Charybdis
The Maw of the Sea That Devoured Ships Whole
⚡ Quick Facts
The Living Whirlpool
Charybdis was originally a naiad — a water nymph and daughter of Poseidon and Gaia. She was loyal to her father in his rivalry with Zeus, and she flooded lands to expand Poseidon's domain. Zeus punished her by transforming her into a monster chained to the ocean floor beneath a fig tree.
Three times each day, Charybdis swallowed the sea above her and spewed it back out, creating a massive whirlpool capable of dragging entire ships to the bottom. She was positioned directly across from Scylla, creating a narrow strait where sailors had to choose their danger.
Between Scylla and Charybdis
In the Odyssey, Odysseus was forced to navigate between the two monsters. The sorceress Circe advised him to sail closer to Scylla, who would only take six men, rather than risk Charybdis, who would destroy the entire ship. The expression "between Scylla and Charybdis" — caught between two equally terrible choices — remains in use today.
Later, after Zeus destroyed his final ship with a thunderbolt, Odysseus clung to a piece of wreckage that was sucked into Charybdis. He survived only by grabbing the fig tree above the whirlpool and hanging there until the waters receded and spat out his makeshift raft.