How has the myth of Arachne been adapted over time and what are the implications of the different versions of her story?
- achillesreel
- Sep 30
- 6 min read
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, physical abuse and suicidal ideation.
Introduction
The story of Arachne, whose earliest known version is recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses VI, is a myth that has been revised and adapted throughout the aeons, maintaining a similar outcome and general themes such as the dangers of hubris, the downfall of arrogant mortals and the superiority of the gods, whilst diverging on aspects such as Arachne’s genealogical background and the context and step by step process of her transformation. Whilst the message of the myth has remained largely the same since being first recorded, warning readers to be both grateful and humble of their talents, there are significant variations in the exact details of the competition between Arachne and Athena (or Minerva, if referring specifically to Roman Mythology). The exact nature of these changes, as well as the motivation behind them, testify as significant examples of adaption throughout different societies and cultures, highlight the diverging priorities of the people retelling this myth.
General Outline of Ovid’s Version, with quotations translated by Brookes More
As recounted in the sixth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the story of Arachne is that of a talented weaver from Lydia, whose exquisite tapestries and linen cloths were sought after throughout Greece. Nymphs from far and wide gathered to see her weave as her fingers danced across the loom, producing tapestries so vibrant that they seemed almost to be alive. However, as more mortals and nymphs praised her, Arachne’s pride and hubris grew; though it was a common belief that gods graced mortals by blessing them with specific talents, Arachne denied this and claimed to be a better weaver than the goddess Minerva herself, refusing to worship and thank her for such a blessing.
Fuming at the maiden’s audacity and bold claim, Minerva started plotting her vengenace. “No creature of the earth should ever slight the majesty that dwells in me, without just retribution”, were the first words out of her mouth. Disguising herself as an old woman in the audience, warning Arachne to repent for her arrogance and to ask for Minerva’s forgiveness. Deeming her opinion to be invalid, however, Arachne responded with “Let her contend in art with me; and if her skill prevails, I then will forfeit all!”, arrogantly bidding the old woman to not contradict her further. In that precise instant, Minerva revealed her true form to Arachne, to the shock of the entire audience which had gathered to watch. ‘All the other Nymphs and matrons of Mygdonia worshipped her; but not Arachne, who defiant stood;—although at first she flushed up—then went pale—then blushed again, reluctant’, yet she did not back down from the challenge. Woman and goddess weaving side by side, loom by loom, the duel began.
In her tapestry, Minerva depicted the finest moments of the Olympian gods, featuring Jupiter in the middle of the feasting gods, as well as the competition for the patronage of the city of Athens between Neptune and Minerva, who respectively offered the Athenians the creation of a horse and the olive tree, a competition which Minerva herself won. Moreover, Minerva decorated the corners of her tapestry with live scenes of contest, delineating the punishments of various mortals who angered the Olympians and tried to rival them. Amongst these, Rhodope and Haemus were transformed from human beings into mountains, Pygmy was turned into a crane, Antigone was metamorphosed into a stork and, lastly, Minerva depicted Cinyras’ grief following his daughter’s transformation into a tree. All of this further incensed the challenge, serving as a a warning so that Arachne ‘might learn the folly of her mad attempt, from the great deeds of ancient histories, and what award presumption must expect’.
Yet, Arachne did not oblige and, through her weaving, gave voice to the gods’ worst moments, most treacherous sins. Whereas Minerava’s tapestry had depicted the gods’ glory, Arachne’s featured the story of Europa, Leda, Mnemosyne, Alcmena, Danae, Aegina, Proserpina, Antiope and Asteria, all being harassed, assaulted and sought after by Jupiter. She also depicted Arne, Aloidae, Bisaltis, Medusa, Melantho and Ceres being raped by Neptune, as well as four different occasions in which Apollo raped different people in different guises, including Isse. It also depicted Bacchus deluding Eriogone and Saturn raping Philyra[SF2] [HL3] .
Overall, though the tapestry was perfect and ‘Minerva could not find a fleck or flaw—even Envy can not censure perfect art’, her reaction to the blatant depiction of such heinous acts was equally terrible, for she ‘ripped all the scenes that showed those wicked actions of the Gods’ and struck Arachne repeatedly with her shuttle until the latter hung herself. Moved to pity yet still angry at having been disrespected, Minerva sprinkled Arachne’s head with a drug made by Hecate. Slowly but surely, Arachne’s fingers gathered to her sides as legs and the rest of her body were absorbed into her abdomen, until she became the world’s first spider, doomed to dangle on a cord forever and to continue spinning her webs.
Variations
Though the majority of more recent retellings of Arachne’s myth have similar themes, a myriad of changes have been made to her story since Ovid’s version, mainly in the form of divergence regarding her background and the outcome of the competition. For example, in a rarer version, Arachne was instead from Attica, whereas the satirical writer Lucian, who was writing in the second century CE, claimed in The Gout that Arachne was actually from Maeonia and that she ‘lost her shape and still today must spin and spin her web’. Moreover, there are retellings which vary regarding the exact scenes depicted in their tapestries, whilst both Arachne and Minerva still depict the gods in a similar light to their Ovidian counter-parts. Furthermore, some versions of this myth instead demonstrate Minerva’s significant power by instead depicting the manner through which Minerva did not require the use of Hecate’s drug in order to transform Arachne into a spider.
In another version of the myth of Arachne, the competition was judged by either Zeus or some nymphs and Minerva was deemed victorious, though she is often referred to by her Greek name, Athena. In this particular version, a previous stipulation at the beginning of the competition meant that Arachne and Minerva had previously agreed that the loser must promise to never weave on a loom or spindle ever again. However, feeling pity for Arachne, Minerva turned her into a spider allowing her to continue weaving without breaking this former stipulation. In this particular version, it should be noted that Minerva demonstrates significant poise and empathy by transforming Arachne into a spider, suggesting that her grievance was with her hubris, as opposed to her art’s evident beauty. In another version, which remains pretty similar to Ovid’s version, Arachne was declared the winner, but Minerva turned her into a spider as a punishment for her hubris, suggesting both that mortals should know their place, but also that the gods are inherently authoritarian figures whose own decisions are often of a morally questionable nature.
Relevance of Arachne’s Myth
The myth of Arachne is one that has evidently been retold many times, morphing slightly in order to better serve different audiences across civilisations from all times and places, particularly considering as some cultures and authors respected the Graeco-Roman gods more so than Ovid, who notoriously disagreed with Augustus to the degree of his work featuring noticeable anti-authoritarian themes. However, whilst bearing in mind some of these literary disputes and the changes that have been made to Arachne’s myth since it was first written, it is worth considering the prevalence of hubris as a theme that often appears in circumstances where a person’s greatest efforts are often disregarded and where the gods’ own egos were threatened. In fact, in most versions of this myth, Arachne was not only punished for her hubris but because she disrespected the gods by delineating their flaws and their abuse of power. In punishing Arachne for using her freedom of speech in order to criticise the gods, Minerva herself misuses her divine power and is both vicious and arrogant towards Arachne, highlighting the difference in the standards that gods and mortals are held to, whilst also promoting Ovid’s own gripes with authority.
Moreover, for reasons better described by Kavita Maya in an essay called Arachne’s Voice: Race, Gender and the Goddess, the story of Arachne can be viewed through a feminist lens of a skilled woman breaking away from the constraints of a world that forces her to be humble about her own talents, rather than celebrating her achievements, mirroring much of the oppressive nature of the patriarchy.
Fun Fact[F4]
A C-type asteroid called 407 Arachne was named after her after it was discovered by Max Wolf on 13th October 1695.
Sources
[HL1]Could this be two sentences? It’s quite confusing to read
[SF2]This could be put more as a bullet point list, with the phrasing modified and obvious trigger warnings. It could otherwise just be generalised slightly in order to make it a tad less morbid.
[HL3]I think it’s OK - you’ve got the salient points down and you’ve not dwelt on the gory details unnecessarily.
[F4]This could be put in a colourful textbox or something.
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