![]() Legacy Īccording to Procopius, the death of Porphyrios was a great relief to the general population, though some speculated that the killed whale might in fact have been a completely different whale than the one that had harassed seafarers. Some of the attackers stored their portion of the meat away whereas others began to consume it on the spot. ![]() Using ropes and wagons, Porphyrios was then hauled further up the beach and the whale was attacked and began being cut into pieces. They first made an attempt to kill Porphyrios using their axes, but their cuts into its flesh had little effect. Locals in the vicinity quickly organized themselves into a mob to kill the famous sea monster, rushing out with axes and ropes. Though Porphyrios struggled and attempted to get out of the mud, it only managed to sink deeper into the mud, and become more stuck. When chasing dolphins one day, Porphyrios ran aground near the mouth of the Black Sea and was beached. Emperor Justinian I ( r. 527–565), perplexed by the whale attacks and wishing to keep sea routes safe, made it a matter of great concern to capture Porphyrios, though he was unable to devise a means through which to do this. Many ships were sunk by Porphyrios, and its mere reputation terrified the crews of many more ships often took detours to go around the waters where the whale most commonly swam. Porphyrios made no distinctions in regard to which ships it attacked, recorded as having attacked fishing vessels, merchant ships and warships. It most frequently appeared in the Bosporus Strait. Porphyrios harassed ships in the waters of Constantinople for over fifty years, though not continuously since it at times disappeared for lengthy periods of time. If the name is a reference to the skin color, it could support either identification since both the black of orcas and dark brownish gray of sperm whales could be misinterpreted as dark purple. On the other hand, identification as an orca is supported by its geographical location, since true whales rarely venture into the waters which Porphyrios is known to have frequented. Porphyrios being a sperm whale is supported by its size, lengthy lifespan and temperament. It might have been a sperm whale or perhaps an unusually large orca. It is not possible to confidently identify which species Porphyrios belonged to. Whales were not well understood in antiquity or in the Middle Ages and were often seen simply as great monsters. According to Procopius, Porphyrios measured 13.7 meters (45 ft) long and 4.6 meters (15 ft) wide. Porphyrios is mentioned in the writings of the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius, both in the History of the Wars (VII 29) and The Secret History. Kaldellis also supported this etymology in 2017. Daniel Ogden in 2008 also supported the idea that Porphyrios evoked the color of the whale, believing that the name was best interpreted as "purple boy". Papadopoulos and Deborah Ruscillo in 2002, who believed the name simply meant "purple". Porphyra meant a deep purple color in Greek and Porphyrios might have had dark-wine colored skin. In 1996, James Allan Stewart Evans suggested that the name was a reference to the color of the whale's skin. This idea was also supported by Sian Lewis and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones in 2018, who believed the name alluded to the color of royalty and was a sign of great awe for the whale. ![]() Anthony Kaldellis suggested in 2010 that the name of the whale alluded to the imperial purple and was thus "a sign of the respect in which the whale was held". Common hypotheses on the name include it being derived from the contemporary charioteer Porphyrius or from the mythological giant Porphyrion, who waged war against the gods of Greek mythology. The whale was given the name Porphyrios by Byzantine sailors the name is sometimes alternatively rendered as Porphyrius, Porphyrion, Porphyry or Porphyrio and its origin is not clear. Porphyrios eventually met its end when it beached itself near the mouth of the Black Sea and was attacked and cut into pieces by a mob of locals. Emperor Justinian I ( r. 527–565) made it an important matter to capture it, though he could not come up with a way to do so. Active over a period of over fifty years, Porphyrios caused great concern for Byzantine seafarers. Porphyrios ( Greek: Πορφύριος) was a large whale that harassed and sank ships in the waters near Constantinople in the sixth century.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |