“Destroyers of one another”: Narrative Strategies in Oppian, Halieutica 2.253-421

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse one of the most recognised passages of the Halieutica of Oppianus of Cilicia, the fight between the moray eel, the lobster and the octopus, in order to identify the author's narrative strategies and their function in the passage. After a general introduction to the poem and to the theme of the encounter between these animals, I will explore, first, the larger structure of the episode, specifically the organisation of the events that compose it, and, second, I will study the descriptions of the actual fights between the moray eel, the lobster and the octopus.