Representing Places in Texts: A Spatial Investigation into Agathemerus' Sketch of Geography. Issue 1 (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Palladino, Chiara
• Is Part Of: International journal of humanities and arts computing. Volume 15:Issue 1/2(2021)
• Page Start: 33
• Page End: 59
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: text mapping -- GIS -- ancient Greek -- semantic annotation -- visualization -- Pelagios; Humanities -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Arts -- Data processing -- Periodicals; 001.30285
• DOI: 10.3366/ijhac.2021.0261
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1753-8548

Abstract

Abstract : This article presents a case study for the digital mapping of an ancient Greek geographical compendium, the Sketch of Geography by Agathemerus. We examine various possibilities of investigation, including semantic annotation, georeferencing and network analysis, to verify how the digital mapping of a text can contribute to a better understanding of its underlying spatial perception. We examine the following aspects: spatial distribution, functionality and frequency of place types, semantic/symbolic definition of boundaries, place connectivity and problems of textual corruption. In the conclusion, we show that, while the general perspective of the work is programmatically speculative, Agathemerus' way of modelling the world is navigational and pragmatic. A predominantly non-cartographic perspective dictates a way of reasoning about space that is highly semantical in the definition of important landmarks and spatial relations. However, it also determines a strongly navigational approach in the treatment of geographical problems. Finally, we emphasize the value of an integrated semantic and mapped approach to the investigation of premodern geographies, and the opportunities of using these methods to address old and new research questions.