Scylla
A
beautiful maiden transformed into a monster variously described, but possibly
with six dogs' heads on long necks. Scylla's cave was in a seaside cliff
overlooking a strait that also harbored a phenomenal whirlpool called
Charybdis. The twin perils are memorialized in the expression "between Scylla
and Charybdis". This choice of equally dreadful alternatives was presented to
Odysseus on his journey home from the Trojan war. He chose to avoid Charybdis
at the expense of losing six sailors to Scylla's multiple maws.