Scylla

Scylla is a term used for several distinct topics in mythology, biology, and computing. In Greek mythology, Scylla is a sea monster that inhabited the rocky coastline opposite Charybdis in the Strait of Messina. Descriptions vary, but she is commonly depicted as a creature with multiple heads—often six—each snapping at sailors as ships passed within reach. The peril of Scylla and Charybdis became a cultural shorthand for a choice between two dangers, forcing navigators to shift from one hazard to another.

Scylla is also the name of a genus of crabs in the family Portunidae, known collectively as mud crabs or mangrove crabs. The genus includes several species, such as Scylla serrata, Scylla paramamosain, Scylla olivacea, and Scylla tranquebarica, native to coastal and estuarine habitats across the Indo-Pacific. These crabs are commercially valuable in many regions and are raised in aquaculture.

In computing, Scylla refers to a high-performance NoSQL database developed by ScyllaDB as a drop-in replacement for Apache Cassandra. Written in C++, Scylla aims to deliver higher throughput and lower latency than Cassandra while preserving compatible APIs and tooling, and is deployed as a distributed, multi-node system.