Caught between Scylla and Charybdis

When you are surrounded and have no place where to go, or even when you have to choose between two equally dreadful alternatives ... you are said to be caught between Scylla and Charybdis.

Illustrated by Verónica Letto

In Book 12 of Homer's Odyssey, in the middle of the journey to his homeland Ithaca, the adventurous hero faces a new fascinating challenge: to sail across the Strait of Messina, a narrow pathway between Calabria (Italy) and Sicily. Odysseus had already been warned of Charybdis and Scylla, the two sea monsters that lived on opposite sides of the strait. They were so close together, that trying to avoid one of them, drove you immediately to the jaws of the other one; it was an inescapable threat to passing sailors.

Scylla lived in a rocky cave; a strange creature with 6 pairs of legs and 6 heads tied to the body by snaky long necks. Whenever a ship passed, each of the heads would grab one of the crew and get him or her swallowed. Scylla was once a sea-nymph loved by Poseidon, the Sea God. His jealous and vengeful wife Amphitrite poisoned the waters in which Scylla bathed, turning her into this carnivorous man-eating monster.

Nobody had ever caught a glimpse of Charybdis. She lived under the sea and was supposed to have an enormous mouth with which she could swallow enormous quantities of water, and belch them out with analogous strength. With every water-devouring coming from her mouth, a sucking whirlpool appeared; with every water-spew an eruption outcame in a geyser-like formation. Charybdis was also originally a sea nymph flooder of lands; a powerful ally of her father Poseidon in the quest of gaining space to his water kingdom. With the help of his thunderbolt, Zeus limited her power and cast her into the sea.

How does the story end ? Odysseus achieves to bypass the challenge, but at a very high cost: he lost six of his crew-members devoured by Scylla's correspondent six heads, and his ship was swallowed by Charybdis making it disappear to the bottom of the sea. Odysseus managed to save his life by clinging to a tree that overhanged the water. With the following Charybdis' water-eruption, the hero swings into the air and lands unconscious in "safe" territory, ready to continue his journey back to Penelope.

Now, whenever you hear once more the British rock group "The Police" sing "Wrapped around your finger" ... you'll clearly understand the second phrase of the song. Try it here (♪).