ARACHNE

Translated by Olivia Coolidge

Arachne, a skilled weaver from an obscure village, became famous throughout Greece for her silk scarlet. Her
father was a humble and skilled wool dyer and weaver, known for his colorful scarlet made from shellfish.
Arachne, skilled in spinning wool into thread and weaving it into cloth, was even more skilled than her father.
Despite her small size and pale appearance, her beautiful embroidery and threads made her products known
throughout Greece, making her a unique figure in the industry. She was quick and graceful, and her fingers,
roughened as they were, went so fast that it was hard to follow their flickering movements.
Arachne's fame grew, attracting people from far and wide to watch her work. Even graceful nymphs were
amazed by her white arms and skill. People believed Athena must have taught her, questioning who else could
know such a marvelous skill.
Skilled as she was, she became prideful and bathed into the praises she received from everyone. She was
displeased by some people believing anyone could teach her anything. She would stop her work and indignantly
claim she gained the skill with her own fingers and practice, never having time to look at others.
She would not give Athena credit for her weaving or embroidery, as she could do no better. She said, “As for
Athena’s weaving, how could there be finer cloth or more beautiful embroidery than mine? If Athena herself
were to come down and compete with me, she could do no better than I.”
One day Arachne was ridiculed by an old, poor woman who questioned her claim to be equal to immortal gods.
The old woman said, “Reckless girl.” “How dare you claim to be equal to the immortal gods themselves? She
advised Arachne to ask for Athena's pardon and focus on her fame.
“Stupid old woman,” Arachne said indignantly. She scolds the old woman for speaking poorly, claiming she
was unworthy of her position. Arachne said, “If Athena resents my words, let her answer them herself. I have
challenged her to a contest, but she, of course, would not come. It is easy for the gods to avoid matching their
skill with that of men.”
The old woman, threw down her staff and stood erect. She grew tall and fair clothed with long robes. She
revealed her true form, she was Athena. Despite Arachne’s initial reluctance, she leads the goddess to a loom
and threads woolen strands with various colors, including white, gold, and scarlet. Arachne never thought of
giving credit to her father's skill in dyeing for her success, despite the remarkable colors of the cloth.
The room was filled with onlookers, the skilled artisans Athena and Arachne were nearly equal in their weaving
skills. Athena created a pattern of pictures on her loom, bordering twined branches of the olive tree. The central
figure was Athena competing with Poseidon for Athens, while mortals struggled with gods and fateful images.
Athena ended her work before Arachne, observing the maiden's progress.
Arachne looked at Athena from time to time and noticed that she was a faster weaver than her. Instead of fear,
she felt anger towards the goddess and an evil thought came into her head. Athena noticed Arachne's design,
which featured scenes of gods deceiving maidens and trickery. She saw this insult on Arachne's loom and tore
her work apart. Athena struck Arachne across the face and the prideful maiden froze for a moment.
The goddess cursed Arachne. Arachne's body shriveled, her legs grew tiny, spindly, and distorted. She became
the first spider. She was to live on a spin. Athena warned her descendants not to strive with her. All spiders
descend from Arachne, and as the Greeks watched them spinning their thread wonderfully fine, they
remembered the contest with Athena and thought that it was not right for even the best of men to claim equality
with the gods.