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Born from Poseidon and Gaea, the sisters Charybdis and Scylla ruled over the straits of Messina. Scylla ruled one end of the strait with her twelve dangling feet and six long necks as Charybdis ruled the other end as an inescapable whirlpool. However, before ever being a whirlpool, Charybdis lived as a beautiful girl. After stealing cattle from Hercules, Zeus's son, and helping Poseidon increase ocean sizes, Zeus struck her down with a thunderbolt, turning Charybdis into a whirlpool. From that day on she lived on one end of the strait, sucking in and blowing out water three times a day with "Such [was the] powerful force of this turbulence that no ship could survive Charybdis' attention" (Cartwright).

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Charybdis's main role in the Odyssey occurs in Book 12. Odysseus and his men encounter Charybdis on the way back burying Elpenor. Odysseus ordered his men to stare away from Charybdis, but instead they encounter and are beaten by Scylla. Once encountering the sea monster, Odysseus “[as instructed] Odysseus holds his course tight against the cliffs of Scylla’s lair. As he and his men stare at Charybdis on the other side of the strait, the heads of Scylla swoop down and gobble up six of the sailors" (Summary). Later on, Odysseus encounters Charybdis again at sea as the storm sweeps him back to her which he narrowly escapes and floats back to an island. Together, Charybdis and Scylla harm the size and stability of Odysseus and his men on the way home which is the main event and obstacle Odysseus faces in Book 12.

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In the strait of Messina, being trapped between the sisters Charybdis and Scylla also meant being caught between 2 unpleasant alternatives. Others associate these monsters with the proverb to choose the lesser of two evils, meaning both ends are evil but one seems less dangerous and harmful than the other. Individually, Charybdis resembles the slowly starting addiction that eventually ruin one's life. Odysseus committed many violent acts, giving the the gods and monsters reason to punish him. By sending a monster to kill his men, Odysseus could feel the damage to the people close due to his immoral actions.

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Cartwright, Mark. “Scylla and Charybdis". World History Encyclopedia, 13 Dec. 2021, https://www.worldhistory.org/Scylla_and_Charybdis. Accessed 15 December 2021.

"Scylla and Charybdis". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Scylla-and-Charybdis. Accessed 15 December 2021.

“Summary: Books 12-14.” Sparknotes, SparkNotes, 2021, https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/section7/#. Accesed 15 December 2021

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Charybdis: The Gigantic Whirlpool Monster of Greek Mythology - (Greek Mythology Explained)