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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 ]
Odysseus faced both Charybdis and Scylla while rowing through a narrow channel. He ordered his men to avoid Charybdis, thus forcing them to pass near Scylla, which resulted in the deaths of six of his men. Later, stranded on a raft, Odysseus was swept back through the strait and passed near Charybdis.
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 ...
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.
Between Scylla and Charybdis" is an idiom derived from Homer's Odyssey. In the story, Odysseus chose to go near Scylla as the lesser of two evils. He lost six of his companions, but if he had gone near Charybdis all would be doomed. Because of such stories, having to navigate between the two hazards eventually entered idiomatic use.
Jason chose to brave the Planctae instead of braving Scylla and Charybdis. In the Odyssey of Homer, the sorceress Circe tells Odysseus of the "Wandering Rocks" or "Roving Rocks" that have only been successfully passed by the Argo when homeward bound. These rocks smash ships and the remaining timbers are scattered by the sea or destroyed by flames.
Helios, who in Greek mythology is the god of the Sun, is said to have had seven herds of oxen and seven flocks of sheep, each numbering fifty head. [3] In the Odyssey, Homer describes these immortal cattle as handsome (ἄριστος), wide-browed (εὐρυμέτωπος), fat, and straight-horned (ὀρθόκραιρος). [4]
Pieter Lastman: Odysseus and Nausicaa (oil on panel, 1619; Alte Pinakothek, Munich). Scheria or Scherie (/ ˈ s k ɪər i ə /; Ancient Greek: Σχερία or Σχερίη), also known as Phaeacia (/ f iː ˈ eɪ ʃ ə /) or Faiakia, was a region in Greek mythology, first mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the home of the Phaeacians and the last destination of Odysseus in his 10-year journey ...