27/10/2021
I believe that almost everyone has heard the expression “between Scylla and Charybdis”.
They were two monsters from Homer's Odyssey.
The idiom has been associated with a dilemma or situation where you have to choose the lesser evil.
What is interesting is that both Scylla and Charybdis have their geographical prototypes!
There is the Strait of Messina in Italy between Sicily and Calabria region and the strait, due to its shape and landscape, is very complicated for sail navigation.
In the myth, Scylla was a supernatural female creature, with 12 feet and six heads on long snaky necks, but in the real world, it was a rock on the Calabrian side, which was ruined in the 18th century during the earthquake.
And Charybdis, who lurked under a fig tree a bowshot away on the opposite shore, drank down and belched forth the waters thrice a day and was fatal to shipping. Her character was most likely the personification of a whirlpool near the Sicily shore.
Today the site looks very safe and quiet (see the picture), but another fun fact is that The Strait of Messina may be one of the last places on Earth where trains board ships to cross the sea.
If you take an intercity train from Rome to Sicily, you’ll be transferred by a ferry from Reggio Calabria to Messina.
