Charybdis

Charybdis, along with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas.

The sea monster Charybdis was believed to live under a small rock on one side of a narrow channel.

Three times a day, Charybdis swallowed a huge amount of water, before belching it back out again, creating large whirlpools capable of dragging a ship underwater.

Charybdis aided her father Poseidon in his feud with her paternal uncle Zeus and, as such, helped him engulf lands and islands in water.

[9] In the Aeneid, the Trojans are warned by Helenus of Scylla and Charybdis, and are advised to avoid them by sailing around Pachynus point (Cape Passero) rather than risk the strait.

Henry Fuseli 's painting of Odysseus facing the choice between Scylla and Charybdis, 1794–1796
The Strait of Messina, with Scylla (underlined in red) and Charybdis on the opposite shores
A 19th-century engraving of the Strait of Messina, the site associated with Scylla and Charybdis