Charybdis
creatureA massive whirlpool monster that swallowed and regurgitated the sea three times daily, destroying any ship caught in its pull. She sat opposite Scylla in the Strait of Messina.
The Myth
Charybdis was either a sea monster or a personification of the whirlpool itself. In some accounts, she was a daughter of Poseidon and Gaia, punished by Zeus for flooding lands by being transformed into a monstrous maw beneath the sea.
Three times each day, Charybdis drank down the waters of the strait, creating a massive whirlpool that sucked everything nearby into its depths. Three times she belched the water back up in a thundering eruption. No ship caught in her pull could survive.
Odysseus encountered Charybdis twice. The first time, he followed Circe's advice and sailed near Scylla instead, losing six men but saving his ship. The second time, after Zeus destroyed his ship, Odysseus clung to a fig tree growing over Charybdis's maw, waiting for the waters to regurgitate his broken mast so he could float to safety.
Parents
Poseidon and Gaia
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Strait of Messina between Italy and Sicily has strong tidal currents and small whirlpools, likely inspiring the myth of Charybdis.