Scylla and Charybdis were two legendary sea monsters that existed at the Straights of Messina, separating Sicily and the Italian mainland. Scylla was a six-headed sea monster on the Italian side of the strait, which would pick up and destroy individual sailors. Charybdis was a whirlpool off the coast of Sicily able to sink an entire ship. Pass to close to one and the other interceded; and vice-versa.
