ARACHNE

From Ancient Greece

Olivia
Coolidge
Introduction:

In Greek-Roman mythology, Arachne was a

mortal woman and talented weaver who
challenged Athena, goddess of wisdom and
crafts, and was transformed into a spider.
... There were many tales of Arachne, in
which, Athena wins, or Arachne wins but
hangs herself.
CHARACTERS:
Arachne, Silk Weaver of the Gods
In Greek-Roman mythology, Arachne was a mortal woman
and talented weaver who challenged Athena.

Athena.
goddess of wisdom and crafts, and was transformed into a
spider. Spiders are called arachnids after Arachne.
Discussion

Plot summary:

This myth is very famous for all the greek

myth lovers or Greeks. ... Arachne challenged
the goddess Athena, or known as Athene in
the story and was turned into a spider
because of her pride. The story means to
never have to much pride or it will be your
downfall.
SYMBOLISM
ARACHNE:

Her symbols are webs, spinning wheel, and

needles. Arachne, the Greek spider Goddess,
inspires positive change in your destiny for
the new year. Legend tells us that Arachne
challenged Athena to a weaving contest and
won.
Symbols of Athena:

Athena's symbols were the spear, the distaff

and the aegis (a shield of goatskin), to which the
head of the Gorgon Medusa was fastened in
order to terrify the opponents). Athena's tree
was the olive tree and her sacred animal was
the owl, the symbol of wisdom.
THEME:
At its heart, Arachne is a story about pride
and human limitation. An incredibly talented
weaver, Arachne is a young girl who feeds on
the praise of her patrons. Eventually, youth
and inexperience, coupled with consciousness
of her superb gifts, causes Arachne to boast
that her weaving is better even than Athena's.
The story means to never have to much pride
or it will be your downfall.
Arachne Myth Summary:

In the Myth, Arachne, by Olivia E. Coolidge, there is a maiden called, Arachne

who wove the most beautiful cloth in all of ancient Greece. She was so fine that all
who watched her said Athena must have taught her. However, she was boastful and
she indignantly told them that she was even better than Athena. Then, at that moment
an old lady rebuked her, but she remained just as arrogant as before and to her shock
the old lady turned into Athena! Refusing to back down they decided to compete. As
they wove it was clear that Athena was the quicker of the two, and so when she
finished there was time to see that her clothe was her last warning to Arachne, as it
showed boastful mortals in their punishment. Nonetheless, Arachne took no heed and
offended the goddess again with her tapestry showing the unworthy deeds of the gods.
After this Athena had enough and she slapped Arachne and then turned her into a
spider. And so it is, as today spiders still weave their striking webs.
GROUP 4