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Table of Contents
Scylla is one of the legendary monsters from Greek mythology. She lived opposite Charybdis, her counterpart, on one side of a channel now known as the Strait of Messina.
See the fact file below for more information on the Scylla or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Scylla worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
DESCRIPTION
- Scylla was a female monster who had six heads with necks that are long and snaky.
- Her heads had three rows of shark-like teeth.
- She also had 12 feet and loins surrounded by barking dog heads.
- Scylla’s voice was said to be like that of the yelping of dogs.
- Scylla lived on one side of a narrow channel, where Charybdis, another Greek mythical monster, lived across from her.
- The narrow channels where these monsters lived were within the range of an arrow from each other. This meant that sailors trying to avoid Scylla would risk passing perilously close to Charybdis and vice versa.
- Scylla would eat everything that came within reach from her cave.
- In Books XIII-XIV of Metamorphoses by Ovid, Scylla originally looked human but was transformed by Circe, who was jealous of her and turned Scylla into her frightening appearance by using witchcraft.
- Scylla was also occasionally identified as the Scylla who, out of love for King Minos of Crete, betrayed her father, Megara’s king, Nisus.
PARENTAGE
- Scylla’s parentage varies depending on the author.
- According to Apollodorus, Homer, Ovid, Servius, and a Plato interpreter, the mother of Scylla was Crataeis.
- Ovid and Homer did not mention the father of Scylla, but Apollodorus said that it was either Trienus or Phorcus.
- Other authors make Hecate the mother of Scylla.
- The Megalai Ehoiai, a Hesiodic fragment, mentions that the parents of Scylla were Hecate and Apollo.
- Acusilaus, a 6th-century Greek mythographer, claims that Scylla was the offspring of Phorkys and Hecate.
- Apollonius of Rhodes, in an attempt to bring together these accounts, stated that Crataeis was an alternate name for Hecate, and she bore Scylla by Phorcys.
- It was also mentioned that Lamia sired Scylla, and another account states that Scylla was born from Typhon and Echidna.
MYTHOLOGY
- According to John Tzetzes and Servius, Scylla was once a beautiful naiad whom Poseidon took an interest in. A nereid, known as Amphitrite, got jealous of Scylla. Amphitrite poisoned the water in the spring where Scylla bathed, turning her into a monster.
- Hyginus tells a similar story, expressing that Glaucus fell in love with the naiad Scylla. The sorceress Circe, being in love with Glaucus, got envious and poured an ominous potion into the sea where Scylla was bathing, transforming her into a monster with six grisly heads on long snaky necks and four eyes.
- Her body changed to have a cat’s tail and 12 legs that are like tentacles. Her waist was encircled with six dog heads.
- In her monstrous form, Scylla would attack passing ships and seize a crew of the ship with each of her six heads.
- In a later Greek myth, Heracles battled and slew Scylla. Phorcys, her father, used flaming torches on her body and brought her back to life.
- In Odyssey XII, Circe told Odysseus to sail closer to Scylla, so as not to drown his whole crew and ship to Charybdis.
- Circe also advised Odysseus to talk to Crataeis, Scylla’s mother, and ask her to prevent her child from attacking more than once.
- Odysseus and his crew succeeded in navigating the strait, avoiding Charybdis. But Scylla snatched and devoured six of Odysseus’ crew when they got briefly distracted by Charybdis.
- In another myth about Scylla, Ovid says that Glaucus, a fisherman-turned-sea god mortal, was captivated by the beauty of Scylla.
- Scylla however, was appalled by Glaucus’ form, having fins for arms and a fish’s tail in place of legs. She fled from Glaucus to a promontory, where Glaucus could not follow her.
- Glaucus then went to Circe, asking for a love potion to use on Scylla.
- Circe fell in love with Glaucus but was not given the affection she wanted.
- She turned hatefully envious of Scylla, poisoning the sea pool where Scylla bathed, transforming her into a monster even Circe feared herself.
- This story was adapted later on into a tragic opera with five acts entitled Scylla et Glaucus.
- John Keats, an English Romantic poet from the 18th century, made a loose reimagining of Ovid’s myth of Glaucus and Scylla in Book 3 of his Endymion.
- In Keats’ version, Circe did not transform the nymph Scylla, but rather barely murdered her. Glaucus took Scylla’s body to the bottom of the ocean and laid her at a crystal palace containing the bodies of all the lovers who had perished at sea.
- Scylla was resurrected by Endymion after a thousand years and was reunited with Glaucus.
SCYLLA IN ART
- A 9th-century wall painting at the Carolingian abbey of Corvey depicts, along with other things, the fight of Odysseus with Scylla. This is the only medieval art that depicts this instance.
- During and after the Renaissance, painters across Europe were inspired by Scylla and Glaucus’ story.
- Agostino Carracci created a fresco cycle in the Farnese Gallery, showing Scylla and Glaucus embracing each other, an aspect not told by the myth.
- In more orthodox versions, Scylla is shown fleeing from the arms of the sea god.
- Other painters illustrated them being divided by land and water, their respective elements. Among the painters that did this was Bartholomäus Spranger.
- Some painters also added the detail of Cupid directing his arrow towards Glaucus, an example of which is Jacques Dumont le Romain’s painting at the Musée des beaux-arts de Troyes.
- Peter Paul Rubens depicted in his painting the moment of Scylla’s transformation under the sea god’s gaze.
- Circe poisoning the water while Scylla was preparing for her bath was depicted in Eglon van der Neer’s painting.
Scylla Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Scylla across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Scylla worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Scylla who is one of the legendary monsters from Greek mythology. She lived opposite Charybdis, her counterpart, on one side of a channel now known as the Strait of Messina.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Scylla Facts
- Truth Monster
- Person’s Image
- Parents’ Table
- Twist in My Story
- Crossing Scylla
- Scylla’s Lover
- Scylla’s Place
- Kin of Scylla
- Words of a Sorceress
- Look at Scylla
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Link will appear as Scylla Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 30, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.