Scylla and Charybdis
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Greek Two mythical
characters who inhabited the Straits of Messina,
between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily. On
the Italian side lived the monster Scylla. She had
the body of a woman, but around her waist grew six
long necks with the heads of dogs armed with three
rows of teeth, who emitted ferocious and terrifying
barks. On the Sicilian side lived Charybdis, who
dwelled under a great fig tree. Three times each day,
Charybdis swallowed up the sea and then spat it out
again in a boiling whirlpool.
Although the witch Circe had warned the hero
Odysseus of the dangers of Scylla and Charybdis,
Scylla managed to devour six of Odysseus's crewmen.
The legend represents the dangers of navigation
faced by early mariners in those waters, where there
are treacherous currents akin to whirlpools.
The expression "to fall between Scylla and Charybdis,"
similar to the more modern "to jump from
the frying pan into the fire," means to be caught in
a dilemma—that is, to have to choose between two
unsatisfactory alternatives.
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