Scylla and Charybdis Greek Two mythical characters who inhabited the Straits of Messina, between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily.
Publié le 26/01/2014
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Scylla and Charybdis 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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