In Book 12 of the Odyssey, Odysseus is warned about the sirens, including Scylla. Before encountering the sirens, Odysseus is given important instructions on how to successfully escape the lure of the sirens from Circe; plug your ears, and bound your hands and feet to the ship. This ensures that Odysseus and his men wouldn’t feel the urge to listen to the sirens’ songs. Even though Odysseus is seen as this great leader and hero, not even he could resist their temptation without proper preparation. Along with this, Odysseus’s encounter with Scylla and Charybdis demonstrates his leadership skills, his ability to think of solutions to avoid trouble, and the loyalty he has to his men. Although Odysseus gave into Scylla’s temptation, it was ultimately because he would lose less men than he would compared if he steered his ship in the direction of Charybdis, a fatal whirlpool.

Throughout Book 12, we learn how dangerous Scylla and the other sirens are. Scylla is described as having six long necks with each having their own head with three separate rows of teeth, twelve legs, and that she is “pregnant with death” (Wilson, Lines 85-91). The description Circe gave Scylla goes to demonstrate how truly terrifying of a creature she is. Along with this, it goes to show how women are depicting in the Odyssey. For instance, the sirens are known to seduce men, which shows how women in stories are used to distract men, which depicts a sexist narrative. However, despite the alarming description of Scylla, Circe notes that even a god would fear her because of her “puppylike” voice. With her voice, she is able to lure sailors in, and meet the fate of inevitable death. This is evident when Odysseus didn’t warn his men about Scylla because he knew they would scurry and hide in fear, instead of bravely fighting back. With Scylla, she is supposed to be a road block for sailors. She is supposed to be a challenge that heroes need to overcome. Only a hero who is brave enough and has a strong will is able to make the decision to sacrifice his own men is able to lead them past Scylla, this great obstacle. By Wilson writing that Scylla is “pregnant with death” goes to prove further how powerful Scylla really is. Although it may come off as sexist to some that she used birthing of death as a negative thing, it could be seen as empowering, as birth and creation is the ultimate power for a woman.

Despite the dangers of Scylla, she ultimately taught Odysseus the power of loyalty and sacrifice. If Odysseus decided to sail towards Charybdis instead of Scylla, he would’ve lost most, if not all of his men. However, because he followed Circe’s directions of steering close to Scylla, he was able to lose less men (although the men lost were his 6 strongest and fiercest troops), and he was able to navigate out of the encounter with Scylla in the safest possible way. This ultimately led to him and his men to return home safely. However, because most of the monsters are depicted as women, this narrative can create an idea that women are the true monsters and enemies to heroes prevailing in life.