batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l4296-l4397
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l4296-l4397
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK VIII / BOOK IX / BOOK X / AEOLUS, THE LAESTRYGONES, CIRCE.; lines 4296-4397
start: '4296'
end: '4397'
translation: The Odyssey
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Ulysses recounts arriving at Aeolus's floating, iron-bound island, receiving
a sealed ox-hide sack containing the winds, nearly reaching home, and then being
driven back when his men open the sack. Aeolus refuses further help, saying Ulysses
is hated by heaven. Ulysses then reaches the Laestrygonian harbor, sends scouts
inland, and the scouts encounter Antiphates' daughter and then a giantess wife
huge as a mountain.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Aeolus lives on an island described as floating upon the sea and girded by
an iron-bound wall.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Aeolus has six daughters and six sons, and the sons are married to the daughters
within the household.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Aeolus entertains Ulysses for a month and asks about Troy, the Argive fleet,
and the return of the Achaeans.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Aeolus gives Ulysses an ox-hide sack in which the roaring winds are shut up,
with only the West wind allowed to blow for the voyage.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The sack's mouth is bound with a silver thread so tightly that no side-wind
can escape.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: After nine days and nights of sailing, Ulysses' native land appears close
enough for stubble fires to be seen.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: While Ulysses sleeps, his men suspect the sack contains gold and silver and
decide to inspect it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The men loose the sack, the wind flies out, and a storm carries the fleet
away from their own country and back toward Aeolus's island.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Ulysses sits as a suppliant at Aeolus's threshold and asks him to mend the
mischief caused by the men and sleep.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Aeolus refuses Ulysses further help and orders him to leave the island, calling
him abhorred of heaven.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: After six days and nights of rowing without wind, the fleet reaches Telepylus,
the city of the Laestrygonians.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: The Laestrygonian harbor is land-locked under steep cliffs, with a narrow
entrance between two headlands, and Ulysses alone keeps his ship outside.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:13
text: Ulysses climbs a high rock to reconnoitre and sees smoke but no sign of humans
or cattle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:14
text: Ulysses sends two men and an attendant to learn what kind of people inhabit
the place.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:15
text: The scouts meet a young woman, daughter of Antiphates, while she is going
to the fountain Artacia to fetch water.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:16
text: The scouts ask the young woman who rules the country and what kind of people
he rules, and she directs them to her father's house.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:17
text: At the house, the scouts find Antiphates' wife to be a giantess as huge as
a mountain, and they are horrified.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ulysses
description: Narrator of the episode; guest of Aeolus, recipient of the wind sack,
commander of the fleet, suppliant at Aeolus's threshold, and scout-leader who
keeps his ship outside the harbor.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Aeolus son of Hippotas
description: Resident of the Aeolian island, dear to the immortal gods, made captain
over the winds by Jove, host to Ulysses, giver of the wind sack, and later refuser
of further aid.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Aeolus's sons and daughters
description: Six daughters and six sons of Aeolus who are married to one another
and live feasting with their parents.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ulysses' men
description: Members of Ulysses' company who suspect the sack contains treasure,
open it during Ulysses' sleep, lament after the storm, and later some are sent
as scouts.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Jove
description: Deity said to have made Aeolus captain over the winds.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Laestrygonians
description: People of Telepylus, associated with the land reached after six days
and nights of rowing; their city has a harbor under steep cliffs.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Antiphates' daughter
description: Young woman met by the scouts while going to the fountain Artacia to
fetch water; she directs them to her father's house.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Antiphates' wife
description: Wife of Antiphates, described as a giantess as huge as a mountain.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Antiphates
description: Laestrygonian named as the father of the young woman and husband of
the giantess.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: voyaging narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ulysses narrates the movement from Aeolus to Telepylus and describes decisions
during the voyage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:2
label: host
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Aeolus entertains Ulysses for a whole month.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: recipient of supernatural travel aid
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ulysses receives the ox-hide sack containing the winds and a favorable West
wind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: controller of winds
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Aeolus can stir or still the winds according to his pleasure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: suppliant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ulysses sits at Aeolus's threshold as a suppliant and asks for renewed help.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: refuser of aid
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Aeolus sends Ulysses away and says he will not help one abhorred by heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: feasting household
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Aeolus's children live with their parents, feasting and enjoying luxury.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:8
label: mistrustful companions
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The men discuss the sack as if it contains gold and silver and open it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: scouts
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Two men and an attendant are sent to discover what sort of people live in
the place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: role:10
label: grantor of authority
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Jove is said to have made Aeolus captain over the winds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:11
label: inhabitants of strange city
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Telepylus is identified as the city of the Laestrygonians, whose people draw
firewood from the mountains and water from Artacia.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: role:12
label: direction-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The young woman directs the scouts to her father's house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:13
label: giantess
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Antiphates' wife is described as a giantess as huge as a mountain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:14
label: named local father and husband
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Antiphates is named as the young woman's father and as husband of the giantess
encountered at the house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: floating iron-bound island
literal_form: An island that floats upon the sea and is girded by an iron-bound
wall.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: sealed sack of winds
literal_form: Prime ox-hide sack containing the roaring winds, tied with silver
thread.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: West wind
literal_form: The single favorable wind allowed to blow for Ulysses' voyage.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: storm from opened sack
literal_form: Howling wind released from the sack, raising a storm that drives the
fleet away from home.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: stubble fires of home
literal_form: Stubble fires visible when Ulysses' native land appears on the horizon.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: land-locked harbor with narrow entrance
literal_form: A calm harbor under steep cliffs with a narrow entrance between two
headlands.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: smoke sign
literal_form: Smoke rising from the ground seen by Ulysses while reconnoitring.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:8
label: fountain Artacia
literal_form: Fountain from which the people bring in water and where Antiphates'
daughter is going to fetch water.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:9
label: mountain-sized giantess
literal_form: Antiphates' wife, a giantess described as huge as a mountain.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:10
label: mountain firewood road
literal_form: A level road by which people draw firewood from the mountains into
town.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Arrival at Aeolus's island
summary: Ulysses' company comes to the floating, iron-bound Aeolian island, where
Aeolus's family feasts and lives in luxury.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Gift of the wind sack
summary: Aeolus hosts Ulysses, hears his account, and prepares a sealed ox-hide
sack containing the winds while letting the West wind assist the voyage.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Near-home loss through opened sack
summary: After nine days and nights of sailing, home comes into view; while Ulysses
sleeps, the men open the sack, releasing winds that carry the fleet back out to
sea.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Rejected supplication to Aeolus
summary: Ulysses returns to Aeolus's house as a suppliant and asks for help, but
Aeolus refuses and sends him away as one abhorred by heaven.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Approach to Telepylus harbor
summary: After rowing without wind, the fleet reaches the Laestrygonian city; the
captains moor inside the land-locked harbor while Ulysses keeps his ship outside
and reconnoitres.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:6
label: Scouts meet Antiphates' household
summary: Scouts follow a road used for carrying firewood, meet Antiphates' daughter
at the fountain, are directed to her father's house, and find his wife to be a
mountain-sized giantess.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: supernatural keeper grants controlled winds for a voyage
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Aeolus, made captain over the winds by Jove, shuts the winds in a sack and
releases only the West wind to help Ulysses travel home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this as travel aid, but no supplied taxonomy family
directly names wind-control or wind-bag motifs.
- id: motif:2
label: sealed object opened by mistrustful companions causes loss of homecoming
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: The fleet nearly reaches home, but companions suspect treasure in the sealed
sack, open it, and release a storm that carries them away from their country.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference to return is broad; the more specific sealed-sack
disaster motif is not listed in the supplied taxonomy.
- id: motif:3
label: failed supplication after divine-disfavor interpretation
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Ulysses asks Aeolus to repair the mischief, but Aeolus refuses because he
interprets Ulysses as abhorred of heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: Aeolus's statement asserts heavenly hatred, but the passage does not narrate
an explicit judgment scene by a deity.
- id: motif:4
label: dangerous harbor and reconnaissance before encounter with giants
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fleet enters a land-locked harbor beneath steep cliffs, Ulysses reconnoitres,
and scouts later find a mountain-sized giantess in the local ruler's household.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The passage excerpt stops at the scouts' horror and does not include later
consequences of the encounter.
- id: motif:5
label: strange land with altered rhythms of work and rest
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Telepylus is described as a country where someone without sleep could earn
double wages because cattle herding and shepherding occur by night much as by
day.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a distinctive ethnographic detail, but its broader mythic function
is not fully developed in the excerpt.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4296-4311
quote_or_summary: Aeolus lives on a floating, iron-bound island; his six sons and
six daughters are married to one another and feast in his household.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4312-4318
quote_or_summary: Aeolus entertains Ulysses for a month and asks about Troy, the
Argive fleet, and the Achaean return.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4318-4328
quote_or_summary: Aeolus gives Ulysses a prime ox-hide sack holding the roaring
winds, tied with silver thread; Jove made Aeolus captain over the winds, and only
the West wind is left to blow freely for the voyage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4329-4335
quote_or_summary: After nine days and nights, native land appears on the horizon
close enough for stubble fires to be seen; Ulysses, exhausted from steering, falls
asleep.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4335-4347
quote_or_summary: The men talk among themselves, suspecting Ulysses is bringing
home gold and silver in Aeolus's sack, and urge one another to inspect it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 4348-4356
quote_or_summary: The men loose the sack; the winds howl out, raise a storm, and
drive the lamenting fleet away from its own country back toward the Aeolian island.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 4357-4368
quote_or_summary: Ulysses goes with a herald and one man to Aeolus's house, sits
as a suppliant at the threshold, and says his men and cruel sleep have ruined
him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: 4369-4374
quote_or_summary: Aeolus answers that he will not help one 'abhorred of heaven'
and sends Ulysses sorrowing from his door.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 4375-4384
quote_or_summary: The crew rows without helpful wind for six days and nights and
on the seventh reaches Telepylus, the city of the Laestrygonians, where day and
night work are described as similar.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 4385-4392
quote_or_summary: The harbor is land-locked beneath steep cliffs with a narrow entrance;
the other ships moor inside close together, while Ulysses keeps his ship outside
at the end of the point.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 4392-4397
quote_or_summary: Ulysses climbs a high rock, sees only smoke and no sign of humans
or cattle, and sends two men and an attendant to learn about the inhabitants.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: '4397'
quote_or_summary: The scouts follow a road used for bringing firewood from the mountains,
meet Antiphates' daughter on her way to fetch water from Artacia, ask about the
ruler, and are directed to her father's house.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: '4397'
quote_or_summary: At the house, the scouts find Antiphates' wife to be a giantess
as huge as a mountain and are horrified.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based directly on the supplied excerpt. Motif labels are cautious
and mostly descriptive; several do not have exact supplied taxonomy equivalents.
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not compare this
episode to another tradition or motif family.
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 sources or unsupported comparisons used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg__l4296-l4397
passage_sha256=fe30a4d65a7b54505f7ef48c638d69c15d8bf94da5a486aa7c47e20dbf0e23c0