batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l4969-l5068
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg-l4969-l5068
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK X / AEOLUS, THE LAESTRYGONES, CIRCE. / BOOK XI / THE VISIT TO THE DEAD.88;
lines 4969-5068
start: '4969'
end: '5068'
translation: The Odyssey
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: In the underworld, a female ghost explains the condition of the dead to
the first-person narrator and tells him to return to daylight. Proserpine sends
up the ghosts of famous wives and daughters, who gather around blood and are questioned
one by one. The narrator recounts genealogical and mythic episodes involving Tyro,
Antiope, Alcmena, Epicaste, Chloris, Leda, Iphimedeia, Ariadne, and others, including
divine unions, heroic offspring, kinship tragedy, bride-quest conditions, alternating
life and death, an attempted assault on heaven by piling mountains, and deaths
caused or announced by gods. He then ends his account, and the listeners remain
silent until Arete speaks.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A female speaker tells the narrator that dead people no longer retain bodily
cohesion; flesh and bones perish by fire after life leaves, and the soul moves
away like a dream.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The same speaker tells the narrator to return to the light of day and remember
what he has learned so he can later tell his wife.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Proserpine sends up ghosts of wives and daughters of famous men, and they
gather around blood.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The narrator draws a blade to prevent all the ghosts from drinking the blood
at once and questions them individually about their race and lineage.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus and wife of Cretheus, loves the river Enipeus;
Neptune, disguised as her lover, lies with her by the river mouth under a large
blue wave.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Neptune tells Tyro that the embraces of the gods are not fruitless, foretells
twins, identifies himself, and orders secrecy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Tyro gives birth to Pelias and Neleus, and also has other children by Cretheus.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Antiope, daughter of Asopus, is said to have slept with Jove and to have borne
Amphion and Zethus, who founded and walled seven-gated Thebes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, bears Hercules to Jove; Megara, daughter of Creon,
marries the son of Amphitryon.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Epicaste, mother of Oedipodes, marries her son without knowing it after he
has killed his father; the gods reveal the story, and Epicaste hangs herself.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Chloris marries Neleus after he gives priceless presents for her, becomes
queen in Pylos, and bears several children including Pero.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Neleus will give Pero only to the man who raids Iphicles' cattle; a seer attempts
the raid, is imprisoned, and later released after expounding oracles.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Leda, wife of Tyndarus, bears Castor and Pollux, who lie under the earth but
remain alive by Jove's special dispensation, dying and returning to life on alternate
days.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Iphimedeia, wife of Aloeus, boasts of Neptune's embrace and bears Otus and
Ephialtes, enormous children who threaten Olympus by stacking mountains to scale
heaven; Apollo kills them before maturity.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: Theseus carries Ariadne from Crete toward Athens, but Diana kills her on Dia
before he enjoys her, because of something Bacchus has said against her.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:16
text: Eriphyle is described as having sold her own husband for gold.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:17
text: After the narrator ends, the guests sit enthralled and speechless in the covered
cloister until Arete speaks.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: first-person narrator
description: The speaker who converses with the dead, controls access to the blood,
questions the ghosts, and later ends the account before the gathered audience.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:13
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: female ghost addressing the narrator as son
description: A dead female speaker who explains the state of the dead and instructs
the narrator to return to daylight.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Proserpine
description: The underworld goddess who sends up ghosts of wives and daughters of
famous men.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: ghosts of wives and daughters of famous men
description: A crowd of female ghosts who gather around the blood and answer questions
about their lineage.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Tyro
description: Daughter of Salmoneus and wife of Cretheus; loved Enipeus and bore
Pelias and Neleus after Neptune approached her in disguise.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Neptune
description: A god who disguises himself as Tyro's river lover, lies with her, foretells
twins, and later dives under the sea; also associated with Iphimedeia's boast
of divine embrace.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Pelias and Neleus
description: Twin sons born to Tyro after Neptune's encounter with her; both are
said to serve Jove.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Antiope
description: Daughter of Asopus, said to have slept in the arms of Jove and to have
borne Amphion and Zethus.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Jove
description: 'God named as father or authority in several accounts: father of Amphion
and Zethus, father of Hercules, fulfiller of a divine will, and giver of the dispensation
for Castor and Pollux.'
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Amphion and Zethus
description: Sons of Antiope and Jove who found Thebes with seven gates and build
a wall around it.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Alcmena
description: Wife of Amphitryon who bears Hercules to Jove.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Hercules
description: Indomitable son borne by Alcmena to Jove; also called the son of Amphitryon
in relation to Megara's marriage.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Epicaste
description: Mother of Oedipodes who unknowingly marries her son and later hangs
herself in grief.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Oedipodes
description: King who marries his mother after killing his father; remains king
of Thebes in grief after the gods reveal the story.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Chloris
description: Youngest daughter of Amphion son of Iasus; married by Neleus for her
beauty after bride-gifts and queen in Pylos.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Pero
description: Daughter of Chloris, described as marvellously lovely and wooed by
all the country round.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: unnamed excellent seer
description: The only man willing to attempt the cattle raid for Pero; imprisoned
by cattle rangers and later freed after expounding oracles.
role_refs:
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: Leda
description: Wife of Tyndarus and mother of Castor and Pollux.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:19
name_or_label: Castor and Pollux
description: Famous sons of Leda; one is a horse-breaker and one a boxer; under
the earth yet alive, dying and returning on alternate days with divine rank.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:16
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:20
name_or_label: Iphimedeia
description: Wife of Aloeus who boasts of Neptune's embrace and bears Otus and Ephialtes.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:21
name_or_label: Otus and Ephialtes
description: Enormous sons of Iphimedeia who threaten war against the gods and try
to stack mountains to reach heaven before Apollo kills them.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:17
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:22
name_or_label: Apollo
description: Son of Leto who kills Otus and Ephialtes before they reach maturity.
role_refs:
- role:18
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:23
name_or_label: Ariadne
description: Daughter of Minos, carried from Crete by Theseus toward Athens and
killed by Diana on Dia.
role_refs:
- role:19
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:24
name_or_label: Theseus
description: The figure carrying Ariadne from Crete to Athens.
role_refs:
- role:20
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:25
name_or_label: Diana
description: Goddess who kills Ariadne on the island of Dia.
role_refs:
- role:18
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:26
name_or_label: Bacchus
description: Figure whose words against Ariadne are given as the reason Diana kills
her.
role_refs:
- role:21
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:27
name_or_label: Eriphyle
description: Woman described as hateful because she sold her own husband for gold.
role_refs:
- role:22
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:28
name_or_label: Arete and the guests
description: Audience members after the tale; the guests sit speechless, and Arete
speaks.
role_refs:
- role:23
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: underworld visitor and questioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The narrator converses with the dead, controls access to blood, and questions
each ghost.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: tale narrator before a living audience
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He ends his account, after which guests in the cloister remain silent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:3
label: dead informant about death
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She explains what happens to bodies and souls after death and gives instructions
to the narrator.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: underworld sender of ghosts
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Proserpine sends up ghosts of famous wives and daughters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: female ghost or woman in heroic genealogy
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:11
- fig:13
- fig:15
- fig:18
- fig:20
basis: The passage presents wives and daughters of famous men, many of whom recount
lineage and offspring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: divine consort or mother of divine offspring
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:11
- fig:20
basis: These women are described in connection with embraces or children of gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: divine father
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:9
basis: Neptune and Jove are each named in accounts of divine-human offspring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: mother of twins
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:18
basis: Tyro is told she will bear twins, and Leda bears Castor and Pollux.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: disguised divine lover
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Neptune approaches Tyro disguised as her lover.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:10
label: heroic or semi-divine offspring
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:10
- fig:12
- fig:19
- fig:21
basis: These figures are named as sons born in the genealogical accounts, often
from divine unions or with extraordinary status.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: divine authority
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Jove's will is fulfilled, and he grants Castor and Pollux their alternating
life and death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: city founders and wall-builders
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Amphion and Zethus found Thebes and build its wall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:13
label: kinship transgression figures
assigned_to:
- fig:13
- fig:14
basis: Epicaste marries her own son Oedipodes without knowing it, after he has killed
his father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:14
label: bride sought through difficult condition
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: Pero is wooed broadly, but Neleus will give her only to the cattle raider.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:15
label: seer tested by cattle raid and imprisonment
assigned_to:
- fig:17
basis: The seer attempts the raid, is captured and imprisoned, and is released after
interpreting oracles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:16
label: alternating dead and living heroes
assigned_to:
- fig:19
basis: Castor and Pollux die and come to life again on alternate days and have divine
rank.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:17
label: heaven-assaulting giant youths
assigned_to:
- fig:21
basis: Otus and Ephialtes threaten the gods and stack mountains to scale heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:18
label: divine killer
assigned_to:
- fig:22
- fig:25
basis: Apollo kills Otus and Ephialtes; Diana kills Ariadne.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:19
label: carried-off woman killed before union
assigned_to:
- fig:23
basis: Ariadne is being carried off by Theseus but is killed before he enjoys her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:20
label: abductor or carrier from Crete
assigned_to:
- fig:24
basis: Theseus is carrying Ariadne from Crete to Athens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:21
label: accuser or cause of divine punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:26
basis: Diana kills Ariadne because of what Bacchus has said against her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:22
label: betrayer for gold
assigned_to:
- fig:27
basis: Eriphyle is said to have sold her own husband for gold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:23
label: listening audience
assigned_to:
- fig:28
basis: The guests remain enthralled and speechless; Arete then speaks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: blood as access point for ghosts
literal_form: blood around which the ghosts gather and from which the narrator controls
drinking
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: drawn blade controlling the dead
literal_form: keen blade drawn by the narrator to keep ghosts from drinking all
at once
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: consuming fire of death
literal_form: consuming fire in which flesh and bones perish after life leaves
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: soul like a dream
literal_form: soul flitting away as though it were a dream
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: light of day as return from the dead
literal_form: the light of day to which the narrator is told to return
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:6
label: river and concealing wave
literal_form: river Enipeus and a huge blue wave arched like a mountain over Tyro
and Neptune
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: sea departure of the god
literal_form: Neptune diving under the sea after the encounter with Tyro
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:8
label: seven-gated walled city
literal_form: Thebes with seven gates and a wall built around it
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:9
label: cattle as bride-quest object
literal_form: cattle of Iphicles to be raided from Phylace as the condition for
marrying Pero
associated_figures:
- fig:16
- fig:17
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:10
label: under-earth alternate life and death
literal_form: Castor and Pollux lying under the earth while still alive and alternating
death and life
associated_figures:
- fig:19
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:11
label: stacked mountains to scale heaven
literal_form: Mount Ossa placed on Olympus and Mount Pelion on Ossa to reach heaven
associated_figures:
- fig:21
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:12
label: gold as price of betrayal
literal_form: gold for which Eriphyle sells her own husband
associated_figures:
- fig:27
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Instruction about the dead and return to daylight
summary: A dead female speaker explains the physical and soul-state of the dead
and tells the narrator to return to daylight with the knowledge gained.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Ghosts gather at the blood for questioning
summary: Proserpine sends female ghosts; the narrator uses a blade to regulate their
approach to the blood and questions them individually about lineage.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Tyro, Neptune, and the birth of twins
summary: Neptune takes the form of Tyro's river lover, meets her at the river mouth
beneath a wave, foretells twins, and she later bears Pelias and Neleus.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Antiope's sons found Thebes
summary: Antiope bears Amphion and Zethus to Jove; the sons found Thebes and build
its wall.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Alcmena, Hercules, and Megara
summary: Alcmena bears Hercules to Jove, and Megara is named as wife of the son
of Amphitryon.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Epicaste and Oedipodes
summary: Epicaste unknowingly marries her son after he kills his father; the gods
reveal the story, she hangs herself, and avenging spirits haunt him.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Chloris, Pero, and the cattle raid condition
summary: Chloris marries Neleus and bears Pero, whose marriage is conditioned on
a cattle raid; a seer undertakes the task, is imprisoned, and later freed after
interpreting oracles.
figure_refs:
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:17
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Leda's alternating sons
summary: Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda, are under the earth yet alive by Jove's
dispensation, alternating between death and life forever.
figure_refs:
- fig:18
- fig:19
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:9
label: Iphimedeia's sons attempt to scale heaven
summary: Otus and Ephialtes, enormous sons associated with Neptune's embrace of
Iphimedeia, threaten Olympus and try to pile mountains to reach heaven before
Apollo kills them.
figure_refs:
- fig:20
- fig:21
- fig:6
- fig:22
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:10
label: Ariadne carried away and killed
summary: Theseus carries Ariadne from Crete toward Athens, but Diana kills her on
Dia because of Bacchus's words against her.
figure_refs:
- fig:23
- fig:24
- fig:25
- fig:26
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: scene:11
label: Closing list and silent audience
summary: The narrator names additional women including Eriphyle, says the full list
would take all night, and stops; the guests remain speechless before Arete speaks.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:27
- fig:28
symbol_refs:
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: journey among the dead with controlled questioning of ghosts
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
- hero_descent
basis: The narrator is in contact with the dead, is told to return to daylight,
and questions ghosts who gather around blood in the underworld setting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is an excerpt from an underworld episode; the wider travel
route is not fully present in this line range.
- id: motif:2
label: blood enabling ordered communication with the dead
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The ghosts gather around blood, and the narrator prevents them from drinking
all at once so each can be questioned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage shows blood as a controlled medium for questioning, but does
not explicitly call it an offering or exchange.
- id: motif:3
label: divine-human union producing notable offspring
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_parent_child
- sacred_birth
basis: Tyro and Neptune, Antiope and Jove, Alcmena and Jove, and Iphimedeia and
Neptune are each linked to divine embrace and notable children.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents genealogical notices rather than a single extended
birth narrative.
- id: motif:4
label: disguised divine lover
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
- divine_beloved
basis: Neptune approaches Tyro disguised as her river lover Enipeus before revealing
his divine identity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: Only Neptune's disguise in the Tyro episode is explicit.
- id: motif:5
label: sacred or heroic twins
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_twins
- divine_parent_child
basis: Tyro is told she will bear twins, Pelias and Neleus; Leda bears the paired
Castor and Pollux; Iphimedeia bears the paired Otus and Ephialtes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The twin status is explicit for Tyro's sons and implicit as a paired birth
for the other named pairs in this passage.
- id: motif:6
label: death and recurrent return to life
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
- dying_and_returning
basis: Castor and Pollux die and come to life again on alternate days throughout
all time by Jove's dispensation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is stated for the Dioscuri only.
- id: motif:7
label: ascent by piled mountains to challenge heaven
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
- cosmic_mountain
basis: Otus and Ephialtes try to set Ossa on Olympus and Pelion on Ossa in order
to scale heaven and make war on the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The attempt is thwarted before completion by Apollo.
- id: motif:8
label: divine punishment or divine exposure of transgression
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The gods reveal the story of Epicaste and Oedipodes; Apollo kills Otus and
Ephialtes; Diana kills Ariadne because of Bacchus's words.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The moral or legal basis for each divine action is not equally explicit.
- id: motif:9
label: bride won through cattle raid condition
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Neleus will give Pero only to whoever raids Iphicles' cattle, and the seer
who attempts it is captured and later released.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The cattle raid is a marriage condition, but the passage does not complete
a marriage outcome within this excerpt.
- id: motif:10
label: carried-off beloved prevented from union by divine killing
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
- divine_judgment
basis: Theseus carries Ariadne away from Crete toward Athens, but Diana kills her
before he enjoys her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief notice and does not narrate the circumstances
of the carrying-off.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4969-4975
quote_or_summary: A dead female speaker addresses the narrator as her son, explains
that bodies perish by consuming fire after life leaves and the soul flits away
like a dream, then tells him to return to daylight and remember these things for
his wife.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4976-4985
quote_or_summary: Proserpine sends up ghosts of famous wives and daughters; they
gather around blood, and the narrator draws his blade to prevent them all from
drinking at once while he questions them one by one about lineage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4986-5001
quote_or_summary: Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus and wife of Cretheus, loves the river
Enipeus; Neptune disguises himself as her lover, meets her at the river mouth
beneath a great blue wave, reveals himself, foretells twins, and orders secrecy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 5002-5008
quote_or_summary: Neptune dives under the sea; Tyro bears Pelias and Neleus, while
her other children by Cretheus are Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 5009-5013
quote_or_summary: Antiope, daughter of Asopus, is said to have slept with Jove and
borne Amphion and Zethus, who founded and walled seven-gated Thebes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 5014-5016
quote_or_summary: Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, bears Hercules to Jove; Megara, daughter
of Creon, is named as wife of Amphitryon's son.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 5017-5024
quote_or_summary: Epicaste, mother of Oedipodes, unknowingly marries her son after
he has killed his father; the gods reveal the story, she hangs herself, and avenging
spirits haunt him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 5025-5040
quote_or_summary: Chloris marries Neleus after priceless presents and bears several
children including Pero; Neleus sets a cattle raid as the condition for marrying
Pero, and an unnamed seer is captured, imprisoned for a year, and later released
after expounding oracles.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 5041-5046
quote_or_summary: Leda, wife of Tyndarus, bears Castor and Pollux; they lie under
the earth yet live, dying and coming to life again on alternate days by Jove's
dispensation, and they have divine rank.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 5047-5058
quote_or_summary: Iphimedeia, wife of Aloeus, boasts of Neptune's embrace and bears
Otus and Ephialtes; the giant youths threaten Olympus and try to pile Ossa on
Olympus and Pelion on Ossa to scale heaven, but Apollo kills them before maturity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 5059-5062
quote_or_summary: The narrator sees Phaedra, Procris, and Ariadne, daughter of Minos;
Theseus carries Ariadne from Crete toward Athens, but Diana kills her on Dia because
of what Bacchus said against her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 5063-5066
quote_or_summary: The narrator also sees Maera, Clymene, and Eriphyle, who is described
as having sold her husband for gold, then says it would take all night to name
every wife and daughter of heroes he saw.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 5067-5068
quote_or_summary: After the narrator ends, the guests sit enthralled and speechless
in the covered cloister; Arete then speaks.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/odyssey-butler.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage contains many explicit genealogical and mythic notices. Motif
tagging is strongest where the passage states the pattern directly, such as underworld
questioning, divine-human unions, alternating life and death, and mountain-stacking
ascent. No external comparison claims were added.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Line subranges are approximate within the provided stable range.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-odyssey-butler-gutenberg__l4969-l5068
passage_sha256=b4562fb668a762d5ed434f3ad9d6ed57def84aa9924ab5a94a8cab4a2c67b610