What Is The Whirlpool Monster In 'The Odyssey'? Explained

Greek mythology is a cavalcade of gods and monsters. Most myths are meant to serve as some moral or ethical lesson to their listeners and show the power of the divine. Humans are meant to treat the gods with respect and follow Zeus’ Law, and most of the time, messing with monsters is a bad idea. Christopher Nolan understood that very well when crafting his monsters in The Odyssey (2026). They’re impossible sights to behold, and Odysseus learns the hard way that nothing good comes from meddling with the creations of the gods.

But one sequence in The Odyssey is fairly noteworthy because of the difficult decision that Odysseus has to make. He has to choose between two different creatures for his crew to sail past: the dangerous Scylla and the devastating Charybdis. That may be a bit surprising because only one monster, the Scylla, is depicted in the scene, and Charybdis is shown as just a fairly large whirlpool and nothing else. So what exactly is Charybdis, and why did Odysseus manipulate his crew to sail into Scylla instead of it?

What Is Charybdis In 'The Odyssey'?

Like most mythological creatures, the origins surrounding Charybdis vary, but the result is the same. She’s a gigantic sea monster living at the bottom of the ocean who belches vast amounts of water to create whirlpools. 

How she became a sea monster, though, depends on the story. While several early Greek myths made her out to have always been a monster, later ones instead painted her in both sympathetic and villainous lights. In one myth, she was portrayed as a daughter of Poseidon who helped her father flood the land, which annoyed Zeus, who cursed her to live at the bottom of the sea. Another myth made her a greedy mortal woman, but because she stole sheep from Heracles, she was banished to the bottom of the ocean for her crime.

What’s interesting about Charybdis is that not only is her origin open to debate, but so is her appearance. She’s either shown as a whirlpool or a massive underwater creature. Both interpretations are valid, and Christopher Nolan decided to present Charybdis as a whirlpool as opposed to a monster, most likely to not undermine the surprise when Odysseus decides to avoid Charybdis and instead sends his crew to Scylla.

What Happened When Odysseus Approached Charybdis?

Odysseus’ journey home is one full of loss and sacrifice. Still, after his encounter with the prophet Tiresias, he knew exactly how emotionally painful the trip would be and what he would have to do to ensure his soldiers survive.

Tiresias tells Odysseus that if he wants his crew to survive, he should sail to Scylla rather than through Charybdis, which would kill them all and destroy their ship. The Scylla, a six-headed cave monster, would use each of its heads to kill a crew member, but the rest would survive, provided they don’t try to attack it, in which case everyone would die regardless. No matter what, people are going to die, but instead of telling his crew what’s going on and the situation they’re in, he decided to deceive them and manipulate them into sailing to Scylla instead of Charybdis.

So Odysseus orders his men to sail into Charybdis, knowing that it would kill them. His soldiers mutiny, thinking that sailing through the whirlpool is certain death, and sail into the narrow strait where the Scylla lives, unaware that it is set to kill six of them. All the while, Odysseus sits back, exhausted, knowing what’s going to happen and set to do nothing about it. His crew is furious with him, and he does explain himself only after the fact, but the trust between him and them is effectively shattered. And thus, the origin of the phrase “between Scylla and Charybdis.”

Why Does Odysseus Manipulate His Crew To Sail To Scylla And Not Charybdis?

So what exactly does that idiom mean? It’s not too common nowadays and is rarely used, but its meaning has become pretty popular and well-known.

Essentially, “between Scylla and Charybdis” is similar to the phrase “between a rock and a hard place.” It’s a scenario with two bad options and forces a person to choose the one that will result in the least amount of harm. Think of how, in The Dark Knight (2008), Batman has to choose between saving Harvey Dent or his childhood friend Rachel. No matter what, Batman is going to suffer, but he at least has a choice in the matter. Odysseus does to an extent, but the way he handles that choice definitely frames him as being a pretty messed-up leader.

See, Odysseus could have told his men Tiresias’ prophecy. Tiresias initially said that his words were for only Odysseus’ ears, but Odysseus could have told them the prophecy if he wanted after the fact. In fact, he did so later to warn them not to eat Helios’ cattle. He could have told his crew about the decision between sailing into Charybdis or Scylla, but instead, he tricked his crew. Why? To absolve himself of guilt.

If he commanded his troops to sail into Scylla, then the six deaths that resulted would have been his fault. Not so if his crew disobeys his orders and sails into Scylla willingly. It’s why he also dissuades them from attacking Scylla. He doesn’t want more blood on his hands after losing so much already, but his lack of communication only instills further mistrust between them and him. It truly was an impossible choice Odysseus made, and you can argue that he made the correct choice to choose Scylla instead of Charybdis, but the way he did it definitely was not right.