By Group Boardinghouse
Arachne and Athena
By Group Boardinghouse
The Myth:
• Arachne is a renowned
weaver in her town of
Lydia, capable of
weaving heartbreakingly
beautiful tapestries
• Those in awe of her
works suggest that the
goddess of weaving,
Athena, trained her.
This insults Arachne,
who believes that not
even a god can surpass
her talent
• Arachne challenges the goddess to a weaving
contest, promising to submit to the punishment
of Athena’s choice if she loses. Athena weaves
a tapestry depicting her defeat of the god
Poseidon, while Arachne shows various
salacious scenes of the god Zeus, Athena’s
father
• Athena admits that her competitor's tapestry is
flawless, yet is still outraged by her
presumptuousness and disrespect. Athena
touches Arachne on the forehead, filling her with
guilt and causing the mortal to hang herself.
• Taking pity on the foolish mortal, Athena
resurrects her in the form of a spider,
destining Arachne and her descendents
for forever weave beautiful webs.
• THE MORAL: Don’t offend the gods, and
never let mortal ego overwhelm you.
Allusions
• Etymology: The suffix “Arach-” indicating
spider i.e. Arachnid, Arachnophobia
• Web Browser Arachne: suggests extreme
skill or proficiency
• Charlotte’s Web features a kind spider
who weaves messages into her web to
convince a farmer not to kill his pig.
Characters who meet their downfall
by offending the gods
• Poisonwood Bible?
• Heart of Darkness?
Works Cited
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/arachne.html
Title image: http://arcadissima.cool.ne.jp/files_gr_rom/athena_arachne1677.jpg
Loom: http://www.geschiedenisvoorkinderen.nl/fotootjes/Grieken/goden
Transformation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Arachne.jpg
Web Browser: http://home.arachne.cz/
Charlotte’s Web: http://www.concord.k12.nh.us/schools/rundlett/heroes/charlott.gif
KEVIN SORBO: http://epguides.com/Hercules/cast.jpg