Motif
fatal suitor trial
fatal_suitor_trial
A motif of the Initiation and Transformative Ordeal family, within the sub-family Marriage Trials and Wedding Rites. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
roman
-
The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 5309-5389 confidence: high
Alarmed by the oracle, Atalanta lives single in the shady woods and tells suitors that marriage is granted only if she is surpassed in speed, while death is the penalty for the slow.
Several suitors accept Atalanta’s terms, and vanquished competitors pay the stipulated death penalty.
read in the book →