Scylla
Modern name Scilla. a rock in the Strait of Messina off the S coast of Italy.
Classical Mythology. a sea nymph who was transformed into a sea monster: later identified with the rock Scylla.
Compare Charybdis (def 2).
between Scylla and Charybdis, between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering and probably falling victim to the other.
Historical Examples
This prophecy is fulfilled by Endymion, who aids in restoring Glaucus to youth, and Scylla and the drowned lovers to life.
The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art (2nd ed.) (1911) Charles Mills Gayley
Scylla exclaimed to Martha as John fixed her on Texas’s back.
Southern Stories Various
Better take a long circuit round Sicily than come even within sight and sound of Scylla.
Young Folks Treasury, Volume 2 (of 12) Various
She rode up close to Scylla and put her hand on Texas’s neck.
Southern Stories Various
Then Antonio has so many rooms dependent on him, that every door is a Scylla, and every window a Charybdis, as he passes.
To Cuba and Back Richard Henry Dana
Then, with great pains and trouble, she pulled and lifted Scylla into the saddle.
Southern Stories Various
Nevertheless he spoke gentle words, for he hoped that the love of Scylla might bring him profit.
Half a Hundred Hero Tales Various
Scylla called out as well as she could, but the horseman rode on.
Southern Stories Various
The Scylla of calf-worship was incomparably less shameful than the Charybdis of these heathen abominations.
The Expositor’s Bible: The First Book of Kings F. W. Farrar
What hath availed me Syrtes or Scylla, what desolate Charybdis?
The Aeneid of Virgil Virgil
noun
(Greek myth) a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster believed to drown sailors navigating the Strait of Messina. She was identified with a rock off the Italian coast Compare Charybdis
between Scylla and Charybdis, in a predicament in which avoidance of either of two dangers means exposure to the other
n.
sea-monster in the Strait of Messina, from Latinized form of Greek Skylla, of unknown origin, perhaps related to skyllein “to tear.”
see: between a rock and a hard place (Scylla and Charybdis)
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