batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l504-l600
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l504-l600
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK XIII. / BOOK XIV. / BOOK XV. / BOOK THE EIGHTH.; lines 504-600
start: '504'
end: '600'
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: Scylla enters her father Nisus’s chamber at night, cuts off his fatal purple
lock, and brings it to Minos as a pledge of love and as the life of her father.
Minos rejects the gift and refuses to bring her to Crete. Scylla laments her isolation
and betrayal, then leaps into the sea to follow his ships. Nisus, newly transformed
into a sea eagle, tries to attack her; she is supported by feathers and transformed
into the bird called Ciris.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Night falls, and Scylla silently enters her father’s chamber while sleep has
come over the household.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Scylla cuts off and takes her father’s fatal lock, described as a purple lock
and as the spoil of her impiety.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Scylla goes through the enemy to Minos and says that love urged the deed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Scylla offers Minos the purple lock as a pledge of love and says it represents
the life of her father.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Minos refuses the offered lock, calls Scylla a reproach and monster, and says
he will not allow her into Crete.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Minos orders his fleet’s cables loosened and the ships rowed away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Scylla, seeing the ships depart without the reward she expected, laments that
she cannot return to her country, father, or fellow-citizens.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Scylla declares that she will follow Minos and cling to the ship’s stern through
the sea.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Scylla leaps into the waves, follows the ships, and clings to the Gnossian
ship, with Cupid giving her strength.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Nisus, her father, has recently become a tawny-winged sea eagle and attempts
to tear Scylla with his beak.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Scylla lets go of the stern in fear, is supported by feathers, and is changed
into a bird called Ciris.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Scylla
description: Royal daughter of Nisus who steals her father’s fatal lock, offers
it to Minos, pursues his ship, and is changed into the bird Ciris.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Nisus
description: Scylla’s father, whose life is associated with the fatal lock; he is
later described as newly made into a tawny-winged sea eagle.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Minos
description: The king to whom Scylla brings the lock; he refuses the gift, rejects
Scylla, and departs by ship.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cupid
description: Cupid gives Scylla strength as she leaps into the waves and follows
the ships.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: daughter
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage identifies Scylla as the daughter of Nisus and says she despoils
her father of the lock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: betrayer of father and country
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Scylla delivers the fortunes of her country and her own to Minos and treats
the lock as her father’s life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: transformed bird
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Scylla is supported by feathers and changed into a bird called Ciris.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: father whose fatal lock is stolen
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Nisus is Scylla’s father, and the passage presents the lock as fatal and
as his life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: transformed sea eagle
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Nisus is said to hover in the air, lately made a sea eagle with tawny wings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: rejected recipient of treacherous gift
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Minos refuses the lock Scylla holds out to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: departing king
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Minos orders the fleet to depart and Scylla addresses him as he flees by
ship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: divine strength-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Cupid is explicitly said to give Scylla strength as she follows the ships.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fatal purple lock
literal_form: A purple lock of hair cut from Nisus and presented to Minos.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: sea and waves
literal_form: The sea and waves through which Scylla pursues the departing ships.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: ship stern
literal_form: The crooked stern of the Gnossian ship that Scylla grasps and from
which she later lets go.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: feathers and bird form
literal_form: Feathers support Scylla as she falls, and she becomes the bird Ciris.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: sea eagle form
literal_form: Nisus’s tawny-winged sea eagle form with crooked beak.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Night theft of Nisus’s lock
summary: At night, Scylla enters her father’s chamber and cuts off his fatal lock.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Offer to Minos and rejection
summary: Scylla brings the lock to Minos as a pledge of love and as her father’s
life, but Minos refuses it and rejects her entrance into Crete.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Lament beside the departing fleet
summary: Scylla laments that Minos has abandoned her and that her own country, father,
and fellow-citizens are closed to her after her betrayal.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Pursuit through the sea
summary: Scylla leaps into the waves, follows the ships with Cupid’s help, and clings
to the Gnossian ship.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Transformation into Ciris
summary: Nisus, already changed into a sea eagle, attacks Scylla; she releases the
stern, is supported by feathers, and becomes the bird Ciris.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: theft of a life-bearing token
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: Scylla secretly cuts off Nisus’s fatal lock, which she later describes as
the life of her father, and gives it to Minos.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy label is broader than the passage; the text presents the
lock as fatal and life-bearing but does not explicitly call it sacred.
- id: motif:2
label: human transformation into birds
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Nisus is described as recently made a sea eagle, and Scylla is transformed
into the bird Ciris.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states the transformations but gives little explanation of
their cause beyond the immediate pursuit and fear.
- id: motif:3
label: rejected treacherous exchange for love
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Scylla offers the lock and the fortunes of her country in exchange for Minos
himself, but Minos refuses and departs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is explicitly framed as love and reward, not as a formally
sacred transaction.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 504-511
quote_or_summary: At night Scylla silently enters her father’s chamber and takes
his fatal lock, described as the prize of crime and spoil of impiety.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 511-518
quote_or_summary: Scylla goes to Minos, identifies herself as the royal child of
Nisus, delivers her country’s fortunes, asks for Minos himself, and offers the
purple lock as her father’s life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 518-527
quote_or_summary: Minos refuses the gift, denounces Scylla, says earth and sea should
be denied to her, refuses her entry into Crete, and orders the fleet to sail.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 528-570
quote_or_summary: Scylla laments Minos’s flight, says her country, father, fellow-citizens,
and neighbors are closed to her, calls the deed both crime and service to Minos,
and declares she will follow his stern through the seas.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 571-575
quote_or_summary: Scylla leaps into the waves, follows the ships with strength from
Cupid, and clings as an unwelcome companion to the Gnossian ship.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 575-580
quote_or_summary: Nisus, lately made a tawny-winged sea eagle, tries to tear Scylla
with his beak; she lets go, is supported by feathers, and is changed into the
bird Ciris, named from cutting the lock.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The main narrative actions and transformations are explicit. Motif taxonomy
assignments are cautious, especially where available labels are broader than the
passage language. No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does
not explicitly support a cross-text comparison.
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: |-
Footnotes included in the supplied passage after this excerpt were not used except where directly relevant to the narrated passage; no unsupported external comparisons were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg__l504-l600
passage_sha256=c216459aa769d59a12581b4a398cbc3c6d9cb42745fc853dd7cb08e4908d881c