Monday, March 20, 2017

What advice does Circe give concerning Scylla and Charybdis?

Regarding Scylla, Circe tells Odysseus that the she-monster has twelve horrible feet and six long necks, each neck topped with an awful head that has three rows of teeth each.  She lives in a cave and cries horribly like a young dog, thrusting her heads out of her cave to snatch men from their ships as they pass, one man per terrible head.  About Charybdis, Circe says that the terrible whirlpool sucks the ocean water...

Regarding Scylla, Circe tells Odysseus that the she-monster has twelve horrible feet and six long necks, each neck topped with an awful head that has three rows of teeth each.  She lives in a cave and cries horribly like a young dog, thrusting her heads out of her cave to snatch men from their ships as they pass, one man per terrible head.  About Charybdis, Circe says that the terrible whirlpool sucks the ocean water down and spits it back up three times per day.  She says that if Odysseus's ship is there during one of the times Charybdis pulls the water down, there is no way to survive; all on board will perish by drowning.  Circe advises that he steer toward Scylla because then he can only lose six men at most, and he could lose all if Charybdis gets them.  When he argues and insists that they might wait and watch Charybdis to try to figure out when it is safe to pass her, Circe tells him, "Courage is nothing; flight is best." 

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