The Spider

In the beautiful city of Lydia, there lived a young girl named Spider. Spider had a unique gift: she was extremely skilled at weaving. Her weavings were so beautiful and detailed that everyone in town was amazed by her talent.

The reputation of the Spider grew and people began to say that no one, not even the gods, could weave better than her. Spider, proud of her talent, began to boast and say that she was a better weaver than even Athena, the goddess of wisdom and weaving.

Athena - Spider

This did not take long to reach Athena's ears. The goddess decided to visit the Spider, disguised as an old woman. She found her weaving on her loom and advised her to be more humble and not to challenge the gods.

But Spider, full of confidence, insisted that she could even beat Athena herself in a weaving contest.

Athena then revealed her true form and the challenge began.

Duel

The two women set to work and wove non-stop. Their weavings were masterpieces, full of wonderful patterns and colours. However, Arachne's weaving was truly amazing, even in Athena's eyes.

Disrespect

But the Spider, to show her superiority, wove designs that mocked the gods and their mistakes. This angered Athena. The goddess, recognizing both Spider's talent and her disrespect, decided to teach her a lesson.

The punishment

In a single motion, Athena destroyed Spider's weaving and touched her on the head. The Spider began to change. Her arms became thin and long, her body small and round. Athena had transformed her into a spider.

Since then, the Spider has been weaving endlessly, creating beautiful webs far from human eyes. Her story reminds us to be humble and to respect the gods and others around us. And if you ever see a spider web shining in the sun, remember the Spider and her unique talent.