Lisa Waddell

SKYLLA (or Scylla) was a monstrous sea goddess who haunted the rocks of certain narrow strait opposite the whirlpool daemon Kharybdis. Ships who sailed too close to her rocks would lose six men to her ravenous, darting heads. Homer describes Skylla as a creature with twelve dangling feet, six long necks and grisly heads lined with a triple row of sharp teeth. Her voice was likened to the yelping of dogs. This description of Skylla is probably derived from the imagery of words associated with her name : namely, "hermit-crab" (Greek skyllaros), "dog" and "dog-shark" (skylax), and "to rend" (skyllô). In classical art she was depicted as a fish-tailed sea-goddess with a cluster of canine fore-parts surrounding her waist.

Late classical writers say that she was once a beautiful nymph who was loved by the sea-god Glaukos. She has a jealous rival in the witch Kirke who used her magics to transform Skylla into a monster. The old poets, however, imagined Skylla as a creature who was born monstrous.