10 Weirdest Ways Famous Ancient Greeks Died
2. Diogenes The Cynic — Ate A Dodgy Raw Octopus
Everything about Diogenes is noteworthy, but one reported cause of his death stands out: he obtained for dinner one day an octopus and, true to his disdain for paltry 'modern' conveniences, elected to eat it raw. Unfortunately for him, the dodgy uncooked octopus killed him.
The story of Diogenes the Dog, as he was known, is full of unusual behaviour, from living in a barrel in the market place to public masturbation to being abrasive and rude to anyone he thought was corrupt or disingenuous.
Accounts conflict as to how the apparently 90 year old Diogenes died, two of the three leading accounts involving the raw octopus. Either he ate it raw, as he disdained unnecessary luxuries like cooking, and died forthwith, or he tried to divide this dinner amongst the local stray dogs and one bit him, from which he died. Who knew a dinner of octopus could be so deadly?
To cap it off, Diogenes thought burial rites silly and so requested his friends to dump his body in the wild for the animals to eat.