Skylla (or Scylla) and Kharybdis (or Charybdis) are a well-known part of Homer's 'Odyssey'.
Scylla , meaning to tear or rend, was a monstrous seabeast (though its debated as to whether or not she was a goddess) that dwelled within the rocks of a narrow strait sitting opposite of Kharybdis. She had six heads that would dart out and steal men from their ships if they passed too close.In ancient pottery or drawings she is shown as a goddess with a large fish-tail and clusters of canine parts around her midsection. Homer gives a lengthy description of her. Skylla had twelve feet, six gigantic necks (each adorned with a head that was lined with three rows of teeth). Her voice sounded similar to the yelps of a dog (Not exactly sure how that works). Thusly, it is not surprising that the greek word 'skyllaros' means hermit-crab, 'skylax' means dog or dog-shark and the word 'skyllo' means 'to rend'.
Kharybdis , on the other hand, had a name that translated roughly to swallow and belch. It was either a sea monster or a goddess who was in the form of a huge whirlpool (there's debate on how the texts should be translated). It swirled opposite of Skylla, into the straits of Messina. It is debated as to whether Kharybdis was a goddess of tides, or a living personification of whirlpools. Nevertheless, she was identical to Keto Trienos or Ceto, a marine goddess who went by the name 'Three Times'.
Seirenes , or Sirens , are famous in mythology for being sea nymphs that lured sailors to a rocky death by singing betwitching songs. The latin word siren translates into Entwiner or Binder . "T hey are mantic creatures like the Sphinx with whom they have much in common, knowing both the past and the future ," Harrison observed. " Their song takes effect at midday, in a windless calm. The end of that song is death ."Some stories portray the sirens as handmaidens to Persephone. When she was taken by Hades, Demeter (her mother) gave them each bodies of birds and sent them to find her. They gave up and settled on the island of Anthemoessa. Sometimes they were thought to be the daughters of Achelous, a river God. The Argonauts encountered them, yet passed unharmed as Orpheus drowned out their betwitching song with his own. Then Odysseus sailed through and was bound the his mast, all of his men having their ears stuffed with wax. In distress over the fact they couldn't lure him to shore , the sirens threw themselves against the rocks and into the sea to die.
