Przemysław Marciniak Writing a Byzantine zoobiography: the case of the octopus Abstract: This article examines the zoobiography of a single species: the octopus. It explores Byzantine perspectives on the biological properties of the octopus as well as the metaphorical applications of its perceived characteristics. While the major- ity of the material is derived from the middle Byzantine period (10th – 12th centu- ries), the study also incorporates earlier and later sources to provide a comprehen- sive panorama. Adresse: Prof. Dr. Przemysław Marciniak, Institute of Literary Studies, University of Silesia in Katowice, Uniwersytecka 4, 40-007 Katowice, Poland; przemyslaw.marciniak@us.edu.pl The literary career of the octopus is impressively long, making its way into the Ho- meric epic, where a comparison to the octopus is used in the description of Odys- seus’ salvage from the sea (Od. 5.432 – 435). Throughout centuries, the physical at- tributes of the material animal influenced and shaped its cultural and literary perception. In his volume on ancient animals, Otto Keller suggests that the octo- pus perfectly represents the “elastic” Greek nature.¹ While this may sound conde- scending, the octopus’s adaptability and survival skills became its defining traits in ancient writings and later in Byzantine literature. Writinga premodern zoobiography, however, is marred by the incompatibility between modern and earlier understandings of zoology. And, as often happens with premodern zoology, our notion of “facts” must be suspended or at least This article was written as part of the research funded by the NCN project UMO-2019/35/B/HS2/02779. The funds for proofreading were provided by the Excellence Initiative (IDUB) of the University of Silesia. Unless stated otherwise, all translations are mine. I would like to extend my gratitude to Krystina Kubina, Tristan Schmidt and Athanassios Vergados for their help and suggestions. No octopus was harmed during the work on this paper. 1 O. Keller, Die antike Tierwelt. Zweiter Band:Vögel, Fische, Insekten, Spinnentiere, Tausendfüss- ler, Krebstiere, Würmer, Weichtiere, Stachelhäuter, Schlauchtiere. Leipzig 1913,508: “Die Griechen sind von Hause aus elastischen Naturen. (…) Daraus entspringt nicht bloß eine gewisse Toleranz, die in humaner Weise die Eigenheiten anderer verehrt, sondern auch jene Weltklugheit, die je nach den Umständen die Farben wechselt und nicht selten zu vollständiger Charakterlosigkeit führt. So ist den Griechen der Polyp das treffendste Symbol ihres eigenen Naturells.” DOI 10.1515/bz-2024-0042 BZ 2024; 117(3): 669–692