Charybdis
Odysseus’s boat passing between the six-headed monster Scylia and the whirlpool Charybdis
Nothing is more frightening than being sucked underwater by a whirlpool that feeds on human flesh three times a day. The Charybdis first appeared in Homer’s Odyssey. During this epic tale, Odysseus must sail between the six-headed sea monster Scylla on one side and the flesh-eating whirlpool Charybdis on the other.
The fact that these two dueling sea monsters attacked in intervals may suggest that Homer was describing a whirlpool formed by tidal activity.
Whirlpools that pull ships underwater really do happen. Known today as Garofalo, one is found in the Strait between Italy’s mainland and Sicily. Garofalo occurs when winds blow across the Strait in opposition to the tides. This makes it technically not a whirlpool (there’s no circular motion). But it does have the ability to wreak havoc on ships and pull humans into a watery grave.
This is once instance where science is just as scary as sea monsters.
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