(Mis)routes of the Classics Below the Tropics

Theoretical Reflections and new Findings

Abstract

The aim of this article is to offer some theoretical reflections on the study of the diffusion of Greek and Latin authors and works, which we have been conducting within the research project “(Mis)routes of the Classics below the Tropics: Production and Circulation of Editions of Classical Works in Brazil,” affiliated with the Classical Studies Center of the Brazilian National Library Foundation. In addition, we present new findings derived from documentation held at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Lisbon, Portugal), which we examined following the publication of our initial research note in Classica: Revista Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos in 2024. This article is therefore organized into two main parts: in the first, we introduce, in a propaedeutic manner, Franco Moretti’s Theory of Networks and Diffusion – which forms the central core of our theoretical-methodological framework – based on Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History (2005). We also explain the planned stages of our research project and describe the documentation used as primary source material; in the second part, we present new results from our investigation, drawn from book shipment requests to various locations in Brazil – documents we had not been able to examine during the preparation of the aforementioned research note.