Real
Charybdis
Charybdis is the marine whirlpool against which, according to Dante's simile, the wave breaks with continuous violence, an image of the clash of the waters of the Styx.
Description
In Canto VII of the Inferno Dante compares the clash of the waters of the Styx to the movement of the wave that breaks upon Charybdis, indicating with this simile a human event without pause and without meaning, as specified by the commentary to the canto. The reference to Scylla and Charybdis opens the canto and defines its brutal and inhuman tone, linked to the condition of the avaricious and the prodigal of the fourth circle. The mention of Charybdis thus falls within the initial simile and within the symbolic value attributed to it by the Introduction to the canto.
In the text
Linked verses
1 verses| Cantica | Canto | Verso | Testo | Open verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inferno | Canto VII | 22 | Come fa l’onda là sovra Cariddi, | Open verse |