Why all spiders are bad.

The legend of Arachne.

Early life

In the times of Ancient Greece, Arachne lived in a kingdom called Lydia (now called Turkey in the modern era) and was the daughter of lower-class wool-dyers. Her father Idmon was a son of Asteria, the of falling stars.

Though her parents died when she was young and left her with neither family, nor friends, nor fortune, Arachne still became the most famous girl in the kingdom because of her skills. She could weave exquisitely with effortless ease and had a particular proficiency in making tapestries, which could only be afforded by the wealthiest personages in those times. Soon, even the left their woods and their streams to join the common folk in admiring her weaving.

Rivalry with Athena

However, all the praise Arachne received went to her head and she eventually became extremely conceited, claiming that she owed no thanks to (the very goddess who had invented weaving) for her talent and that the goddess could actually learn from her if she were to engage in a weaving contest with her. Though she was offended after hearing this, Athena still decided to give Arachne a chance to redeem herself. Assuming the form of a feeble old woman, she joined the crowd that admired Arachne's weaving and acknowledged to herself that the girl was indeed talented. Athena then warned Arachne not to offend the gods, but to humble herself and ask for forgiveness for dishonouring them in her arrogance. Arachne scoffed at her, persisting that she owed Athena no thanks and that she actually wished for a weaving contest between her and the goddess so she could prove her skill to others and the gods.

Provoked to the breaking point, Athena dropped her disguise and the contest began. Athena's tapestry depicted the gods in all their glory, wise honouring the gods in the appropriate manner, and - possibly as an indirect warning to Arachne - infamous mortals who had dared to compare themselves to the gods being punished with either transmutation or death. On the other hand, Arachne's tapestry featured all the wrong and foolish things that the gods had done, such as kidnapping the Princess Europa in the form of a bull, as a stallion pursuing as a white mare, and so on. When the tapestries were completed, the crowd was absolutely silent as both were incredible: Athena's was majestic, breathtaking, and radiated the power of the Olympian gods, while Arachne's was "the most scathing critique of the gods ever created", but still exquisite.

Arachne in

Athena was forced to admit that the contest was a tie, for Arachne's craftsmanship was genuinely flawless, but she was still enraged by how the girl had disrespected the gods through her tapestry. Taking the shuttle out of her loom, she started to beat Arachne mercilessly. In turn, the crowd, started to laugh and mock at Arachne's humiliation in the hands of the goddess. When Athena's anger subsided and she saw the crowd scorning Arachne, she turned her wrath upon them instead, but the damage was still done - Arachne knew that she would never be able to take pleasure in weaving (her only joy in life) ever again, and the townspeople she had tried so hard to please had turned against her as well. Consumed by shame, hatred, and self-pity, Arachne made a rope and tried to hang herself.

Transformation into the first spider

Arachne's act of suicide caused Athena to pity her, and so she transformed her into a spider, allowing her and her descendants to weave forever. However, from that very moment on, spiders shared a mutual hatred with Athena, and they also despised humans as Arachne was never able to forget her shame and anger at being ridiculed.

So, any child of Athena should have a reason to be deeply terrified of spiders! (Or anyone in general should still fear this legend, in case Arachne had any problems with them.)