maybe he thought it would be a better idea to lose six men, one for each head of the scyllla, rather than risking the loss of the whole ship, including himself
He chooses Scylla over charybdis because if they go to charybdis they would all die, but if they go to Scylla only six would die because Scylla has six heads and six mouths to eat with.
Odysseus chooses to pass by Scylla because, Scylla will only kill 6 men, one for each head. Charybdis will sink the ship, killing everyone. Circe has also advised Odysseus to do choose Scylla. Further, Charybdis is a visible danger, and Odysseus uses Charybdis to encourage his men to pass by quickly. Finally, passing by Scylla and Charybdis is given as the only way for Odysseus to get home from where he is.
Odysseus ultimately chooses to navigate the route of Scylla rather than Charybdis. He decides this because Scylla, a six-headed sea monster, will take only a few of his men, whereas Charybdis is a massive whirlpool that could swallow the entire ship and crew. Odysseus prioritizes the survival of the majority over the loss of a few, reflecting his leadership and strategic thinking in dire situations.
Because if he goes toward Charybdis, all his men will die and he will lose his ship. But if he goes towards Scylla then only 6 of his men will die.
scylla
The strait is narrow and so Odysseus has to pass by either Scylla or Charybdis. Circe tells Odysseus that Charybdis is far more dangerous, as 3 times a day it sucks in all the waters around it. This would completely suck in Odysseus and his ship if he is sailing too close to Charybdis. Circe advises Odysseus to go to Scylla's side of the strait, for despite the danger of the monster, it is preferable to lose a half-dozen men than the whole ship.
So they did not become scared and decide to turn back. By the time they reached Scylla, all of the men were focused on Charybdis (the whirlpool), and did not have time to worry about being eaten by Scylla until it was too late.
Scylla and Charybdis are both Greek monsters. They both killed travelers. Scylla ate travelers and Charybdis drowned them by making whirlpools.
The strategy or choice he had was to lose several men or to lose all his men. Charybdis, being a whirlpool, would cause Odysseus to lose everyone whereas Scylla, being a monster, would mean he lost several men. It is a classic example of being between a rock and a hard place or a Catch-22 where whichever choice he makes, people will die. So he chooses to lose a few rather than all.
charybdis a swirling whirlpool
Circe
Odysseus did not go through Charybdis; instead, he faced her while navigating the strait between her and Scylla. In Homer's "Odyssey," he chooses to sail closer to Scylla, sacrificing some of his men to her instead of risking the entire ship being swallowed by Charybdis. This decision highlights his strategic thinking and the difficult choices he must make during his journey home.