In this 1918 illustration, the Greek Trojan War hero Odysseus is shown the second time he must face the whirlpool Charybdis.

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In Greek mythology, Scylla was a monstrous creature that lived on a rock on the Italian side of the Strait of Messina, devouring any ship/sailor passing by. Opposite her on the Sicilian side was the whirlpool of Charybdis. In Homer's Odyssey, the hero Odysseus safely passed through the Strait. So, too, did the Greek hero Jason and the Argonauts. In this 1918 illustration, Odysseus is shown the second time he must face Charybdis. He had been shipwrecked, was clinging to a raft that got caught in the vortex of Charybdis and he grabbed hold of a fig tree that grew nearby. When Charybdis spews forth the raft, Odysseus grabs it and makes his way to safety

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Size: 3899px × 4644px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: agrigentum, ancient, argonauts, charybdis, creature, greece, greek, history, homer, jason, legend, messina, monster, myth, mythology, odysseus, odyssey, roman, scylla, sea, sicily, strait, world