Arachne
heroA mortal weaver so skilled she challenged Athena to a weaving contest. When Arachne's tapestry proved flawless — and mocked the gods — Athena transformed her into the first spider.
The Myth
Arachne was a young Lydian woman of humble birth whose weaving was so extraordinary that nymphs left their groves to watch her work. When admirers suggested Athena herself must have taught her, Arachne scoffed and boldly challenged the goddess to a contest.
Athena appeared, first as an old woman warning Arachne to show humility, then in her full divine glory to accept the challenge. Both set to work. Athena wove scenes of mortals punished for challenging the gods. Arachne wove scenes of the gods' crimes — Zeus's rapes, Poseidon's deceptions — with perfect, undeniable artistry.
Athena could find no flaw in Arachne's work. Enraged by both the perfection and the subject matter, she tore the tapestry apart and struck Arachne. Overwhelmed with shame, Arachne hanged herself. Athena, feeling pity, transformed the hanging girl into a spider, condemned to weave forever. From Arachne, all spiders descend — and from her name comes the scientific term for spiders.
Parents
Idmon of Colophon
Symbols
Fun Fact
The scientific class Arachnida — spiders, scorpions, ticks — takes its name directly from the myth of Arachne.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth: