It is difficult to tan an octopus, drying under the sun a technique the Greeks consider to work. Perhaps the sun helps evaporate the H2o but not much more. Maybe this is a touristic gimmick but I am not too sure. This method of drying is one that they say has been used for centuries, when they discovered that it was better to dry them before grilling the octopus a.k.a. xtapodi. Fishermen probably hung them over the ships ropes to dry out. Anyway, is it a myth in the minds of those that don’t really have better means or is it a practical way of accomplishing a dried out, ready to go on the grill, leg.