Chorography

Chorography (Ancient Greek: χωρογραφία, romanized: khōrographía, from χώρᾱ khṓrā, "place", and γράφειν gráphein, "to write") is the art of describing or mapping a region or district, and by extension such a description or map. This term derives from the writings of the ancient geographers Pomponius Mela and Ptolemy, where it meant the geographical description of regions. However, its resonances of meaning have varied at different times. Richard Helgerson states that "chorography defines itself by opposition to chronicle. It is the genre devoted to place, and chronicle is the genre devoted to time". Darrell Rohl prefers a broad definition of "the representation of space or place". The description can address geographical, sociopolitical, or cultural aspects of a particular land. The scholarly site for rhetorical terms and usage, Silva Rhetoricae, defines chorographia as "...[t]he description of a particular nation". Chorographia is a type of enargia, which is a rhetorical term for vivid, visual description. Enargia is used in many forms and has several sub-categories such as: Topographia, Geographia, Hydrographia, etc. It is possible to conclude that chorographia not only describes a land, but works as a rhetorical tool during the invention canon of rhetoric. Chorographia is visual as well as textual. A depiction of a national or geographical landmark is an example of chorographia, whether the depiction is photographic or textual in nature.