Digital Mapping of Toponyms in Paradoxographical Texts: The Case of the Paradoxographus Florentinus

Abstract

The article presents the first results of a digital project devoted to the study of ancient paradoxography, a literary tradition consisting of collections of strange-but-(supposedly-)true phenomena concerning the natural world and the human sphere. The article is structured in two parts. First, we describe the first steps towards the creation of a relational database of ancient paradoxography, in collaboration with Trismegistos (TM Paradoxography). Second, we focus on the possibilities and limitations of the digital study of the toponyms mentioned in ancient paradoxography, by discussing the digital annotation of the toponyms mentioned in the paradoxographical collection known as the Paradoxographus Florentinus. This case study shows that the digital mapping of toponyms can be a valuable research tool to better understand the structure of paradoxographical texts and, more generally, the geographical horizon of ancient paradoxography.