Towards a Greek Proverb Atlas: Computational Spatial Exploration and Attribution of Greek Proverbs

Proverbs carry wisdom transferred orally from generation to generation. Based on the place they were recorded, this study introduces a publicly-available and machine-actionable dataset of more than one hundred thousand Greek proverb variants. By quantifying the spatial distribution of proverbs, we show that the most widespread proverbs come from the mainland while the least widespread proverbs come primarily from the islands. By focusing on the least dispersed proverbs, we present the most frequent tokens per location and undertake a benchmark in geographical attribution, using text classification and regression (text geocoding). Our results show that this is a challenging task for which specific locations can be attributed more successfully compared to others. The potential of our resource and benchmark is showcased by two novel applications. First, we extracted terms moving the regression prediction toward the four cardinal directions. Second, we leveraged conformal prediction to attribute 3,676 unregistered proverbs with statistically rigorous predictions of locations each of these proverbs was possibly registered in.