, Cyparissus into a cypress, and Myrrha into the
myrrh tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: "'Shapeshifter' is used broadly for metamorphosis; the passage describes
transformations rather than voluntary shape-shifting."
- id: motif:4
label: Abduction of Ganymede
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Orpheus sings of the rape of Ganymede.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief catalog phrase and does not specify agents,
setting, or consequences.
- id: motif:5
label: Divine beloved slain and transformed into a flower
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
- death_rebirth
basis: Hyacinthus is described as beloved and slain by Apollo and then changed into
a flower.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage summarizes the tale without narrating the circumstances of
death or transformation.
- id: motif:6
label: Punitive or consequential transformation into animals or stones
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The Cerastae are transformed into bulls, the Propoetides into stones, and
Hippomenes and Atalanta into lions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not state the causes of the Cerastae, Propoetides, Hippomenes,
and Atalanta transformations in this excerpt.
- id: motif:7
label: Statue transformed into living woman
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: Pygmalion's statue is changed into a living woman who becomes the mother
of Paphos.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: "'Death_rebirth' is approximate because the passage concerns animation
of an inanimate statue rather than death followed by rebirth."
- id: motif:8
label: Incest followed by arboreal metamorphosis
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Myrrha is changed into the myrrh tree after incestuous intercourse with her
father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage provides the causal frame but not the detailed narrative.
- id: motif:9
label: Beloved youth transformed into an anemone
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
- death_rebirth
basis: Adonis is associated with Venus's narration and is transformed into an anemone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly state in this excerpt that Adonis is Venus's
beloved or that the transformation follows death, though the context names Venus
and the transformation.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 297-301
quote_or_summary: Hymenaeus attends nuptials and then those of Orpheus; a bad omen
follows, Eurydice dies soon after, and she cannot be brought to life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary based on supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 301-305
quote_or_summary: Orpheus, in sorrow, repairs to mountain solitudes; trees gather
around him at the sound of his lyre, including the pine linked to Atys and the
cypress linked to Cyparissus.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary based on supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 305-309
quote_or_summary: Orpheus sings of Ganymede's rape; Hyacinthus, beloved and slain
by Apollo, becoming a flower; the Cerastae becoming bulls; and the Propoetides
becoming stones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary based on supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 309-311
quote_or_summary: Orpheus sings of Pygmalion's statue, which was changed into a
living woman and became the mother of Paphos.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary based on supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 311-312
quote_or_summary: Orpheus sings of Myrrha changed into the myrrh tree after incest
with her father; Venus relates to Adonis the transformation of Hippomenes and
Atalanta into lions; Adonis becomes an anemone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary based on supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is a concise Book X overview rather than a full narrative; literal
extraction is strong, while motif labeling is sometimes approximate because many
tales are only listed.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Comparison claims are empty because the passage itself does not make cross-tradition comparisons.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg__l297-l312
passage_sha256=0b7e92905c4e171f263680db6fcc1a76026f1b2008789cfb1218a4e53708adf5