batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l3698-l3785
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l3698-l3785
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
passage_locator:
label: THE MEETING BETWEEN NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES. / BOOK VII / RECEPTION OF ULYSSES
AT THE PALACE OF KING ALCINOUS. / BOOK VIII; lines 3698-3785
start: '3698'
end: '3785'
translation: The Odyssey
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: At a Phaeacian feast, Ulysses honors the bard Demodocus with food and praise,
then asks him to sing of the wooden horse at Troy. Demodocus sings of the horse,
the Trojan debate, the Achaean ambush, and the sack of Troy. Ulysses weeps privately
until Alcinous notices and stops the song. Alcinous asks the guest to reveal his
name and homeland so that Phaeacian ships can escort him, while recalling a warning
that Neptune may punish the Phaeacians for such escorts.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A supper is served, wine is mixed, and the bard Demodocus is seated in the
midst of the company near a supporting post.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Ulysses cuts a piece of roast pork and has it taken to Demodocus, saying that
bards are honored because the Muse teaches and loves them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Ulysses praises Demodocus for accurately singing the return and sufferings
of the Achaeans and asks him to sing of the wooden horse made by Epeus with Minerva's
assistance.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The requested song describes Argives hidden within the horse while other Argives
set fire to their tents and sailed away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Trojans draw the horse into their fortress and debate whether to destroy
it, throw it down from the rock, or leave it as an offering to the gods.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The city is described as doomed after taking in the horse, which contains
the bravest Argives waiting to bring death and destruction.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The song recounts Achaeans issuing from the horse, sacking and ravaging Troy,
and Ulysses fighting with Menelaus at the house of Deiphobus with Minerva's help.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Ulysses weeps while hearing the song; only Alcinous notices his sobs and sighs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Alcinous orders Demodocus to stop singing because the guest is troubled and
because the festivities, escort, and presents are in the guest's honor.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: Alcinous states that a guest and suppliant should be treated as though he
were one's own brother.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: Alcinous asks the guest to reveal his name, country, nation, and city so that
Phaeacian ships may take him there.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: Alcinous says Phaeacian ships have no pilots or rudders, understand their
passengers' thoughts and desires, know all cities and countries, and can cross
the sea safely even in mist and cloud.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:13
text: Alcinous recalls his father's report that Neptune was angry at the Phaeacians
for escorting people too readily and might wreck one of their returning ships
and bury their city under a high mountain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ulysses
description: Guest at Alcinous's feast; honors Demodocus, requests the song of the
wooden horse, and weeps when the song is performed.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Alcinous
description: King or host seated near Ulysses; notices his grief, stops the song,
and asks for his identity and homeland.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Demodocus
description: Favourite bard led into the company; receives food from Ulysses and
sings the requested tale.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: servant
description: Servant who leads Demodocus in and carries Ulysses's piece of pork
to him.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Muse
description: Divine figure said to teach bards their songs and love them; named
by Ulysses as Jove's daughter.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Apollo
description: Divine figure named by Ulysses as one under whom Demodocus must have
studied.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Epeus
description: Maker of the wooden horse, with Minerva's assistance.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Minerva
description: Divine helper associated with the making of the wooden horse and with
Ulysses's victory at Deiphobus's house.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Argives or Achaeans
description: Greek warriors, some sailing away and others hidden in the horse; later
issue from it and sack Troy.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Trojans
description: People who draw the wooden horse into their fortress, debate what to
do with it, and suffer death and destruction when the Achaeans emerge.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Menelaus
description: Accompanies Ulysses to the house of Deiphobus during the sack of Troy.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Deiphobus
description: Owner or namesake of the house where the fiercest fighting occurs in
the song.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Phaeacians
description: People addressed by Alcinous; their ships are said to escort guests
and operate without pilots or rudders.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Neptune
description: God said to be angry with the Phaeacians for giving escorts too readily
and to threaten a ship and the city.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Alcinous's father
description: Source of Alcinous's remembered warning about Neptune's anger.
role_refs:
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: woman in simile
description: A woman compared to Ulysses in his weeping, mourning her dying husband
and being carried into slavery by enemies.
role_refs:
- role:16
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: guest and suppliant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Alcinous calls the troubled stranger a guest and suppliant and frames the
festivities, escort, and gifts as being in his honor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:2
label: patron of bard within the feast
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ulysses sends a portion of pork to Demodocus and praises his art.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: grieving listener
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ulysses weeps, sobs, and sighs while hearing the Trojan song.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: host king
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Alcinous controls the feast, protects the guest's comfort, and arranges escort
and gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: role:5
label: questioner of concealed identity
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Alcinous asks the guest to stop concealment and state his name and homeland.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:6
label: divinely inspired bard
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Demodocus is called a bard inspired of heaven, and Ulysses attributes his
accuracy to divine teaching.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: attendant
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The servant brings Demodocus in and carries food to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: divine patron of song or strategy
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
basis: The Muse and Apollo are named as sources of bardic skill, while Minerva assists
the horse and Ulysses's victory.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: craftsman of stratagem object
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Epeus is said to have made the wooden horse with Minerva's assistance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:10
label: divine battle helper
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Ulysses is victorious at Deiphobus's house by Minerva's help.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: hidden attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:9
- fig:11
basis: Achaeans hidden within the horse later emerge to sack the city; Menelaus
accompanies Ulysses in the fighting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: deceived city defenders
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The Trojans draw the horse inside, debate its meaning, and are destroyed
when the hidden attackers emerge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:13
label: miraculous escorts
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Phaeacian ships are described as able to carry guests home without ordinary
pilots or rudders.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:14
label: angry sea god
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: Neptune is remembered as angry with the Phaeacians for escorting people too
easily.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:15
label: transmitter of warning
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Alcinous attributes the warning about Neptune to his father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:16
label: mourning captive in simile
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: The woman in the simile embraces her dying husband and is beaten and carried
away into slavery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: feast portion for the bard
literal_form: piece of roast pork with fat
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: wooden horse
literal_form: wooden horse made by Epeus with Minerva's assistance and filled with
men
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: fortress enclosure
literal_form: Trojan fortress and place of assembly into which the horse is drawn
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: tears and sobs
literal_form: Ulysses's wet cheeks, sobs, and sighs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: self-directing ships
literal_form: Phaeacian vessels without pilots or rudders that understand thoughts
and desires
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:6
label: sea passage in mist and cloud
literal_form: sea traversed safely even when covered with mist and cloud
associated_figures:
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:7
label: high mountain over the city
literal_form: high mountain under which Neptune may bury the Phaeacian city
associated_figures:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Feast and honor to Demodocus
summary: At supper, Demodocus is seated among the company, and Ulysses sends him
a portion of pork while praising the honor due to bards.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Request for the wooden horse song
summary: Ulysses praises Demodocus's knowledge of the Achaean return and asks him
to sing of the wooden horse and the sack of Troy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Song of the horse and sack of Troy
summary: Demodocus sings of the Argive ambush inside the horse, the Trojan debate,
the doomed acceptance of the horse, and the Achaean sack of the city.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Ulysses's hidden grief and Alcinous's intervention
summary: Ulysses weeps at the song, and Alcinous alone notices, stops the bard,
and explains that the guest's comfort should govern the feast.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:13
- fig:16
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:5
label: Request for identity and promise of escort
summary: Alcinous asks the guest to name himself and his homeland, describes the
extraordinary Phaeacian ships, and recalls Neptune's threatened punishment for
their escorting practice.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divinely inspired bardic knowledge
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says bards are taught by the Muse, Ulysses attributes Demodocus's
accuracy to the Muse and Apollo, and the bard is called inspired of heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage emphasizes inspired
song rather than abstract wisdom teaching.
- id: motif:2
label: deceptive object crossing a city boundary with hidden warriors
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The wooden horse is brought into the Trojan fortress by the Trojans and contains
hidden Argives who later emerge to sack the city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a stratagem and boundary crossing, but does not name
a trickster figure as such.
- id: motif:3
label: guest and suppliant honored through feast, gifts, and escort
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Alcinous describes the festivities, presents, and escort as being in the
guest's honor and states that a guest and suppliant should be treated like a brother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the exchange socially and ethically; the 'sacred' aspect
is inferred from the guest-suppliant norm and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:4
label: return home by extraordinary sea escort
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Alcinous asks for the guest's homeland so that Phaeacian ships may take him
there, and the ships are described as knowing destinations and safely crossing
the sea.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The actual return voyage is promised rather than completed within this
passage.
- id: motif:5
label: divine punishment threatened against helpers of travelers
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Alcinous recalls that Neptune is angry at the Phaeacians for escorting people
and may wreck a returning ship and bury their city beneath a high mountain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The warning is reported memory, and Alcinous says the god's decision remains
uncertain.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3698-3702
quote_or_summary: After Ulysses sits beside Alcinous, supper and wine are served,
and a servant seats Demodocus near a bearing-post among the company.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3702-3710
quote_or_summary: Ulysses sends Demodocus a fatty piece of roast pork and says he
will salute him despite the pain his songs may cause, because bards are honored
and taught by the Muse.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3711-3724
quote_or_summary: Ulysses praises Demodocus's accuracy about the Achaeans' return
and asks him to sing of the wooden horse made by Epeus with Minerva's help and
filled with the men who sacked Troy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3725-3729
quote_or_summary: The bard begins with Argives setting fire to their tents and sailing
away while others wait hidden with Ulysses inside the horse in the Trojan assembly
place.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3729-3736
quote_or_summary: The Trojans have drawn the horse into their fortress and debate
whether to break it up, throw it down from the rock, or keep it as an offering
to the gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3736-3739
quote_or_summary: The city is described as doomed once it takes in the horse, which
contains the bravest Argives waiting to bring death and destruction to the Trojans.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 3739-3746
quote_or_summary: Demodocus sings of the Achaeans emerging from the horse, sacking
Troy, and Ulysses with Menelaus fighting fiercely at Deiphobus's house and winning
by Minerva's help.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 3747-3760
quote_or_summary: Ulysses weeps while hearing the song, compared to a woman mourning
her dying husband before being beaten and carried into slavery; only Alcinous
notices his sobs and sighs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 3760-3769
quote_or_summary: Alcinous tells the Phaeacian leaders to stop Demodocus's song
because the guest has been groaning and lamenting, and the festivities, escort,
and presents are in his honor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: lines 3769-3771
quote_or_summary: '"he ought to treat a guest and a suppliant as though he were
his own brother"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote supplied.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 3772-3778
quote_or_summary: Alcinous asks the guest to end concealment, state the name given
by his parents, and identify his country, nation, and city so Phaeacian ships
can take him there.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 3778-3783
quote_or_summary: Alcinous says Phaeacian ships lack pilots and rudders, understand
thoughts and desires, know all cities and countries, and cross the sea safely
even in mist and cloud.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 3783-3785
quote_or_summary: Alcinous remembers his father saying Neptune was angry at Phaeacian
escorts and might wreck a returning ship and bury their city under a high mountain,
though the god's decision is uncertain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif assignments
use only available taxonomy refs and should be reviewed, especially broad mappings
such as wisdom and sacred_exchange. No cross-text comparison claims were 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: |-
All evidence is drawn from the supplied public-domain Butler translation passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg__l3698-l3785
passage_sha256=81f8e805c1de6f47d2be2c1a2399f129bd71bd3979c3ffa402ac79bf6d31286a