Scylla

Scylla was a sea monster in Greek mythology, best known from Homer’s Odyssey. She lived in a cave on one side of a narrow sea passage, opposite the whirlpool monster Charybdis. Any ship that passed through the strait faced a terrible choice: sail too close to Scylla and lose men to her six heads, or sail too close to Charybdis and risk the destruction of the whole ship (Odyssey 12.73–110).

Scylla is one of the most famous dangers faced by Odysseus on his journey home from the Trojan War. Warned by Circe, Odysseus chose to sail closer to Scylla rather than Charybdis, because Scylla would kill only a few men, while Charybdis could swallow the entire ship. As the crew watched the whirlpool, Scylla struck from her cave and seized six of Odysseus’ companions (Odyssey 12.234–259).

Who Was Scylla?

A Sea Monster of the Strait

Scylla was a monster who haunted a narrow sea channel. She lived high in a cave in a sheer cliff whose peak was lost in cloud, hidden from sailors until they came too close; not even a man with a bow could shoot an arrow into the cave from a ship (Odyssey 12.73–84). From there, she stretched out her long necks and snatched dolphins, dogfish and whatever larger creatures she could find, and from passing ships one man for each head (Odyssey 12.95–100).

Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla is almost always remembered together with Charybdis. The two monsters stood on opposite sides of the same dangerous passage, so close that Odysseus could shoot an arrow across from one to the other; Scylla’s rock was the higher, and under the lower one, with a great fig tree on it, Charybdis sucked down the dark water three times a day and spouted it up again (Odyssey 12.101–110). This made the journey between them nearly impossible, because avoiding one danger meant moving closer to the other.

Appearance of Scylla

In Homer’s description, Scylla had twelve dangling feet and six long necks, each ending in a terrible head. Each head had three rows of crowded, close-set teeth, full of black death. Her voice was like the yelping of a newborn puppy, but she herself was a dreadful monster, a thing no one could look at with joy, not even a god (Odyssey 12.85–100). She is half sunk in the cave and thrusts her heads out from it. Later writers gave her a different shape: Apollodorus’ Epitome, for example, describes a woman’s face and breasts with six dogs’ heads and twelve feet growing from the flanks (Epitome 7.20).

Family and Origins

Different Parents in Different Myths

The parentage of Scylla changes from source to source. Homer names Crataeis as her mother and does not name her father (Odyssey 12.124–126). Apollonius calls her the daughter of Phorcys, whom Hecate, also called Crataeis, bore (Argonautica 4.828–829). Acusilaus likewise made her the daughter of Phorcys and Hecate, while another epic, the Great Eoiae, made her the daughter of Phorbas and Hecate (Acusilaus, fragment preserved by the ancient commentator on Argonautica 4.828). Apollodorus gives her as a daughter of Crataeis and Phorcys, or in another version Trienus (Epitome 7.20).

Crataeis and Hecate

Some ancient writers treated Crataeis as the mother of Scylla, while others linked Scylla to Hecate, a goddess connected with magic, night, and crossroads. Apollonius treats them as one: Hecate, who is also called Crataeis (Argonautica 4.828–829). The name Crataeis is Homer’s; the Odyssey does not mention Hecate.

A Monster or a Transformed Nymph?

In the Odyssey, Scylla is already a monster, immortal and not a thing that can be fought, as Circe tells Odysseus (Odyssey 12.118–120). Later myths gave her a different background and said she had once been a beautiful nymph. These stories explain her monstrous form as the result of jealousy and magic. They are told by the Roman poet Ovid, not by Homer.

The Transformation of Scylla

Scylla and Glaucus

In one later version, Scylla was loved by Glaucus, a sea god who had once been a mortal fisherman. Glaucus desired her, but Scylla rejected him and fled from him to land. He then went to Circe, hoping that the sorceress could help him win Scylla’s love (Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.898–968, 14.1–39).

Circe’s Jealousy

Circe fell in love with Glaucus herself. When he still wanted Scylla, Circe became jealous. She poisoned the water of the pool where Scylla bathed, and when Scylla entered it, she was changed into a monster. Barking dogs’ heads sprang from her waist, and she at first fled in horror from her own body, then was fixed there as a terror to sailors; Glaucus wept and refused Circe’s love (Metamorphoses 14.40–74). Ovid adds that Scylla later destroyed the companions of Odysseus, and was finally turned into a rock (Metamorphoses 14.70–74).

Another Version with Amphitrite

Late commentators on Virgil tell the same story with other names: Poseidon desired Scylla, and his wife Amphitrite, jealous, poisoned the water where Scylla bathed and changed her into a monster. This version is not found in Homer, Ovid or any other ancient text.

Scylla in the Odyssey

Circe’s Warning

After Odysseus and his men left the island of Circe, they had to pass several dangers. Circe warned Odysseus about the Sirens, the Wandering Rocks, Scylla, and Charybdis (Odyssey 12.37–126). She told him that Charybdis was the greater danger to the ship, because the whirlpool could destroy everyone at once.

The Hard Choice

Circe advised Odysseus to sail closer to Scylla: it was better to lose six men than the entire crew (Odyssey 12.108–110). This was a painful choice. Odysseus asked if he could not escape Charybdis and fight Scylla off, and Circe replied that Scylla was no mortal creature but an immortal evil, a thing terrible, grievous and wild, that could not be fought; the only defence was to flee, and if he stopped to arm himself she might strike again and take as many men as she had heads (Odyssey 12.111–126).

Odysseus Keeps the Truth from His Men

Odysseus did not fully tell his crew what was about to happen. He told them about Charybdis and told the helmsman to steer away from the smoke and the surge, but he did not mention Scylla, afraid that the men would stop rowing and huddle in the hold (Odyssey 12.201–225). Against Circe’s warning, he put on his armour and took two spears, and went to the prow, expecting to see Scylla first. He searched the misty rock and saw nothing (Odyssey 12.226–233).

The Death of Six Sailors

As the ship passed between the two monsters, the crew looked in fear toward Charybdis. While they were distracted, Scylla struck from her cave. She seized six men, the strongest in hand and strength, one for each of her heads, and carried them away. Odysseus saw their hands and feet high above as they cried out his name for the last time, and she ate them at the mouth of her cave while they screamed and reached out their hands in their death struggle. He called it the most pitiful sight his eyes had seen in all his struggles on the paths of the sea (Odyssey 12.234–259).

Scylla and Charybdis

Two Different Kinds of Danger

Scylla and Charybdis are often spoken of together, but they are not the same kind of monster. Scylla is a living creature with heads, teeth, and a cave. Charybdis is a deadly whirlpool that swallows and throws up the sea (Odyssey 12.101–107, 12.235–243).

The Meaning of the Choice

The phrase “between Scylla and Charybdis” came to mean being trapped between two dangers. It is similar to the later saying “between a rock and a hard place.” In the Odyssey, the choice is a real one. Odysseus truly has to choose which danger to face, and Circe tells him which (Odyssey 12.108–110).

Why Odysseus Chose Scylla

Odysseus chose Scylla because Charybdis threatened everyone. Scylla would take six men, but Charybdis could destroy the ship and kill the whole crew: Circe says that not even Poseidon could save them from it (Odyssey 12.107–110). Later, when Odysseus is alone on the wreck of his ship, he is swept back through the strait, and this time he escapes Scylla but must cling to the fig tree above Charybdis until his raft comes up again (Odyssey 12.426–446).

Scylla in Other Myths

The Argonauts

Scylla and Charybdis were also feared by other sailors in Greek myth. The Argonauts, who sailed with Jason in search of the Golden Fleece, also came to the same region of the sea: with the help of Thetis and the Nereids, whom Hera had sent, they passed between the smooth rock of Scylla and the roaring Charybdis, and then the Wandering Rocks, safely (Apollonius, Argonautica 4.920–963). Hera’s speech to Thetis warns of Charybdis and of the hateful den of “Ausonian Scylla”, who might dart out with her terrible jaws and destroy the chosen heroes (Argonautica 4.783–832).

Heracles and Scylla

Lycophron’s Alexandra says that Heracles killed Scylla, “the fierce hound that watched the narrow straits of the Ausonian sea, fishing over her cave”, and that her father brought her back to life by burning her flesh with brands (Alexandra 44–49). The ancient commentators on Lycophron explain that she had stolen one of the cattle of Geryon as Heracles drove them past. This story is not part of Homer’s Odyssey.

Scylla in Art

Ancient artists often showed Scylla as a strange mixed creature. She could have the upper body of a woman and dog heads or dog bodies around her waist. The later descriptions of Scylla, like that of Apollodorus (Epitome 7.20), match these images rather than Homer’s six-necked monster.

Scylla’s Role and Symbolism

The Monster That Cannot Be Fought

Many monsters in Greek mythology are defeated by heroes, but Scylla is different. Odysseus does not kill her or overcome her in battle. Circe tells him there is no defence against her, and he survives by passing her as quickly as possible (Odyssey 12.116–126). Scylla is, in Homer, a danger that must be endured rather than conquered.

The Cost of Survival

Scylla’s attack shows the cost of survival. Odysseus saves the ship, but six men die. The scene is painful because the choice is not between good and evil, but between a smaller loss and a total disaster; Odysseus reports that the sight was the most pitiful of the whole voyage (Odyssey 12.258–259).

The Fear of the Sea

Scylla belongs to the stretch of the sea where Circe sends Odysseus past the Sirens, the Wandering Rocks and Charybdis. In Homer the dangers of this passage are real and specific: cliffs lost in cloud, a whirlpool that sucks down the water three times a day, and a monster with six heads that fishes from her cave.

Misconceptions and Lesser-Known Facts

Scylla Was Not Charybdis

Scylla and Charybdis are sometimes confused because their names are so closely linked. Scylla was the six-headed monster who snatched sailors from ships. Charybdis was the whirlpool that swallowed the sea.

Scylla Was Not Defeated by Odysseus

Odysseus did not defeat Scylla. He passed by her and lost six men. This makes the episode different from the Cyclops story, where Odysseus blinds Polyphemus and escapes through a trick.

Scylla Was Not Always a Monster in Later Stories

In Homer, Scylla is already a monster. In Ovid’s later telling, however, she was a beautiful nymph who was changed into a monster by Circe. This later version tries to explain how such a creature came to exist.

Scylla Has Different Parents in Different Sources

There is no single agreed version of Scylla’s parents. Crataeis, Hecate and Phorcys are the names found in the early sources (Odyssey 12.124–126; Apollonius, Argonautica 4.828–829; Acusilaus), and Apollodorus mentions Trienus as an alternative father to Phorcys (Epitome 7.20). Because of this, her family background should be treated as varied rather than fixed.

Unraveling Scylla: The Monster of the Narrow Passage

Scylla is one of the most frightening monsters in Greek mythology because she cannot be safely avoided. She waits across from Charybdis, turning the sea passage into a deadly trap. Sailors who try to escape one danger are pulled toward another.

Her role in the Odyssey is short but powerful. She kills six of Odysseus’ men and leaves the hero with one of his worst memories from the voyage; telling the story to the Phaeacians, he calls it the most pitiful sight he saw in all his journey (Odyssey 12.258–259).

Scylla Sources

The main source is Homer’s Odyssey, Book 12 (37–126, 201–259, 426–446). Further sources are Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica (4.783–832, 4.920–963), Acusilaus (fragment preserved by the ancient commentator on Argonautica 4.828), Lycophron’s Alexandra (44–49), Apollodorus’ Epitome (7.20–21) and Ovid’s Metamorphoses (13.898–968, 14.1–74).

See Also: Odysseus, Charybdis, Circe, Glaucus, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Hecate, Phorcys, Crataeis, Sirens, Ithaca