Arachne by Antonio Tempesta, 1555-1630 |
Arachne
Arachne was turned into a spider for daring to challenge the gods.
Arachne was a weaver famed for the skill and beauty of her tapestries. She boasted that even Athena, the goddess of handicrafts, could not equal her work.
Athena visited Arachne, disguised as an old woman, and warned her not to offend the gods. But Arachne repeated her claim, whereupon Athena revealed herself and challenged the mortal to a weaving competition.
Athena produced an exquisite tapestry showing the battle between herself and Poseidon for the city of Athena. Thus she chose to depict the gods as powerful and beneficent.
Arachne produced an equally beautiful tapestry, but she chose a more scurrilous subject matter, showing Zeus in amorous pursuits.
Angered either by the mortal’s skill or at her choice of subject matter, Athena tore up the tapestry and broke the loom.
In despair, Arachne hanged herself.
Athena took pity on the woman, and brought her back to life as a spider so that Arachne, and all her descendants, would hang from silken threads and be legendary weavers.