Editing Arachne (section)

=== Ovid ===
[[File:Antonio Tempesta Arachne.jpg|thumb|''[[Athena]] and Arachne'' ([[Antonio Tempesta]])]]

In ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', the Roman poet [[Ovid]] writes that Arachne was a shepherd's daughter who began weaving at an early age. She became a great weaver, boasted that her skill was greater than Athena's, and refused to acknowledge that her skill came, at least in part, from the goddess. Athena took offense and set up a contest between them. Presenting herself as an old lady, she approached the boasting girl and warned her that it was unwise to compare herself to any of the gods and that she should plead for forgiveness from Athena.

Arachne was not disheartened and boasted that if Athena wished to make her stop, she should appear in person and do it herself. Immediately, Athena removed her disguise and appeared in shimmering glory, clad in a sparkling white [[Chiton (costume)|chiton]]. The two began weaving straight away. Athena's weaving represented four separate contests between mortals and the gods in which the gods punished mortals for setting themselves as equals of the gods. Arachne's weaving depicted ways that the gods, particularly Zeus, had misled and abused mortals, tricking, and seducing many women. When Athena saw that Arachne had not only insulted the gods but done so with a work far more beautiful than Athena's own, she was enraged. She ripped Arachne's work to shreds and hit her on the head three times with her shuttle. Shaken and embarrassed, Arachne took her life by hanging.

Seeing that, Athena felt pity for the girl, transforming her into a spider, which would go on to create webs for all time, as would her descendants. Athena did so by sprinkling her with the juice of Hecate's herb,

<blockquote>[A]nd immediately at the touch of this dark poison, Arachne’s hair fell out. With it went her nose and ears, her head shrank to the smallest size, and her whole body became tiny. Her slender fingers stuck to her sides as legs, the rest is belly, from which she still spins a thread, and, as a spider, weaves her ancient web.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kline|first1=A.S|title=Ovid—the Metamophoses|url=http://tikaboo.com/library/Ovid-Metamorphosis.pdf|website=Tikaboo|publisher=A.S. kline|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418003817/http://tikaboo.com/library/Ovid-Metamorphosis.pdf|archive-date=18 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>

The myth of Arachne can also be seen as an attempt to show the relationship between art and tyrannical power in Ovid's time. He wrote under the emperor Augustus and was exiled by him. At the time, weaving was a common metaphor for poetry, therefore Arachne's artistry and Athena's censorship of it may offer a provocative allegory of the writer's role under an autocratic regime.<ref>Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=78}} </ref>

==== The tapestries ====
Athena wove a tapestry with themes of hubris being punished by the gods, as a warning to Arachne against what she was doing, in each of its four corners. Those were Hera and Zeus transforming [[Rhodope (mythology)|Rhodope]] and [[Haemus]] into the eponymous mountain ranges, Hera transforming Queen [[Gerana]] into a crane for daring to boast of being more beautiful than the queen of the gods, Hera again turning [[Antigone of Troy]] into a stork for competing with her, and finally [[Cinyras]]' daughter being petrified. Those four tales surrounded the central one, which was Athena and [[Poseidon]]'s dispute on the [[areopagus]] over which would receive the city of [[Athens]]; Athena offered an olive tree, and Poseidon a saltwater spring (the Athenians eventually chose Athena). Finally, the goddess surrounded the outer edges with olive wreaths.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 6.70-102</ref>

Arachne meanwhile chose to include several tales of male gods tricking and deceiving women by assuming other forms instead of their own. She depicted Zeus transformed into: a bull for [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]], an eagle for [[Asteria]], a swan for [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]], a satyr for [[Antiope (mother of Amphion)|Antiope]], [[Amphitryon]] for [[Alcmene]], golden shower for [[Danaë]], flame for [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]], a shepherd for [[Mnemosyne]], and a snake for [[Persephone]]. Poseidon transformed into a bull for [[Canace]], [[Enipeus (mythology)|Enipeus]] for [[Iphimedeia]],{{efn|Usually, Poseidon was said to have taken the form of Enipeus to trick [[Tyro]] (who also had twins), not Iphimedeia.}} a ram for [[Theophane]], a horse for [[Demeter]], a bird for [[Medusa]], and a dolphin for [[Melantho]]. [[Apollo]] transformed into a shepherd for Issa, and further as a countryman, a hawk, and a lion on three more obscure occasions, [[Dionysus]] as 'delusive grapes' for [[Erigone (daughter of Icarius)|Erigone]], and finally [[Cronus]] as a horse for [[Philyra (Oceanid)|Philyra]]. The outer edge of the tapestry had flowers interwoven with entangled ivy.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 6.103-128</ref>