batch.motif.greek-roman-berens-myths-legends-gutenberg-l8727-l8823
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-roman-berens-myths-legends-gutenberg-l8727-l8823
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
passage_locator:
label: HERACLES (HERCULES). / BELLEROPHON. / THESEUS. / OEDIPUS.; lines 8727-8823
start: '8727'
end: '8823'
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 the Oedipus story: Laius and Jocaste try to destroy
their infant after an oracle predicts parricide; the child is rescued, named Oedipus,
and adopted by Polybus and Merope. Oedipus later hears a prophecy that he will
kill his father and marry his mother, avoids Corinth, unknowingly kills Laius,
solves the Sphinx''s riddle, becomes king of Thebes and husband of Jocaste, and
later learns the truth during a plague investigation. Jocaste hangs herself, Oedipus
blinds himself, and he leaves Thebes with Antigone, eventually finding refuge
at Colonus.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An oracle foretells that Laius will perish by the hand of his own son.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Laius, with Jocaste's consent, pierces and binds the infant's feet and orders
a servant to expose him on Mount Cithaeron.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The servant gives the infant to a shepherd of Polybus instead of leaving him
to die.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The shepherd names the child Oedipus because his feet are swollen and brings
him to Polybus and Merope, who adopt him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Oedipus consults Delphi and is told he is fated to kill his father and marry
his mother.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Oedipus avoids Corinth and, on the road to Boeotia, kills an old man in a
chariot without knowing that he is Laius, his father.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The Sphinx, sent by Hera as punishment to the Thebans, asks riddles and devours
those who fail to solve them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Creon promises the kingdom and Jocaste's hand to whoever solves a riddle of
the Sphinx.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Oedipus solves the Sphinx's riddle; the Sphinx casts herself into the abyss;
Oedipus becomes king of Thebes and husband of Jocaste.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: A pestilence afflicts Thebes, and an oracle says it will continue until the
land is purified of Laius's blood and his murderer punished.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: Tiresias declares that Oedipus murdered Laius, who was his father, and married
Laius's widow, who was Oedipus's mother.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: After the revelation, Oedipus blinds himself and Jocaste hangs herself.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:13
text: Oedipus leaves Thebes with Antigone and becomes a homeless outcast before
finding refuge in the grove of the Eumenides at Colonus.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Oedipus
description: Infant son of Laius and Jocaste, exposed on Mount Cithaeron, adopted
by Polybus and Merope, later king of Thebes, husband of Jocaste, self-blinded
exile.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Laius
description: King of Thebes, husband of Jocaste, father of Oedipus, and the old
man killed by Oedipus on the road.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:11
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Jocaste
description: Wife of Laius, mother of Oedipus, later wife of Oedipus; she hangs
herself after the revelation.
role_refs:
- role:9
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Servant of Laius and Jocaste
description: Entrusted with exposing the infant Oedipus, but gives him to a shepherd.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Shepherd of Polybus
description: Receives the infant, unbinds his feet, names him Oedipus, and brings
him to Polybus.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:11
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Polybus
description: King of Corinth who adopts Oedipus as his own son.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Merope
description: Wife of Polybus who helps adopt and raise Oedipus.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Sphinx
description: Monster sent by Hera, stationed outside Thebes, asking riddles and
killing those who fail.
role_refs:
- role:14
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Hera
description: Goddess who sends the Sphinx as punishment to the Thebans.
role_refs:
- role:16
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Creon
description: Brother of Jocaste who rules after Laius's death and offers kingship
and Jocaste's hand to the solver of the Sphinx's riddle.
role_refs:
- role:17
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Tiresias
description: Blind old seer who reveals Oedipus as the murderer of Laius and husband
of his own mother.
role_refs:
- role:18
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Antigone
description: Daughter of Oedipus who accompanies and tends him during exile.
role_refs:
- role:19
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Eteocles
description: Son of Oedipus and Jocaste.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Polynices
description: Son of Oedipus and Jocaste.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Ismene
description: Daughter of Oedipus and Jocaste.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
roles:
- id: role:1
label: exposed infant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Oedipus is ordered exposed on Mount Cithaeron as an infant.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: adopted child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Oedipus is taken to Polybus and adopted by Polybus and Merope.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: oracle seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Oedipus goes to Delphi to consult the oracle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: unwitting parricide
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Oedipus kills Laius without knowing Laius is his father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:11
- id: role:5
label: riddle solver and reward claimant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Oedipus solves the Sphinx's riddle and receives kingship and Jocaste.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: self-blinded exile
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After learning the truth, Oedipus blinds himself and leaves Thebes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: role:7
label: king and father threatened by prophecy
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Laius is king of Thebes and is warned he will die by his son's hand.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:8
label: victim of unwitting killing
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Laius is the old man killed by Oedipus on the road.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: mother and later wife of the same figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Tiresias states Jocaste is both Oedipus's mother and wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: suicide after revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Jocaste hangs herself after the truth is revealed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:11
label: disobedient exposure agent
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The servant does not expose the infant but entrusts him to a shepherd.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:12
label: rescuer and namer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The shepherd unbinds the infant's swollen feet, names him Oedipus, and carries
him to Polybus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:13
label: adoptive royal parent
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Polybus and Merope adopt Oedipus as their own son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:14
label: riddle-asking monster
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The Sphinx asks riddles and kills those who fail.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:15
label: defeated adversary
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: After Oedipus solves the riddle, the Sphinx throws herself into the abyss
and dies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:16
label: divine sender of punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Hera sends the Sphinx as punishment to Thebes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:17
label: royal reward proclaimer
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Creon promises kingship and Jocaste's hand to the riddle solver.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:18
label: prophetic revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Tiresias reveals Oedipus as Laius's murderer and Jocaste's son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:19
label: devoted companion in exile
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Antigone accompanies Oedipus and cares for him in exile.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Mount Cithaeron exposure place
literal_form: Mount Cithaeron
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:11
- id: sym:2
label: pierced and swollen feet
literal_form: Oedipus's pierced, bound, swollen feet
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: Delphic oracle
literal_form: oracle at Delphi and the Pythia's response
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: road encounter
literal_form: road leading to Boeotia, chariot, and heavy stick
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: Sphinx's riddle
literal_form: riddle taught by the Muses and posed by the Sphinx
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: sym:6
label: pestilence requiring purification
literal_form: grievous pestilence in Thebes and purification of Laius's blood
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: self-blinding
literal_form: Oedipus depriving himself of sight
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:8
label: grove of refuge
literal_form: grove of the Eumenides at Colonus
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Attempted destruction of the infant
summary: After an oracle predicts Laius's death by his son, Laius and Jocaste arrange
for the infant to be pierced, bound, and exposed on Mount Cithaeron.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Rescue and adoption
summary: The servant gives the infant to a shepherd, who unbinds him, names him
Oedipus, and brings him to Polybus and Merope for adoption.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Oracle avoidance and unwitting killing
summary: Oedipus consults Delphi, hears that he will kill his father and marry his
mother, avoids Corinth, and kills Laius on the road without knowing his identity.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Defeat of the Sphinx and royal reward
summary: The Sphinx threatens Thebes with fatal riddles; Creon promises kingship
and Jocaste to the solver; Oedipus solves the riddle and receives the reward.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Pestilence, investigation, and revelation
summary: A plague strikes Thebes; an oracle links it to the unpunished killer of
Laius; Tiresias identifies Oedipus as the killer and as Jocaste's son.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:6
label: Self-blinding, suicide, and exile
summary: Oedipus blinds himself, Jocaste hangs herself, and Oedipus leaves Thebes
with Antigone, eventually reaching the grove of the Eumenides at Colonus.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: child exposed because of a threatening prophecy
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Laius acts on an oracle predicting death by his son and orders the infant
exposed on Mount Cithaeron.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No specific available taxonomy reference names infant exposure directly.
- id: motif:2
label: rescued exposed infant adopted by royal household
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The servant spares the infant, the shepherd names him, and Polybus and Merope
adopt him as their son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents adoption clearly, but does not connect it to a named
comparative motif family.
- id: motif:3
label: prophecy fulfilled through attempted avoidance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Oedipus avoids Corinth after hearing the prophecy, but on the alternative
road unknowingly kills his true father and later marries his mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The passage itself does not explicitly analyze fate beyond reporting the
oracle and its fulfillment.
- id: motif:4
label: monster's riddle solved to free a city and win kingship
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The Sphinx kills those who fail her riddles; Oedipus solves one, causing
her death and gaining the throne and Jocaste.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: 'The taxonomy references are broad: the passage shows wisdom through riddle-solving
and royal accession through the promised reward.'
- id: motif:5
label: communal plague caused by unpunished blood-guilt
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The gods afflict Thebes with pestilence, and the oracle says it will continue
until Laius's blood is purified and the murderer punished.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage attributes the pestilence to the gods, but the taxonomy reference
is a broad functional fit.
- id: motif:6
label: recognition of hidden identity leading to self-punishment and exile
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Tiresias reveals Oedipus's true relation to Laius and Jocaste; Oedipus blinds
himself and leaves Thebes as an outcast.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: Departure is present literally as exile, but the available taxonomy term
may be broader than the passage-level action.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 8727-8735
quote_or_summary: Laius, king of Thebes, is married to Jocaste; an oracle foretells
that he will die by the hand of his own son.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 8735-8742
quote_or_summary: Laius and Jocaste pierce and bind the infant's feet and order
a servant to expose him on Mount Cithaeron.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 8742-8748
quote_or_summary: The servant gives the infant to a shepherd of Polybus and falsely
reports that the exposure order has been obeyed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8750-8758
quote_or_summary: The shepherd unbinds the infant's swollen feet, names him Oedipus,
and brings him to Polybus and Merope, who adopt him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 8758-8768
quote_or_summary: After being taunted about his parentage, Oedipus consults Delphi;
the Pythia tells him he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 8769-8780
quote_or_summary: Oedipus takes the road to Boeotia, quarrels with travelers in
a chariot, kills the old man with his stick, and leaves without knowing the victim
is Laius.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 8782-8791
quote_or_summary: Hera sends the Sphinx as punishment to Thebes; from a rocky height
the Sphinx asks riddles and devours those who fail.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 8793-8801
quote_or_summary: After Laius's death, Creon rules and proclaims that kingship and
Jocaste's hand will go to whoever solves a Sphinx riddle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 8803-8813
quote_or_summary: Oedipus enters Thebes, requests a riddle, solves it, and the Sphinx
kills herself; Oedipus becomes king and husband of Jocaste.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 8815-8826
quote_or_summary: A grievous pestilence afflicts Thebes; an oracle says the land
must be purified of Laius's blood because his murderer remains unpunished in Thebes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:11
type: quote
locator: lines 8828-8838
quote_or_summary: 'Tiresias tells Oedipus: "Thou thyself art the murderer of the
old king Laius, who was thy father; and thou art wedded to his widow, thine own
mother."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 8838-8844
quote_or_summary: The old servant and shepherd confirm the story; Oedipus blinds
himself in despair, and Jocaste hangs herself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 8846-8854
quote_or_summary: Antigone accompanies Oedipus as he leaves Thebes, becomes a homeless
beggar, and finally finds refuge in the grove of the Eumenides at Colonus.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 8815-8819
quote_or_summary: 'Oedipus and Jocaste have four children: Eteocles, Polynices,
Antigone, and Ismene.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek-roman/project-gutenberg/myths-legends-ancient-greece-rome-berens.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The basic narrative details are explicit in the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy
assignments are cautious because several central motifs, such as exposed infant
and fate fulfilled through avoidance, are not directly represented in the available
taxonomy list. No comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself
support a specific cross-text or cross-tradition 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: |-
Line locators are approximate within the supplied line range because the passage text was provided without individual line breaks matching repository line numbers.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-roman-berens-myths-legends-gutenberg__l8727-l8823
passage_sha256=713c686476caf6281ce7900dcfd993f0ef7fb10ae689504bfaadecbf47c98367