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Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology, which has been associated with the proverbial advice "to choose the lesser of two evils". [1] Several other idioms such as " on the horns of a dilemma ", "between the devil and the deep blue sea", and "between a rock and a hard place" express similar meanings. [ 2 ]
Charybdis (/ k ə ˈ r ɪ b d ɪ s /; Ancient Greek: Χάρυβδις, romanized: Khárybdis, Attic Greek: [kʰárybdis]; Latin: Charybdis, Classical Latin: [kʰäˈrʏbd̪ɪs̠]) is a sea monster in Greek mythology. Charybdis, along with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus (/ ə ˈ d ɪ s i ə s / ə-DISS-ee-əs; [1] Ancient Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, romanized: Odysseús, Odyseús, IPA: [o.dy(s).sěu̯s]), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses (/ juː ˈ l ɪ s iː z / yoo-LISS-eez, UK also / ˈ juː l ɪ s iː z / YOO-liss-eez; Latin: Ulysses, Ulixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of ...
In Greek mythology, Scylla [a] (/ ˈ s ɪ l ə / SIL-ə; Ancient Greek: Σκύλλα, romanized: Skýlla, pronounced) is a legendary, man-eating monster who lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart, the sea-swallowing monster Charybdis. The two sides of the strait are within an arrow's range of each other—so ...
A mosaic depicting Odysseus, from the villa of La Olmeda, Pedrosa de la Vega, Spain, late 4th–5th centuries AD. The Odyssey begins after the end of the ten-year Trojan War (the subject of the Iliad), from which Odysseus (also known by the Latin variant Ulysses), king of Ithaca, has still not returned because he angered Poseidon, the god of the sea.
Odysseus' boat nears the isle of Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla's six serpentine heads wreak havoc on the crew, killing many. Everyone but Odysseus is killed when Charybdis creates a whirlpool and destroys his ship. Odysseus arrives on the island where the goddess Calypso (Vanessa Williams) lives. With no means of escape, he becomes trapped there ...
Next was the pass of Scylla and Charybdis where he lost part of his ship's crew. The rest landed in the isle Thrinacia, sacred to Helios (the Sun) where he kept sacred cattle. Though Odysseus warned his men not to (as Tiresias had told him), they killed and ate some of the cattle after Zeus placed Odysseus in his sleep to test his crew.
Odysseus and his crew arrive at Thrinacia after passing Scylla and Charybdis. When Eurylochus begs to be allowed to land to prepare supper, Odysseus grudgingly agrees on condition that the crew swear that if they come upon a herd of cattle or a great flock of sheep, no one will kill any of them.