"No, hug Scylla’s crag – sail on past her – top speed!
Better by far to lose six men and keep your ship
than lose your entire crew."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 119-121. Circe advises Odysseus how to navigate the straits between the two crags where Charybdis and Scylla are. He must avoid the whirlpool of Charybdis at all costs and sail by Scylla’s crag. It is preferable to lose six of his men to Scylla than his entire crew and ship to Charybdis, Circe tells him. This foreshadows that Odysseus will indeed lose some of his men.