Charybdis (Noun)
Meaning
(Greek mythology) a ship-devouring whirlpool lying on the other side of a narrow strait from Scylla.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural events.
Examples
- As they navigated the treacherous strait, the sailors knew they had to avoid both the monstrous Scylla and the swirling Charybdis.
- In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus's ship faced the impossible choice of sailing past the sea monster Scylla or into the deadly whirlpool Charybdis.
- The sailors knew that to be caught between Scylla and Charybdis was to invite disaster, and so they prayed to the gods for safe passage.
- After barely escaping the clutches of Scylla, the crew found themselves being pulled inexorably towards the swirling vortex of Charybdis.
- As they steered their ship through the narrow strait, the sailors could feel the tug of Charybdis's whirlpool, its waters churning and foaming like a living thing.