Porphyrios
The whale that harassed the Mediterranean.
"Porphyrios (Greek: Πορφύριος) was a large whale that harassed and sank ships in the waters near Constantinople in the sixth century. Active for over fifty years, Porphyrios caused great concern for Byzantine seafarers. 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."
It has been found to be "mentioned in the writings of the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius, both in the History of the Wars (VII 29)[7] and The Secret History.[4] According to Procopius, Porphyrios measured 13.7 meters (45 ft) long and 4.6 meters (15 ft) wide.[1] Whales were not well understood in antiquity or in the Middle Ages and were often seen simply as great monsters.[5]"
This leviathan of the deep eventually met it's end after beaching itself on the shores, and being attacked by the locals.
"Though Porphyrios struggled and attempted to get out of the mud, it only managed to sink deeper into the mud, and become more stuck.[4] Locals in the vicinity quickly organized themselves into a mob to kill the famous sea monster, rushing out with axes and ropes.[1][7] They first attempted to kill Porphyrios using their axes, but their cuts into its flesh had little effect.[4] Using ropes and wagons, Porphyrios was then hauled further up the beach[1] and the whale was attacked and cut into pieces. Some of the attackers stored away their portion of the meat whereas others began to consume it on the spot.[7]"
en.m.wikipedia.org
The whale that harassed the Mediterranean.
"Porphyrios (Greek: Πορφύριος) was a large whale that harassed and sank ships in the waters near Constantinople in the sixth century. Active for over fifty years, Porphyrios caused great concern for Byzantine seafarers. 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."
It has been found to be "mentioned in the writings of the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius, both in the History of the Wars (VII 29)[7] and The Secret History.[4] According to Procopius, Porphyrios measured 13.7 meters (45 ft) long and 4.6 meters (15 ft) wide.[1] Whales were not well understood in antiquity or in the Middle Ages and were often seen simply as great monsters.[5]"
This leviathan of the deep eventually met it's end after beaching itself on the shores, and being attacked by the locals.
"Though Porphyrios struggled and attempted to get out of the mud, it only managed to sink deeper into the mud, and become more stuck.[4] Locals in the vicinity quickly organized themselves into a mob to kill the famous sea monster, rushing out with axes and ropes.[1][7] They first attempted to kill Porphyrios using their axes, but their cuts into its flesh had little effect.[4] Using ropes and wagons, Porphyrios was then hauled further up the beach[1] and the whale was attacked and cut into pieces. Some of the attackers stored away their portion of the meat whereas others began to consume it on the spot.[7]"
