Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla and Charybdis
In Greek mythology, two monsters that guarded the narrow passage through which Odysseus had to sail in his wanderings.

These waters are now identified with the Strait of Messina. On one shore was Scylla, a monster with six snaky heads, who reached out of her cave to seize and devour six of Odysseus' companions. On the opposite shore was Charybdis, the personification of a whirlpool, who drank down and belched forth the waters three times a day. The shipwrecked Odysseus saved himself by clinging to a tree on the shore until his raft floated to the surface.

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      in Greek mythology, two immortal and irresistible monsters who beset the narrow waters traversed by the hero Odysseus in his wanderings described in Homer's Odyssey, Book XII. They were later localized in the Strait of Messina. Scylla was a supernatural creature, with 12 feet and 6 heads on long, snaky necks, each head having a triple row of sharklike teeth, while her loins were girt with the heads of baying dogs. From her lair in a cave she devoured whatever ventured within reach, including six of Odysseus' companions. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Books XIII–XIV, she was said to have been originally human in appearance but transformed out of jealousy through the witchcraft of Circe into her fearful shape. She was sometimes identified with the Scylla who betrayed her father, King Nisus of Megara, out of love for Minos, king of Crete.

      Charybdis, who lurked under a fig tree a bowshot away on the opposite shore, drank down and belched forth the waters thrice a day and was fatal to shipping. Her character was most likely the personification of a whirlpool. The shipwrecked Odysseus barely escaped her clutches by clinging to a tree until the improvised raft that she swallowed floated to the surface again after many hours. Scylla was often rationalized in antiquity as a rock or reef. Both gave poetic expression to the dangers confronting Greek mariners when they first ventured into the uncharted waters of the western Mediterranean. To be “between Scylla and Charybdis” means to be caught between two equally unpleasant alternatives.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Scylla and Charybdis —  In Greek mythology, Scylla (pronounced silla) was a six headed monster who lived beside a treacherous whirlpool called Charybdis (pronounced kuh rib dis) off the coast of Sicily, so Scylla and Charybdis signify a highly unattractive dilemma …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS —    two rocks opposite each other at a narrow pass of the strait between Italy and Sicily, in the cave of one of which dwelt the former, a fierce monster that barked like a dog, and under the cliff of the other of which dwelt the latter, a monster …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Scylla and Charybdis — n.pl. two dangers such that avoidance of one increases the risk from the other. Etymology: the names of a sea monster and whirlpool in Gk mythology …   Useful english dictionary

  • between Scylla and Charybdis — (usu figurative) Forced to steer a perilous or hopeless course between two deadly dangers, avoidance of one meaning almost certain destruction by the other • • • Main Entry: ↑Scylla * * * [kə ribdis] used to refer to a situation involving two… …   Useful english dictionary

  • between Scylla and Charybdis — adverb Similar in meaning to between a rock and a hard place Syn: between a rock and a hard place, between the devil and the deep blue sea, on the horns of a dilemma …   Wiktionary

  • between Scylla and Charybdis — phrasal between two equally hazardous alternatives …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • between Scylla and Charybdis — idi between two equally perilous alternatives …   From formal English to slang

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