batch.motif.greek-roman-berens-myths-legends-gutenberg-l7785-l7884
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-roman-berens-myths-legends-gutenberg-l7785-l7884
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
passage_locator:
label: THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE. / PELOPS. / HERACLES (HERCULES).;
lines 7785-7884
start: '7785'
end: '7884'
translation: Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'The passage recounts several labours of Heracles: capturing Artemis’s
horned hind alive; pursuing and capturing the Erymantian boar after a violent
encounter with Centaurs that leads to the deaths of Chiron and Pholus; cleansing
Augeas’s stables by diverting rivers; driving off the Stymphalian birds with Athena’s
brazen clappers and arrows; and introducing the next labour, the Cretan bull.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Heracles is ordered to bring the horned hind Cerunitis alive to Mycenae.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The hind is sacred to Artemis and has golden antlers and brass hoofs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Heracles pursues the hind for a year, wounds it with an arrow, carries it,
and appeases Artemis, who permits him to take it alive to Mycenae.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Eurystheus orders Heracles to bring the Erymantian boar alive to Mycenae.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The Erymantian boar has devastated Erymantia and troubled the surrounding
neighborhood.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Pholus receives Heracles hospitably, but opening the shared wine attracts
armed Centaurs.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Heracles drives back Centaurs with fire-brands and pursues them with arrows
to Chiron’s cave.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: A poisoned arrow wounds Chiron, whose immortal nature would otherwise make
his suffering endless; death is sent by the gods at Heracles’ intercession.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Pholus is fatally wounded when an arrow he is examining falls on his foot;
Heracles buries him with honors.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Heracles drives the boar into snow-drifts, tires it, binds it with a rope,
and brings it alive to Mycenae.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Heracles offers to cleanse Augeas’s stables in one day in exchange for a tenth
of the herds, and Augeas accepts before Phyleus.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Heracles diverts the Peneus and Alpheus through the stables by digging a trench,
and the waters carry away the accumulated filth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Augeas refuses the promised reward after learning that the cleansing is one
of Eurystheus’s labours, and he banishes Heracles and Phyleus.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The Stymphalides are immense birds of prey whose wing-feathers are sharp as
arrows, and they destroy men and cattle near Lake Stymphalis.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:15
text: Athena gives Heracles brazen clappers made by Hephaestus; their noise frightens
the birds into the air, where Heracles shoots many and drives away the rest.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:16
text: The passage introduces the seventh labour as the capture of the Cretan bull.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Heracles
description: Hero performing labours imposed by Eurystheus, including capturing
animals, fighting Centaurs, cleansing stables, and driving away birds.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Horned hind Cerunitis
description: A hind sacred to Artemis, with golden antlers and brass hoofs, to be
brought alive to Mycenae.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Artemis
description: Goddess to whom the hind is sacred; she reproves Heracles for wounding
it and later permits him to take it alive.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Phoebus-Apollo
description: Artemis’s brother, encountered with her by Heracles while he carries
the hind.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Eurystheus
description: The imposer of Heracles’ tasks in this passage.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Erymantian boar
description: A destructive boar that lays waste to Erymantia and is captured alive
by Heracles.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Pholus
description: A Centaur who hospitably receives Heracles and later dies after being
wounded by an arrow.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Centaurs
description: A group attracted by the wine’s odor, armed with rocks and fir-trees,
and driven back by Heracles.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Chiron
description: A kind old Centaur, friend and former teacher of Heracles, wounded
by a poisoned arrow and released from suffering by death sent by the gods.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Augeas
description: King of Elis, owner of great herds and stables, who accepts Heracles’
proposed reward but later refuses it.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Phyleus
description: Son of Augeas, present as witness to the bargain and banished with
Heracles.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Stymphalides
description: Immense birds of prey near Lake Stymphalis, with feathers sharp as
arrows, causing destruction among men and cattle.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Pallas-Athene
description: Divine figure who gives Heracles brazen clappers to help him attack
the Stymphalides.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Hephaestus
description: Maker of the brazen clappers given to Heracles by Athena.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Cretan bull
description: Animal named as the object of the seventh labour of Heracles.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: labouring hero
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Heracles performs the tasks described as his labours.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:11
- ev:13
- id: role:2
label: sacred quarry captured alive
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hind is sacred to Artemis and is the quarry that must be brought alive
to Mycenae.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: offended divine owner or patron
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Artemis reproves Heracles for wounding her favorite hind and then permits
its removal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: task-imposing ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The tasks are imposed or commanded by Eurystheus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:5
label: destructive animal captured alive
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The boar devastates Erymantia and is captured alive for Mycenae.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: hospitable host and accidental victim
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Pholus hosts Heracles generously and later dies from an arrow wound.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: armed attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The Centaurs arrive armed with rocks and fir-trees and are driven back by
Heracles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: immortal wounded teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Chiron is identified as Heracles’ friend and source of healing knowledge;
his immortal suffering is ended by death from the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: king who refuses payment
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Augeas accepts the agreement but refuses the promised reward after the labour
is done.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: witness and banished son
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Phyleus witnesses the agreement and is banished with Heracles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: monstrous destructive birds
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The Stymphalides are birds of prey with weapon-like feathers that destroy
men and cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:12
label: divine helper
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Athena gives Heracles an instrument that enables the attack on the birds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:13
label: divine maker
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: Hephaestus is named as the maker of the brazen clappers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:14
label: future captured animal
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: The Cretan bull is named as the object of the next labour.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: golden antlers and brass hoofs
literal_form: The horned hind’s golden antlers and hoofs of brass.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: poisoned arrow
literal_form: Arrows or darts poisoned with Hydra venom that wound Chiron and Pholus.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: fire-brands
literal_form: Fire-brands used by Heracles to drive back the Centaurs.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: cave of Chiron
literal_form: The cave where the Centaurs take refuge and where Chiron is wounded.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: rivers Peneus and Alpheus
literal_form: The river waters diverted through the stables to sweep away filth.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:6
label: brazen clappers
literal_form: A gigantic pair of brazen clappers made by Hephaestus and given by
Athena to Heracles.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:13
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:7
label: feathers sharp as arrows
literal_form: The Stymphalides’ wing-feathers, described as sharp as arrows.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:8
label: snow-drifts on the mountain summit
literal_form: Deep snow-drifts covering the summit of the mountain where the boar
is driven and tired.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Capture of the horned hind
summary: Heracles pursues the sacred hind for a year, wounds it to secure it, encounters
Artemis and Apollo, appeases Artemis, and takes the hind alive to Mycenae.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Hospitality, wine, and battle with Centaurs
summary: Pholus receives Heracles and opens communal wine for him; the odor draws
armed Centaurs, whom Heracles drives off with fire-brands and arrows.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Deaths of Chiron and Pholus
summary: A poisoned arrow wounds Chiron in his cave, and death is sent to end his
suffering; Pholus later dies after an arrow he examines wounds his foot, and Heracles
buries him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Capture of the Erymantian boar
summary: Heracles drives the boar from thickets into snow-drifts, exhausts it, binds
it, and brings it alive to Mycenae.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Cleansing of Augeas’s stables
summary: Heracles bargains with Augeas, diverts two rivers through the stables to
remove filth, and is later refused payment and banished with Phyleus.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:6
label: Driving away the Stymphalides
summary: Athena gives Heracles brazen clappers made by Hephaestus; the noise startles
the destructive birds into flight, and Heracles kills many with arrows while the
rest flee.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: scene:7
label: Introduction of the Cretan bull labour
summary: The passage names the capture of the Cretan bull as Heracles’ seventh labour.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:15
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: capture of a sacred animal alive
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Heracles must bring the hind sacred to Artemis alive to Mycenae, and the
episode turns on pursuit, wounding, divine reproach, appeasement, and permission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a specific animal-capture or impossible-task
category; the mystical quest reference is broad.
- id: motif:2
label: destructive beast captured alive after pursuit
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Erymantian boar devastates a region and is captured alive only after
Heracles drives it into snow, tires it, and binds it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No more specific available taxonomy reference is supplied for heroic capture
of a ravaging animal.
- id: motif:3
label: hospitality breached by opening restricted communal substance
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Pholus hosts Heracles, but the shared wine is opened outside the normal communal
rule, drawing Centaurs and leading to violence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states a communal rule and its exception, but does not explicitly
frame the wine as sacred.
- id: motif:4
label: poisoned weapon causes unintended death of allies
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Heracles’ poisoned arrows wound Chiron and Pholus, producing grief and death
rather than a straightforward victory over enemies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local narrative pattern within the episode; no broader taxonomy
reference is asserted.
- id: motif:5
label: death as release from immortal suffering
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Because Chiron is immortal, his incurable poisoned wound would cause endless
suffering until death is sent by the gods at Heracles’ intercession.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not describe rebirth or afterlife consequences.
- id: motif:6
label: cleansing pollution by diverted rivers
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Heracles cleanses the accumulated filth of Augeas’s stables by channeling
the Peneus and Alpheus through them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: No specific available taxonomy reference corresponds to hydraulic cleansing
of pollution.
- id: motif:7
label: broken reward agreement after impossible task
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Augeas promises a tenth of the herds for cleansing the stables, but refuses
payment after the task is performed and banishes Heracles and Phyleus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is contractual and royal, not explicitly sacred; taxonomy
reference is therefore broad.
- id: motif:8
label: divine helper supplies a crafted instrument against monsters
taxonomy_refs:
- culture_hero
basis: Athena gives Heracles brazen clappers made by Hephaestus; using them enables
him to defeat or drive off the destructive Stymphalides.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The culture-hero reference is broad; the passage specifically presents
divine aid in a heroic labour.
- id: motif:9
label: monstrous birds with weapon-like feathers
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Stymphalides are described as immense birds of prey whose feathers are
sharp as arrows and who destroy men and cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: No specific available taxonomy reference is supplied for weapon-feathered
birds.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Stymphalides episode is explicitly linked in the passage to their earlier
appearance in the legend of the Argonauts, supporting comparison as the same named
creature motif within the surrounding Greek mythic corpus.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Stymphalides in the legend of the Argonauts
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage only mentions the prior Argonauts context briefly and does
not recount the earlier episode here.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7785-7788
quote_or_summary: The third labour is to bring the horned hind Cerunitis alive to
Mycenae; it is sacred to Artemis and has golden antlers and brass hoofs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7790-7799
quote_or_summary: Heracles pursues the hind for a year, wounds it to secure it,
carries it through Arcadia, is reproved by Artemis in Apollo’s presence, appeases
her, and receives permission to take it alive to Mycenae.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7801-7805
quote_or_summary: Eurystheus orders Heracles to bring the Erymantian boar alive
to Mycenae; the boar has laid waste to Erymantia and its neighborhood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7807-7818
quote_or_summary: Pholus gives Heracles food and shelter; Heracles persuades him
to open wine that belongs to all Centaurs, and the odor attracts many Centaurs
armed with rocks and fir-trees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 7818-7832
quote_or_summary: Heracles drives back the Centaurs with fire-brands and arrows;
they take refuge in Chiron’s cave, where a poisoned dart wounds Chiron, whose
immortal suffering is ended by death from the gods at Heracles’ intercession.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 7834-7840
quote_or_summary: Pholus dies when an arrow he has extracted and is examining falls
on his foot; Heracles grieves and buries him with honors.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 7842-7846
quote_or_summary: Heracles drives the boar into mountain snow-drifts, exhausts it
by pursuit, binds it with a rope, and brings it alive to Mycenae.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 7850-7858
quote_or_summary: Eurystheus commands Heracles to cleanse Augeas’s stables in one
day; Augeas, rich in cattle, agrees before Phyleus to give Heracles a tenth of
the herds if he succeeds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 7860-7863
quote_or_summary: Heracles digs a trench and conducts the streams of the Peneus
and Alpheus through the stables, sweeping away the accumulated filth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 7865-7870
quote_or_summary: Augeas refuses the promised reward after learning the cleansing
was one of Eurystheus’s labours; Heracles appeals to court and calls Phyleus as
witness, but Augeas banishes both before the verdict.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 7872-7877
quote_or_summary: The sixth task is to chase away the Stymphalides, immense birds
of prey also noted from the Argonauts legend; their wing-feathers are sharp as
arrows and they destroy men and cattle near Lake Stymphalis.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 7879-7883
quote_or_summary: Athena appears and gives Heracles gigantic brazen clappers made
by Hephaestus; from a hill he rattles them, causing the birds to rise in terror,
then shoots many and the rest flee permanently.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: line 7884
quote_or_summary: The seventh labour is introduced as the capture of the Cretan
bull.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage clearly identifies figures, actions, and sequences. Motif taxonomy
mapping is less certain where the available taxonomy lacks specific categories
for heroic animal capture, impossible tasks, or monstrous birds.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to the provided lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-roman-berens-myths-legends-gutenberg__l7785-l7884
passage_sha256=4698f2c54bdc692bf96396b62a02bb03a47eb5c16226cd7dbceece04b8066a59