Arachne

How can you talk about mythology without mentioning the Greeks, right? So I tried to pick a story you might not know, the story of Arachne. A long time ago in a kingdom called Lydia lived a weaver named Arachne. She had a reputation for making some of the most beautiful textiles and was considered the best in the world. The pictures she wove were so live like visitors traveled miles to see her work, even nymphs stopped their play to look at her art. Arachne was very proud but also very arrogant. Her works were so remarkable that people often said she must have been trained by Athena (a goddess who was also known for her ability to spin beautiful pictures). Arachne was outraged by this. Why should she, with all her talent, be placed inferior to this goddess? She would tell the visitors that the goddess herself could not produce work more stunning. When Arachne's claim reached Athena she was very angry but she gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself. Athena disguised herself as an old peasant woman and visited Arachne warning her not to offend the gods by comparing herself to that of an immortal. But Arachne told the woman to save her words, she welcomed a contest with Athena and would suffer whatever consequence if she lost. Athena then revealed her true form and the people who come to watch Arachne's weaving were very afraid. But Arachne stood tall and stuck to her claim. They decided they would compete by each making a tapestry and set up their looms right next to each other. They wove from dawn to dusk and compared each others the next day. Athena had woven an exquisite cloth depicting the gods and goddesses together on Mount Olympus doing good deeds, those around the tapestry marveled at its beauty. Arachne, however, had woven a cloth that made fun of the gods and goddesses and showed them getting drunk and behaving badly. Even though the piece was insulting, the characters in the scene were almost lifelike. Athena grew even angrier at this, she admitted that Arachne's work was flawless but it was a disrespectful subject. Athena destroyed the tapestry, then touched Arachne's forehead to make sure she felt guilt for what she made. Arachne's guilt was so overwhelming it was far too deep for a mortal to bear and she ran to a nearby tree and hung herself. Athena had not expected Arachne take her own life and took pity on her. So Athena sprinkled her with the juices of the aconite plant and loosened the rope saying the words "Spin if you wish to spin." At this Arachne came back to life but not in human form. Arachne's nose and ears disappeared, and new legs sprouted from her body. For the rest of her life Arachne was to hang from a thread and be a great weaver and her descendants still weave their magic webs today. Too bad they look so damn creepy! This took me a while to write so be sure to leave some feedback! Did you like the story? What pantheon do you want to hear from next? Tell me in the comment section. Farewell for now mystery dweller!