batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l9235-l9321
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg-l9235-l9321
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRTEENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines
9235-9321
start: '9235'
end: '9321'
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: On the Thracian shore, Achilles appears from the ground as a shade and
demands that Polyxena be slain to honor his tomb. The Greeks lead Polyxena from
her mother to Achilles' tomb, where she speaks calmly, asks to die free and untouched
by male hands, and requests that her body be returned to her mother. Neoptolemus
stands with a sword, and the reluctant priest kills her. Trojan women and Hecuba
mourn her; Hecuba laments that Achilles' ashes and tomb still harm Priam's family
and that she is left alive to see further losses.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Greek fleet is moored on the Thracian shore while the men wait for calm
sea and favorable wind.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Achilles rises from the ground as a shade and addresses the Greeks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Achilles says the Greeks are departing without remembering him and demands
that Polyxena be slain to appease his ghost and honor his sepulchre.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Polyxena is taken from her mother's presence and led to the tomb, becoming
a sacrifice at Achilles' pile.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: At the altar, Polyxena sees Neoptolemus standing with a sword and looking
at her.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Polyxena bares her throat and breast and says there will be no resistance
to the use of her blood.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Polyxena asks that she go to the Stygian shades as a free woman, that male
hands be withheld from touching a virgin, and that her body be returned unconsumed
to her mother.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The people weep; the priest also weeps and is reluctant while killing Polyxena
with steel.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Polyxena falls while keeping an undaunted countenance and attempts to preserve
her modesty as she dies.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The Trojan matrons receive Polyxena and lament the children of Priam and the
losses of one house.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Hecuba embraces Polyxena's body, pours tears into the wounds, kisses her,
beats her breast, and trails her grey hair in the blood.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Hecuba says Achilles has destroyed many of her children and that even his
buried ashes rage against her family.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Hecuba says Polyxena has made atonement at an enemy's tomb and calls the sacrifices
atoning sacrifices for an enemy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Achilles
description: A dead warrior appearing as a shade from the ground; he demands that
Polyxena be killed to appease his ghost and honor his sepulchre.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Polyxena
description: The daughter of king Priam, described as noble, unfortunate, a virgin,
and more than an ordinary woman; she is sacrificed at Achilles' tomb.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Neoptolemus
description: A man standing by Polyxena at the altar, holding a sword and looking
at her face.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Priest
description: The priest who weeps, is reluctant, and kills Polyxena with steel.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Hecuba
description: Polyxena's mother, formerly royal, now captive and bereaved; she mourns
over Polyxena's body and laments her family's losses.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Trojan matrons
description: Women who receive Polyxena's body and lament the losses of Priam's
house.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Greeks
description: The companions who obey Achilles' shade and lead Polyxena to the tomb.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: demanding shade
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Achilles appears from the ground as a dead figure and speaks a demand to
the departing Greeks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: posthumous enemy
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Hecuba says Achilles remains an enemy in the tomb and that his ashes rage
against her family.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: sacrificial victim
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Polyxena is led to Achilles' tomb and killed as an appeasing sacrifice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: role:4
label: royal daughter and captive petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Polyxena identifies herself as Priam's daughter rather than merely a captive
and makes final requests before death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: armed executioner figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Neoptolemus stands by Polyxena at the altar wielding a sword.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: reluctant officiant
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The priest weeps, is reluctant, and performs the killing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: bereaved mother
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Hecuba embraces Polyxena's body, laments her death, and speaks as her mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: mourner
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Hecuba and the Trojan matrons lament Polyxena and the losses of Priam's family.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: obedient companions
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Greeks obey Achilles' implacable shade and bring Polyxena to the tomb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tomb of Achilles
literal_form: sepulchre, tomb, and funeral pile of Achilles
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:2
label: shade of Achilles
literal_form: dead Achilles rising from the ground and speaking
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: cruel altar
literal_form: altar at which Polyxena sees the rites being prepared
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: sword or piercing steel
literal_form: weapon held by Neoptolemus and steel used by the priest
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: blood and wounds
literal_form: Polyxena's blood, wound, and blood into which Hecuba trails her hair
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: sym:6
label: Stygian shades
literal_form: the realm or condition to which Polyxena says she will go after death
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: tears for burial
literal_form: tears requested by Polyxena as the means by which her mother should
obtain a sepulchre for her
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Achilles' shade demands honor
summary: While the Greek fleet waits on the Thracian shore, Achilles rises from
the ground as a shade and demands that Polyxena be killed so his tomb will not
lack honor.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Polyxena brought to the tomb
summary: The Greeks obey Achilles' shade, take Polyxena from her mother, and lead
her to Achilles' tomb and funeral pile as a sacrifice.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Polyxena's final speech at the altar
summary: At the altar, Polyxena sees Neoptolemus with a sword, offers her throat
and breast, refuses slavery, asks to die free and untouched, and requests that
her body be returned to her mother.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Sacrificial killing
summary: The people and priest weep; the reluctant priest kills Polyxena, who keeps
her composure and modesty while dying.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Trojan mourning and Hecuba's lament
summary: Trojan women receive Polyxena's body and mourn the house of Priam. Hecuba
embraces the body, pours tears into the wounds, and laments that Achilles' ashes
still harm her family through an atoning sacrifice at his tomb.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Human sacrifice to appease a dead hero's ghost
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Achilles' shade demands that Polyxena be killed to appease his ghost and
honor his sepulchre, and Hecuba later calls the death an atoning sacrifice at
an enemy's tomb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the act as a sacrifice to a dead hero rather than
directly to a deity.
- id: motif:2
label: Dead warrior returns as a demanding shade
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Achilles rises from the ground after death, appears with his former threatening
bearing, and speaks to the Greeks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes a ghostly appearance, not a full resurrection or
bodily return to life.
- id: motif:3
label: Captive royal woman preserves dignity before death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Polyxena identifies herself as Priam's daughter, refuses servile degradation,
offers no resistance, requests a free woman's death, and maintains composure and
modesty as she dies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches this pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: Bereaved mother laments last child and ruined house
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hecuba mourns Polyxena as her daughter and last affliction, recalls the deaths
of her children and the fall of Troy, and laments her survival into captivity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is a lament pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy motif family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 9235-9236
quote_or_summary: The son of Atreus has moored his fleet on the Thracian shore until
the sea calms and the wind becomes favorable.
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: 9236-9244
quote_or_summary: Achilles rises from the ground like a threatening figure and asks
whether the Greeks are departing without remembering him; he demands that Polyxena
be slain to appease his ghost and honor his sepulchre.
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: 9244-9249
quote_or_summary: The companions obey Achilles' implacable shade; Polyxena is torn
from her mother's bosom, led to the tomb, and becomes a sacrifice at his ruthless
pile.
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: 9250-9257
quote_or_summary: At the cruel altar, Polyxena sees the rites prepared and Neoptolemus
standing with his sword; she says to use her blood quickly, offers no resistance,
and bares her throat and breast.
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: 9257-9273
quote_or_summary: Polyxena says she will not endure slavery, wishes her death could
be hidden from her mother, asks to go to the Stygian shades as a free woman without
male hands touching a virgin, and asks that her unconsumed body be returned to
her mother for burial with tears rather than gold.
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: 9274-9282
quote_or_summary: The people weep though Polyxena does not; the reluctant priest
weeps and kills her with steel; she falls on failing knees, keeps an undaunted
face, and tries to preserve her modesty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 9282-9291
quote_or_summary: The Trojan matrons receive Polyxena, count the children of Priam
whom they have had to mourn, and lament the losses of Priam's house and Hecuba's
reduced state.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 9291-9297
quote_or_summary: Hecuba embraces Polyxena's soulless body, pours tears into the
wounds, kisses her, beats her breast, trails her grey hair in clotted blood, and
begins her lament.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 9298-9312
quote_or_summary: Hecuba laments that Achilles ruined Troy and bereaved her, that
even after his death he remained dreadful, and that his buried ashes rage against
her family as an enemy in the tomb.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 9312-9321
quote_or_summary: Hecuba says Polyxena, who had alleviated her sorrows, has made
atonement at the tomb of the enemy; she calls such deaths atoning sacrifices for
an enemy and asks why old age and the gods preserve her to see fresh deaths.
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: Extraction is based on the supplied passage only. Motif labels are limited
to patterns directly present in the passage; no cross-text comparison claims are
made.
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 external taxonomy IDs beyond the supplied available motif family references were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-8-15-riley-gutenberg__l9235-l9321
passage_sha256=0f2c821b429535cd96cccd026d440c7d7ba4c766b9ad4248ef96ecb2be869db0