In Greek mythology, Scylla is a legendary monster who lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait are within an arrow's range of each other—so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass dangerously close to Scylla and vice versa.
Scylla as a maiden with a kētos tail and dog heads sprouting from her body. Detail from a red-figure bell-crater in the Louvre, 450–425 BC. This form of Scylla was prevalent in ancient depictions, though very different from the description in Homer, where she is land-based and more dragon-like.
The Rock of Scilla, Calabria, which is said to be the home of Scylla
Scylla figurine, late 4th BCE. National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Glaucus and Scylla by Bartholomeus Spranger (c.1581)
Charybdis is a sea monster in Greek mythology. Charybdis, along with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas. Scholarship locates her in the Strait of Messina.
The Strait of Messina, with Scylla (underlined in red) and Charybdis on the opposite shores
The narrowest point of Strait of Messina as seen from the village of Torre Faro
A 19th-century engraving of the Strait of Messina, the site associated with Scylla and Charybdis
