# MAP syntax diagrams: an online tool to visualise, describe, and compare Ancient divine onomastic sequences

Sébastien Plutniak

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## To cite this version:

Sébastien Plutniak. MAP syntax diagrams: an online tool to visualise, describe, and compare Ancient divine onomastic sequences. Naming and Mapping the Gods in the Ancient Mediterranean. Spaces, Mobilities, Imaginaries, Feb 2021, Toulouse, France. . hal-03118484

HAL Id: hal-03118484

https://hal.science/hal-03118484

Submitted on 22 Jan 2021

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
# MAP syntax diagrams: an online tool to visualise, describe, and compare Ancient divine onomastic sequences

## Sébastien PLUTNIAK

TRACES, Université de Toulouse, France

sebastien.plutniak@posteo.net

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0000-0002-6674-3806

## SUMMARY

MAP syntax diagrams is an online R Shiny application for studying Ancient divine onomastic sequences. It uses the format defined by the "Mapping Ancient Polytheisms" project to:

* represent sequences and

* describe semantic relationships between the parts of the names of gods (called "elements" in the MAP terminology).

The focus is on the **structure** of the sequences, not their content. These structures are modelled as **graphs** (a mathematical object composed by a set of nodes and a set of edges), so that they can be **visualised, characterised**, and **compared** using quantitative measurements.

## FROM SEQUENCES TO GRAPHS

In the MAP format, the sequence

Δηώ καὶ Κόρη Ἐλευσινίαι
is represented as

[ Δηώ + Κόρη ] # Ἐλευσίνιος, α, ον
and coded as

[ 1 + 2 ] # 3".

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Ἐλευσίνιος, α, ον

In MAP syntax diagrams, this sequence is modelled by a graph.

The [ and ] symbols enclose a syntagma,
+ indicates a relation of coordination between two elements,
# indicates a qualification.

## WORKFLOW

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Online extraction
from the MAP
database<fnref n="1" />

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /></figure>

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Recoding of
the relevant
variables

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Input in MAP
syntax diagrams
and analysis

## APPLICATION MAIN FEATURES

* **Selection** of subsets of sequences for comparison

* **Summary statistics:** diversity of the elements (Shannon-Weaver entropy) and structural properties (network metrics)

* **Measurement of the difference** between the subsets graph (Euclidean and "graph diffusion kernel" distances); display of a hierarchical **clustering** of the distances (for 4 and more subsets)

* **Generation of diagrams:**

1) to graphically summarise a set of sequences and

2) to highlight the differences between two subsets

* **Export** of statistics (in csv format) and diagrams (in.svg format)

## COMPARING GODS: APOLLO & APHRODITE

Greek sequences (up to 11 elements) from Cyprus related to Aphrodite (n=92) and Apollo (n=46) are compared. The statistics indicate that Apollo's sequences have **more diverse** elements (diversity index: 1.81 vs 1.19) and subsequences (median transition rate: 0.11 vs 0.01). However, using the diagrams to study the differences (coloured in red) we can see that, for example, the complex nested structures ("[[]]") observed in Aphrodite's sequences are **absent** in Apollo's sequences.

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## STRUCTURAL CHANGE THROUGH TIME

Greek and Phoenician
sequences from Cyprus are
compared across three periods
(see table). This demonstrates
an **increase** in **diversity** and
**complexity** over time, as
reflected by:

* an increase in the length of
the sequences, in the numbers
of different symbols, the
different sequences, and the nodes in the structure.

* a decrease in the centralisation value, meaning that the edges are less concentrated on some particular elements.

However, the **diversity** of the **elements** composing the sequences (nouns, adjectives, etc.) is virtually **unchanging**, reflecting stability.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>-500/-300</th><th>-300/-1</th><th>1/400</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>total number of sequences</td><td>64</td><td>105</td><td>124</td></tr><tr><td>number of selected sequences</td><td>63</td><td>104</td><td>122</td></tr><tr><td>number of different sequences</td><td>8</td><td>13</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>sequence max. length</td><td>11</td><td>19</td><td>23</td></tr><tr><td>sequence median length</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>diversity of the elements</td><td>3.41</td><td>3.16</td><td>3.36</td></tr><tr><td>number of nodes</td><td>24</td><td>49</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>number of different symbols</td><td>5 / 9</td><td>6 / 9</td><td>9 / 9</td></tr><tr><td>number of terminal symbols</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>number of articulation points</td><td>10</td><td>3</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>degree centralisation</td><td>0.07</td><td>0.03</td><td>0.04</td></tr><tr><td>median transition rate</td><td>0.05</td><td>0.01</td><td>0.01</td></tr></tbody></table>

* MAP project: https://map-polytheisms.huma-num.fr

* Application: https://analytics.huma-num.fr/Sebastien.Plutniak/map-syntax-diagrams

* Code: https://github.com/sebastien-plutniak/map-syntax-diagrams DOI 10.5281/zenodo.4443133

* Manual: Plutniak, S. 2020. MAP Syntax diagrams : visualiser, décrire et comparer les séquences onomastiques divines de l'Antiquité. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02532617

<footnote n="1">¹ https://base-map-polytheisms.huma-num.fr</footnote>