batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l4270-l4293
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l4270-l4293
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK VII / RECEPTION OF ULYSSES AT THE PALACE OF KING ALCINOUS. / BOOK VIII
/ BOOK IX; lines 4270-4293
start: '4270'
end: '4293'
translation: The Odyssey
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: After Neptune hears the Cyclops' prayer, the Cyclops hurls a large rock
that nearly strikes Ulysses' ship and drives it toward shore. Ulysses and his
men return to the island where the other ships wait, divide the Cyclops' sheep,
sacrifice the ram to Jove, feast, camp on the beach, and sail away at dawn grieving
their losses but glad to have escaped death.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Neptune hears a prayer before a large rock is hurled at the ship.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The thrown rock falls just short of the ship, nearly hitting the rudder, and
its wave drives the ship toward the island shore.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The returning crew finds their comrades lamenting and waiting anxiously at
the island where the other ships had been left.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The crew lands the Cyclops' sheep and divides them equitably among the men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Ulysses receives the ram as an extra share and sacrifices it on the sea shore,
burning its thigh bones to Jove.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Jove does not heed the sacrifice and considers the destruction of Ulysses'
ships and comrades.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The men feast on meat and drink through the day, camp on the beach at night,
and sail away at dawn with sorrow but relief at escaping death.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Neptune
description: A god who hears the prayer preceding the rock thrown at the ship.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Cyclops
description: The figure whose sheep are landed and divided; the ram from his flock
is sacrificed.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ulysses
description: The speaker and leader who receives the ram as an extra share, sacrifices
it to Jove, commands his men to board, and sails onward.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ulysses' companions
description: The men with Ulysses who divide the sheep, feast, camp, board the ship,
row, and depart sorrowfully.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Jove
description: Lord of all, to whom the ram's thigh bones are burned; he does not
heed the sacrifice.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: comrades on the island
description: The men left with the other ships, found lamenting and anxiously awaiting
the return of Ulysses' party.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn
description: Dawn personified as appearing before the men board and depart.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine hearer of prayer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Neptune is said to have heard the prayer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: owner of captured sheep
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The sheep are identified as the Cyclops' sheep.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: leader of departing crew
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ulysses orders the men aboard and directs departure at dawn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: sacrificer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ulysses sacrifices the ram on the sea shore and burns its thigh bones to
Jove.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: crew and sharers of spoil
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The companions divide the Cyclops' sheep, feast, camp, board, row, and sail
onward.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: recipient who rejects or ignores sacrifice
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Jove is the deity to whom the thigh bones are burned, but he does not heed
the sacrifice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: waiting mourners
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The comrades left at the island are found lamenting and anxiously awaiting
the return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sea
literal_form: sea
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: rock hurled at ship
literal_form: large rock
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: ship
literal_form: vessel / ship
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Cyclops' sheep and ram
literal_form: sheep and ram
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: sacrificial thigh bones
literal_form: burned thigh bones of the ram
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: shore and beach
literal_form: sea shore / beach
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: dawn
literal_form: child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Rock cast after prayer
summary: After Neptune hears a prayer, a large rock is hurled at Ulysses' ship,
narrowly misses the rudder, and raises a wave that pushes the ship toward shore.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Return to waiting comrades and division of sheep
summary: Ulysses and his men reach the island where the other ships wait, find comrades
lamenting, beach their vessel, land the Cyclops' sheep, and divide them fairly.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Unheeded sacrifice to Jove
summary: Ulysses receives the ram as an extra portion, sacrifices it on the shore,
and burns the thigh bones to Jove, who does not heed the offering.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Feasting, night camp, and dawn departure
summary: The men feast until sunset, camp on the beach, then board at dawn and sail
away sorrowful for losses but glad to have escaped death.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine prayer followed by hostile natural force
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A prayer is heard by Neptune immediately before the ship is endangered by
a hurled rock and the sea wave it raises.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not restate the prayer's content or identify the thrower
by name within the excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: return to companions after escape from death
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Ulysses' party reaches the island where comrades have been anxiously awaiting
them and later sails onward, glad to have escaped death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local return to the fleet, not the larger homecoming of the
epic.
- id: motif:3
label: division of captured livestock
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The Cyclops' sheep are landed and divided equitably, with the ram assigned
to Ulysses as an extra share.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents distribution of
spoil rather than an explicit sacred exchange until the later sacrifice.
- id: motif:4
label: sacrifice not accepted by deity
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- divine_judgment
basis: Ulysses burns the ram's thigh bones to Jove, but Jove does not heed the sacrifice
and thinks of destroying the ships and comrades.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states divine non-heeding and hostile intent but does not
specify a formal judgment scene.
- id: motif:5
label: dawn departure over the sea after loss
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: At rosy-fingered Dawn, Ulysses orders the men aboard and they sail away sorrowful
but alive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a travel episode within a longer wandering narrative.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4270-4276
quote_or_summary: Neptune hears the prayer; a much larger rock is hurled with force,
falls just short of the ship, nearly strikes the rudder, and sends a wave that
drives the ship toward the island shore.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4277-4283
quote_or_summary: At the island where the rest of the ships were left, the returning
men find comrades lamenting and waiting, beach the vessel, land the Cyclops' sheep,
and divide them equitably.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4283-4288
quote_or_summary: Ulysses receives the ram as an extra share, sacrifices it on the
sea shore, burns its thigh bones to Jove, but Jove does not heed the sacrifice
and thinks of destroying the ships and comrades.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4289-4293
quote_or_summary: The men feast through the day, camp on the beach at night, and
at Dawn board, row over the grey sea, and sail on sorrowful but glad to have escaped
death despite lost comrades.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and should be reviewed for taxonomy fit. No comparison claims were added because
the passage itself does not make an explicit comparative link.
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 quotations avoided in favor of public-domain summaries; taxonomy references limited to supplied available refs where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg__l4270-l4293
passage_sha256=6544a4da1a01ef301b945da3aecc97604ace2c1ad6aeb2f67b106fffe3afa06c