Scylla and Charybdis were mythical sea monsters from Greek mythology. Scylla was originally a nymph that was transformed into a six-headed sea monster by the sorceress Circe. Charybdis was a greedy girl who was transformed by Zeus into a whirlpool monster for stealing oxen from Heracles. Scylla and Charybdis lived on opposite sides of the narrow Strait of Messina, making it impossible for ships to pass between them without encountering one monster or the other. The dangers they posed gave rise to the saying "between Scylla and Charybdis," meaning facing two equally dangerous options.

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2. THE MYTH OF SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS
Scylla was originally a nymph. Glauco had fallen in love with her, even
refusing the love of the sorceress Circe, who turned Scilla into a six
headed monster who ate all the passers-by on the sea

3. Charybdis was a greedy and hungry girl, who didn't care too much
about what she ate ... one day she stole the oxen out of Heracles and as a
punishment she was transformed by Zeus into a monster. The whirpool
of Charybdis would draw in and push out large amounts of water with
such a force that ships might be sunk in it.

5. Scylla and Charybdis were said to live on opposite side of a narrow strait
of water – Stretto di Messina- the passage of water between the Italian
mainland and the island of Sicily. Thus no vessel could pass between
Scylla and Charybdis.

6. The combination of Scylla and Charybdis gave rise to an old saying of
“between Scylla and Charybdis”, a saying which evolved into a more
popular idiom “between a rock and a hard place”, both sayings equating
to dangers which ever direction was faced.
Drawings and text by Anello Vittoria, Cardilicchia Beatrice, Guarino Gloria, Mercante
Francesca, Geloso Adriana