ArachneMinerva

By: Carly Abercrombie
 * Arachne and Minerva**

This is the myth of Minerva and Arachne. Minerva or better know as Athena is the goddess of wisdom, arts and crafts, and war. She sprang form the head of Jupiter (Zeus) fully clothed in armor and ready for battle. Arachne on the other hand was a poor young woman from Lydia.

Minerva was a weaver among the Olympians; she considered her things unapproachable for excellence and beauty. She got mad when she heard a peasant girl named Arachne declared her own work to be superior. Minerva challenged Arachne to a contest to see who the better weaver was. They set up their things and began to weave. Arachne and Minerva finished at the same time, but Arachne’s work came out beautiful and Minerva’s work was no way inferior. Minerva in a fury of anger beat the poor girl around in the head with her shuttle, Arachne was so mortified and angry that she hanged herself. Then Minerva felt a little something in her heart, so she lifted the body from the noose and sprinkled it with a magic liquid. Arachne was transformed into a spider, and her skill in weaving was left to her.

By the end of the myth, Minerva came out on top, but she was at least nice enough to let the young peasant girl live. Now that Arachne was turned into a spider she could weave all she wanted. The story served as a warning to all, to take care of the gods and not offend them in any way.

Questions to Know: 1.) What did Minerva challenge Arachne to? 2.) Who won the challenge? Work Cited:

 * **Tuccinardi, Ryan. “Athena.” 3 March 1997 – 26 May 1999. 3 October 2006 <** [|**http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/athena.html>.**] **(Carly A.)**
 * **Hamilton, Edith. //__Mythology__.// New York, NY: Little, Brown Co., 1942. (Carly A.)**