demo.fragmentarytexts.org is a site complementary to Fragmentary Texts, which is a project on "collecting and representing quotations of lost authors and works".

The aim of this site is to experiment tools and devise methods for representing fragments of lost works, i.e. ancient texts that have survived only through quotations preserved by other authors.

Print collections of fragmentary texts are collections of textual excerpts drawn from many different sources and arranged according to various criteria, such as chronological order or thematic disposition. The length of these excerpts can be significantly different from one edition to another and depends on the editor’s choice. The aim of a digital collection of fragmentary texts is to go beyond the limits of print collections and express fragmentary sources in a more dynamic and interconnected way.

We begin by presenting different examples from ancient Greek authors (Plutarch and Athenaeus) whose texts are rich of quotations of lost works. "The Revolt of Samos" is a section where we have chosen the tradition of the Athenian suppression of the revolt of Samos (441-439 BC) to provide a test case for designing a "synoptical representation" of primary sources. The first aim of these experiments is to visualize fragments inside their context of transmission, which is the basic requirement to understand the origin of a quotation and its meaning.

We have adopted Ajax technology to represent fragments, and this experimental web site has been created using an Open Source CMS enriched with plugins created ad-hoc in order to add visual functionalities.

Support from the NEH/JISC PhiloGrid Project (Creating a Virtual Research Environment for Classics: NEH PX-50013-08) and from the Mellon Cybereditions Project allowed spending six months developing this work at the Perseus Project at Tufts University.

Project director: Monica Berti