Source Verification: Charybdis

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

What does Charybdis actually do?

According to Homer's Odyssey, she sucks down the dark sea water three times a day and spews it back up three times, creating a whirlpool violent enough to swallow an entire ship. Circe warns that no vessel has ever safely crossed her at the exact moment she is drawing the water in.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.101-110

How did Odysseus survive Charybdis the second time he encountered her?

With no ship left, since it had already been destroyed by Zeus's thunderbolt, Odysseus clung to the wild fig tree growing above Charybdis exactly as she swallowed the wreckage of his ship, then dropped back down onto the same timbers the moment she spat them out again and paddled clear on them.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.426-446

Why did Circe tell Odysseus to sail closer to Scylla instead of Charybdis?

Because the two dangers were not equal. Scylla could only take a handful of men, one for each of her six heads, in a single pass, while Charybdis threatened to take the entire ship and crew at once if caught in her whirlpool. Circe's advice weighs a survivable loss against a total one.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.108-110

Did the Argonauts face Charybdis too?

Yes. Apollonius of Rhodes's Argonautica has the Argo's return route pass directly by Charybdis, ceaselessly spouting and roaring beside Scylla's rock, with the sea-goddess Thetis and her Nereid sisters guiding the ship safely through the danger at Hera's request.

Source: Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica

Is Charybdis a monster or just a natural whirlpool?

Ancient sources treat her as an active, personified monster despite giving her no described body: Homer calls her "she" and describes her sucking and spewing the sea as a deliberate, repeated action rather than a passive natural feature, which is part of what makes her such a distinctive case of Greek personification.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.101-107

Sources

Primary sources

Homer, Odyssey 12.101-110
Homer, Odyssey 12.426-446
Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica