The Weaving Contest
The story of Arachne and Athena
Athena reveals her identity in the workshop of Arachne (sitting on the left)
Arachne, a proud peasant girl, was a wonderful spinner and weaver of wool. The water nymphs journeyed from their rivers and the wood nymphs from the forest just to watch Arachne steep her wool in crimson dyes, then take long threads in her skillful fingers and weave exquisite tapestries.
“Ah! Athena must have given you your gift!” declared a wood nymph one day. Athena was the goddess of weaving and handicrafts.
Arachne threw back her head. “Ha! Athena has taught me nothing! I’ve taught myself everything I know!” And with that, she decided to challenge Athena to a contest. “Let’s see which of us should be called ‘goddess of the loom’!” she said.
The nymphs covered their mouths, frightened to hear such scorn heaped upon a powerful goddess of Mount Olympus.
Their fears were justified - for Athena herself was furious when word got back to her about Arachne’s conceit. The goddess immediately donned the disguise of an old woman with gray hair and hobbled with a cane to Arachne’s cottage.
When Arachne opened the door, Athena shook her gnarled finger. “If I were you,” said the old woman, “I would not compare myself so favorably to the great goddess Athena. I would feel humble toward her and ask her to pardon my prideful arrogance.”
“You silly fool!” said Arachne. “What do you mean by coming to my door and telling me what to do? If that goddess is half so great as the world thinks, let her come here and show me!”
“She is here!” boomed a powerful voice, and before Arachne’s eyes, the old woman instantly changed into the goddess Athena.
Arachne’s face flushed with shame. Nevertheless she remained defiant and plunged headlong toward her doom. “Hello, Athena,” she said. “Do you dare to finally weave against me?”
Athena only glared at the girl, as the nymphs, peeking from behind the trees, cringed to watch such insolence.
“Come in if you like,” Arachne said, stepping back from her doorway and bidding the goddess to enter.
Without speaking, Athena went into the cottage. Servants quickly dashed about, setting up two looms. Then Arachne and Athena tucked up their long dresses and set to work. Their busy fingers flew back and forth as they each wove rainbows of colors: dark purples, pinks, golds, and crimsons.
Athena wove a tapestry showing the twelve greatest gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But Arachne wove a tapestry showing not only the gods and goddesses, but their adventures also. Then she bordered her magnificent work with flowers and ivy.
The river nymphs and wood nymphs stared in awe at Arachne’s tapestry. Her work was clearly better than Athena’s. Even the goddess Envy who haughtily inspected it, said, “There is no flaw.”
When she heard Envy’s words, Athena lost her temper. The goddess tore Arachne’s tapestry and hit her mercilessly - until disgraced and humiliated, Arachne crawled away and tried to hang herself.
At last, moved to a little pity, Athena said, “You may live, Arachne, but you will hang forever - and do your weaving in the air!”
Then the vengeful goddess sprinkled
Arachne with hellbane; and the girl’s hair fell off, and her nose and ears
fell off. Her head shrank to a tiny size until she was mostly a giant
belly. But her fingers could still weave; and within minutes, Arachne,
the first spider on earth, move the first magnificent web.