Scylla and Charybdis
By Charles Chaisson
By unknown
Both images depict Scylla with female traits and Charybdis as just a mouth. The former of the two pictures depicts Scylla with 6 wolf/dog – like heads on long extended necks attacking a ship which I believe to be more correct detail wise than how the latter of the two pictures depicts Scylla.
The 1st picture, drawn by Charles Chaisson, depicts Scylla as a sadist. We see Scylla smiling while she attacks a ship full of workers. Chaisson’s interpertation of Scylla is a woman with six wolf heads attached to various areas on her body. The word Scylla is derived from the Greek word skyllaros meaning dog which leads me to believe that having wolf or dog heads is a much better depiction of Scylla. The water around Scylla and Charybdis is a few shades darker than the water further down the river- this gives us the feeling that these two monsters are associated with darkness and evil. Even though this image misses a few details, I believe this image illustrates this scene in the Odyssey quite accurately as it gives the observer an idea of just how dangerous and grisly the journey along the river was.
The 2nd picture depicts Scylla as a woman with a trident and wearing a crown- royalty. Charybdis, again, is depicted as just a mouth and there is not much of a difference when compared to the first picture. The artist chooses to separate Scylla into a 4-headed monster and a female which is interesting. The female humanoid has a crown and a trident- similar to that of Poseidon which leads me to believe that she is related to Poseidon. Detail-wise, the artist is a little off. Two things, Scylla is missing heads and limbs. She should have six heads and twelve feet and the image only shows her as having 4 heads and a pair of arms and legs. This piece personifies Scylla. It distances her away from a monster and places more towards a god/goddess- akin to Poseidon. The composition of this image leans towards the darker end of the spectrum- similar to the first image. This composition illustrates a connection between the monsters (Charybdis and the four-headed beast) and darkness/ evil. Overall, despite a multitude of incorrect details, I believe this image is, in the least, a decent representation of the setting described in The Odyssey. This image shows a ship sailing to its inevitable demise towards a four-headed beast which is quite similar to what actually happens in The Odyssey- Odysseus essentially sails through this river towards the mouth of Scylla (in hopes that a majority of the crew survives).
I would agree that the secodn image provides a better representation of Scylla and Charybdis. I feel that what both images have in common is the fact that they very much sexualize women in the Odyssey. When we imagine Scylla and Charybdis we see them as monsters. However Scylla in particular has very human-like traits. Especially in the second image. I like how you made the parallel between Poseidon and Scylla in the second image. She seems much moe innocent than she is and seems to have an ability to control the monster that she is sitting on. She has free will and it is up to her to release the monster. What is interesting is how the artist completely separated this human version of Scylla and the monster. With this, the artist could be saying that maybe Scylla is largely human, but like everyone she also has a monstrous side to her.
Hi Kenny,
This is a fascinating pair of images to choose–as you probably noticed scrolling through your peers’ blog posts, almost everyone chose 17th or 19th century depictions of their Odyssey scenes. You’ve chosen very contemporary images instead. Your analysis is thoughtful and detailed, and you’re right that the second image in particular goes a long way to altering the monstrous BODY described in the Odyssey to something far more human, if still threatening.
I think something major goes unsaid though: BOTH of these images give Scylla a kind of sexuality totally absent in the text. Both Scyllas seem to derive a kind of erotic pleasure from the harm they’re doing/about to do. Why do you think that is? Why would the artists add that, to the text? (It may have something to do with OTHER moments in the text, when female sexuality threatens or tempts Odysseus. Here, the artists could be conflating the threat Scylla poses–she’ll eat you!–with the threat someone like Calypso poses–she’ll sleep with you, and then you’ll forget who you are.)
Strong work overall.
Best,
Prof Kolb