Week 3 Story: The Demise of Scylla & Charybdis
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| Scylla and Charybdis, Source EuroScientis |
The Demise of Scylla & Charybdis
Having escaped the Ilse of the Sirens, Odysseus and his crew sailed onwards, longing to return home. It was not long into their journey when the sea turned against them. Passing through a narrow channel of water, great breaking waves arose from turbulent waters, forcing the ship to move near the shore, on a great cliff side.The sea trembled, and in the deep water, a vortex started forming. Odysseus knew at once what it was, the divine beast Charybdis was sucking in the sea, creating a great deep vortex of water. The ship tried the best it could to pass in between Charybdis and the cliff. To their misfortune, the cliff trembled and with a great thunder, Scylla, a giant dragon-like creature with multiple heads came out of a great cave and appeared in the cliff side.
Odysseus and his crew were trapped in between Scylla and Charybdis. Odysseus knew he must act quickly, for the Scylla was plucking his men from the ship, with its long serpent-like heads, and devouring them. Odysseus called his crew to turn the ship to the sea, his most trusted commander replied "it is sure death," but they all obeyed.
As the ship plunged into the vortex, Odysseus called out to Scylla, taunting the beast. Scylla, enraged, tried to destroy the ship but missed every strike. The ship was too quick, whirling rapidly in the waters, gaining more and more speed as it drew to center. Odysseus had commanded the ship to go towards the center of the vortex, but now he ordered to change the course. They were going so fast, that changing course slingshot them out of the center.
The Scylla was trying so desperately to catch the ship, that it went off balance and fell into the sea. It was immediately sucked-in by the water vortex. Scylla was too big to be devoured by Charybdis, so it got stuck on its mouth. Desperately trying to free itself from Charybdis mouth, a fight ensued. Scylla mortally wounded Charybdis with its venomous attacks, but to no avail, because Scylla was drowning; for it was an earth-bound creature and did not know how to swim.
Odysseus and his crew gleefully watch the monsters dying.
Author Notes:
The original story comes from Hommer's Odyssey. In the original tale, Odysseus encounters Scylla and Charybdis, Scylla takes six of his man, but they couldn't do anything. The story in the UnTexbook stops right when they encounter them, which leaves a lot of room to elaborate on how Odysseus deals with the situation. I read a bit more of the story, and it turns out that Odysseus and his crew just sail past them, and Scylla only took six of his men, but nothing else happened. In my story, I wanted a little bit more action, and to see Odysseus bait Scylla to its death.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI really love what you did with this story. Specifically, I appreciate how you gave both Scylla and the Charybdis personalities. In Homer’s original text, they are presented more as events, and instead you give them motive and a bit more of a voice. Changing that aspect of his story gave the story more tension, as Odysseus was fighting two real and living things.
If I had one suggestion, it would come as more of a question. What if you gave both Scylla even more agency? Specifically, what if he and Odysseus were to engage in a short back and forth? This could look like Scylla cursing Odysseus, or perhaps even Odysseus mocking the beast’s corpse as the remainder of his crew sailed away on their journey, similar to what he did after their escape from Polyphemus’ cave?
All-in-all, I really enjoyed this re-write to this section of the Odyssey! Well done.
- JD
I enjoy how you put a more epic feeling over a dangerous part of the Odyssey. While the work is already known for being, well, an epic, there are definitely some parts that could use some sprucing up, and I think this shows well how to do it. One thing you could consider is including some dialogue between the crew members and/or Odysseus to show off the feelings of the crew as they spiral off or are captured by Scylla.
ReplyDeleteHi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI was not expecting the twist at the end of the story where Charybdis and Scylla ended up fighting each other, but I liked the unexpected outcome a lot! How lucky for Odysseus that both of his two main threats ended up killing each other instead. If only real life worked that way, and we could just watch all our problems resolve on their own. How big must the Scylla had to have been so that the Charybdis could not swallow it? Was the Scylla as big as the boat, or maybe even larger? I am just imagining two massive creatures I do not know well, and I am curious how they really look. Maybe for next time, I would suggest including more details about these creatures and how you imagine them in your mind. I have no idea what a Charybdis looks like at all, and I think it would be really interesting to see how you can flesh out these fantasy creatures and make them come alive.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you changed the ending of this story. Knowing Odysseus, baiting Scylla would definitely be something he would do as well as risking everything by sailing toward Charybdis. One thing you might do is add some more dialog to break up the story. I think it would be fun to know exactly what Odysseus said to anger Scylla so much. I am sure it was something clever. Also, perhaps he could rally his men when his commander is doubtful. I liked your writing during the action parts but maybe you could give some more background or details so that readers can get a better understanding of what is happening. Maybe mention why they are sailing in the first place, where they are headed, or perhaps how they are feeling. Other than that and a few errors that could be changed if you read it out loud, I really liked your story and the way you changed it from the original. I agree that that part needed a bit more action after everything else they went through on their adventure.
Hi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI love how you made the battle between Odysseus and the two beasts become more of a battle between the two beasts. You are absolutely right that it needed more action, since the whole story had so much action. Why would this section be any different? However, I would like to see more dialogue because I wondered how Odysseus was feeling at this moment. Extending it a little will help add details to it. Keep up the good work!
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story. I love Scylla because she is one of the characters in the game I play called Smite. It was really cool for me to learn more about the lore behind the character. I was under the impression that Scylla was a sea creature rather than an earth bound creature. So thanks for giving me that little bit of insight into Scylla!
Have a good one,
Brady