billows of the deep And storms of fire in air have scattered wide Timbers of ships and bodies of drowned men. One only of the barques that plough the deep Has passed them safely— Argo , known to all By fame, when coming from Aeaeta home— And her the billows would have dashed against The enormous rocks, if Juno, for the sake Of Jason, had not come to guide it through.
“ ‘Two are the rocks; one lifts to the broad heaven Its pointed summit, where a dark gray cloud Broods, and withdraws not; never is the sky Clear o’er that peak, not even in summer days Or autumn; nor can man ascend its steeps, Or venture down—so smooth the sides, as if Man’s art had polished them. There in the midst Upon the western side toward Erebus There yawns a shadowy cavern; thither thou, Noble Ulysses, steer thy barque, yet keep So far aloof that, standing on the deck, A youth might send an arrow from a bow Just to the cavern’s mouth. There Scylla dwells, And fills the air with fearful yells; her voice The cry of whelps just littered, but herself A frightful prodigy—a sight which none Would care to look on, though he were a god. Twelve feet are hers, all shapeless; six long necks, A hideous head on each, and triple rows Of teeth, close set and many, threatening death. And half her form is in the cavern’s womb, And forth from that dark gulf her heads are thrust, To look abroad upon the rocks for prey— Dolphin, or dogfish, or the mightier whale, Such as the murmuring Amphitritè breeds In multitudes. No mariner can boast That he has passed by Scylla with a crew Unharmed; she snatches from the deck, and bears Away in each grim mouth, a living man.
“ ‘Another rock, Ulysses, thou wilt see, Of lower height, so near her that a spear, Cast by the hand, might reach it. On it grows A huge wild fig-tree with luxuriant leaves. Below, Charybdis, of immortal birth, Draws the dark water down; for thrice a day She gives it forth, and thrice with fearful whirl She draws it in. O, be it not thy lot To come while the dark water rushes down! Even Neptune could not then deliver thee. Then turn thy course with speed toward Scylla’s rock, And pass that way; ’twere better far that six Should perish from the ship than all be lost’