Charybdis, the infamous Greek sea monster, is known to terrorize almost all life forms in the sea.She was not always this way. Charybdis used to be a beautiful sea maiden before she was cursed into being a sea creature.To know why she was cursed, her origin story, and what her powers and abilities are, keep reading the facts listed in this article.Facts About CharybdisCharybdis was a sea creature in ancient Greek mythology.It was said that she was the daughter of Poseidon.It was believed when she breathes the sea rises and falls.She was believed to be the sister of Scylla.It is believed that Scylla was the daughter of Hecate who was known to be associated with the moon, the underworld, and scary hounds.But according to Homer, Scylla’s mother was Crataiis.Her father was the sea god Phorcys, but there is a possibility of her father being Typhon, Triton, or Tyrrhenius.There is a legend that portrays her as a beautiful mortal human associated with Poseidon, Minos of Crete, and the sea god Glaucus.She was later known to be transformed either by the sorceress Circe or Poseidon’s consort, the sea nymph Amphitrite, into the infamous creature.Scylla is known to have six legs and six heads springing from various parts of her body.Scylla lives in a cave in the cliffs of the straits preying on unsuspecting animals and humans.Charybdis was known to live under a small rock on one side of a narrow channel.Opposite to her lived Scylla who is believed to live inside a much larger rock.Charybdis is believed to be the daughter of Gaia.Charybdis and Scylla were believed to live within an arrow shot range of each other.Any ship or sailor trying to avoid one would eventually fall prey to the other mythological creature.This is where the phrase to be between ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’ comes from. It indicates to be presented with opposite dangers.Jason and Odysseus were among the heroes who successfully sailed the treacherous waters of Scylla and Charybdis.Jason and The Argonauts avoided both dangers because Hera ordered the Nereid nymph Thetis, Achilles’ mother, to guide them through the passage.Odysseus had to face both Charybdis and Scylla while rowing through a narrow channel.First, he attempted to avoid Charybdis and to try to pass near Scylla. He lost six of his men in this attempt.Then Odysseus tried to avoid passing near Charybdis on his raft. His raft got sucked into her maw, but he clung to a fig tree and survived.Odysseus regained his raft and paddled away safely on the next discharge of water when his raft was evacuated.It was believed that Charybdis swallowed large amounts of water thrice a day, before belching it back out again.Some stories also claim that Charybdis was just a large whirlpool of water instead of an actual sea monster.She was given permission to perform her duties ebb and flow but each only three times a day.Since these flows and ebbs were centrally located her activities created huge whirlpools in the strait.The dangers created by these whirlpools were only made worse by the fact that on the Sicily side of the strait lived another monster Scylla who snatched those who sailed close.Charybdis’ StoryCharybdis is believed to be the child of Gaia and Poseidon.She was originally born as a nymph to be a loyal servant to her father.She was believed to displease Zeus and was cursed to become the infamous sea monster Charybdis.Originally born as a nymph Charybdis was anointed with the task of flooding drylands in the name of her father’s kingdom.Thus, Charybdis is known to be responsible for the ebb and flow of the daily tides throughout the world.There are two popular versions of the story that explains what led Charybdis to be cursed by Zeus.The first story claims that Charybdis became overzealous in her duties to her father, and began flooding way more land than needed.This made Zeus angry and consequently, he trapped and transformed her into Charybdis.He forced her to live at the Strait of Messina on the side closest to Italy.The second story claims that Charybdis was stealing and eating sheep that belonged to Heracles.Those were the sheep that Heracles had stolen from Geryon in his tenth labor.It is believed that Zeus was enraged because Charybdis had stolen what Heracles had rightfully kidnapped.This made Zeus angry and he punished her into becoming a sea monster.It does not matter which story you choose to believe, the end result for Charybdis was the same.She was transformed and imprisoned at the Strait of Messina.Charybdis Powers And WeaknessesThe sea monster has no known weakness; the only way to escape her is to avoid her.Even though Charybdis is huge in size, it is believed that her speed cannot be matched by anyone.The theoretical size of Charybdis is still unknown.It is believed that in order to consume Greek ships the whirlpool that would be needed can be estimated to be about 75 ft (23 m) across.It is believed that if Charybdis rammed into the bottom of an isle, it would cause several big eruptions and earthquakes that would cause the isle to shatter and even sink, depending on the island’s size.It is claimed that her mouth can open to extreme lengths at inhumane speeds and can swallow a small craft.Charybdis CharacteristicsIt is claimed that this sea monster is shaped in the form of a huge bladder.Her face composes of just a mouth and her arms and legs are flippersThe sea monster has an unmanageable thirst for the sea.A whirlpool does exist in the Strait of Messina, caused by currents meeting, but it is dangerous to small ships only in extreme conditions.
Charybdis, the infamous Greek sea monster, is known to terrorize almost all life forms in the sea.
