Never before did I expect that I would identify with a spider. But as I looked for a favorite story among the 240 some stories, I found myself attracted to this one. There are ways I can relate to it, and lessons to be learned from it.
Arachne is the first story in book five, on page 177. It begins with the goddess, Minerva, ready to punish the lowborn Lydian girl, Arachne. It seems that Arachne had developed her skills at working wool to the degree that she had gained a good deal of fame. Even the nymphs would go to see her work. "One could delight not only in her finished work but find enchantment as her art unfolded:whether she gathered the rough wool in a new ball, or worked it with her fingers, reaching back--with gesture ling and apt--to the distaff for more wool she could draw out. . . one knew that she was surely Pallas' pupil"(177-8).Minerva tried to warn Arachne by appearing to her disguised as an old woman, but Arachne was indignant and demanded a contest. Minerva threw off her disguise and set to work. Side by side they began to weave. Minerva wove a cloth depicting the gods in all their glory. Arachne's scenes "showed the crimes the gods had wrought" (182).
Minerva, also called Pallas, could not find a single flaw in Arachne's weaving. But she became so angry that she began to beat Arachne on the forehead with her shuttle. a shuttle is a very hard wood instrument that is pointed on one end. It fits in your hand and is used to guide the threads through your weaving. It would make a very good weapon. Arachne would rather die quickly and tries to hang herself to come to a quick end. Finally Minerva takes some pity on her and allows her to live, but as a spider. Now she will weave only webs.
Spinning wool into yarn is a hobby of mine. I have never reached much fame and acclaim like Arachne did, but I was on a local TV station demonstrating the use of my spinning wheel. I also raised my own sheep, sheared and dyed wool, and I knit and crochet. I don't weave. A loom takes up a lot of room and is expensive. It also takes a lot of time. But if I were able to add another hobby, it would be weaving.
This story is about so much more than just weaving. It is about excesses of pride. It is about understanding others. If only Arachne had given credit for her god given talents in working wool, she probably would have been allowed to continue in her craft. She should have anticipated how difficult it is to see ones crimes or faults displayed so vividly before one's eyes. Why did she choose to show the worst acts of the gods instead of the best? She could have woven anything else and lived to weave again.
Yes the past is always here with us in the present. How often do we see a very gifted person fall into excessive pride and become unable to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of others? How often that lead quickly to ruin. Many people are arachnephobic. Some simply stomp on any spider they come across. At best, a spider is only able to survive in dark, lonely damp corners of attics and basements, killed or swept away if found anywhere else. I hadn't realized there was so much to be learned from a little spider. No one can weave like Arachne, but all can learn from her story.
Arachne is the first story in book five, on page 177. It begins with the goddess, Minerva, ready to punish the lowborn Lydian girl, Arachne. It seems that Arachne had developed her skills at working wool to the degree that she had gained a good deal of fame. Even the nymphs would go to see her work. "One could delight not only in her finished work but find enchantment as her art unfolded:whether she gathered the rough wool in a new ball, or worked it with her fingers, reaching back--with gesture ling and apt--to the distaff for more wool she could draw out. . . one knew that she was surely Pallas' pupil"(177-8).Minerva tried to warn Arachne by appearing to her disguised as an old woman, but Arachne was indignant and demanded a contest. Minerva threw off her disguise and set to work. Side by side they began to weave. Minerva wove a cloth depicting the gods in all their glory. Arachne's scenes "showed the crimes the gods had wrought" (182).
Minerva, also called Pallas, could not find a single flaw in Arachne's weaving. But she became so angry that she began to beat Arachne on the forehead with her shuttle. a shuttle is a very hard wood instrument that is pointed on one end. It fits in your hand and is used to guide the threads through your weaving. It would make a very good weapon. Arachne would rather die quickly and tries to hang herself to come to a quick end. Finally Minerva takes some pity on her and allows her to live, but as a spider. Now she will weave only webs.
Spinning wool into yarn is a hobby of mine. I have never reached much fame and acclaim like Arachne did, but I was on a local TV station demonstrating the use of my spinning wheel. I also raised my own sheep, sheared and dyed wool, and I knit and crochet. I don't weave. A loom takes up a lot of room and is expensive. It also takes a lot of time. But if I were able to add another hobby, it would be weaving.
This story is about so much more than just weaving. It is about excesses of pride. It is about understanding others. If only Arachne had given credit for her god given talents in working wool, she probably would have been allowed to continue in her craft. She should have anticipated how difficult it is to see ones crimes or faults displayed so vividly before one's eyes. Why did she choose to show the worst acts of the gods instead of the best? She could have woven anything else and lived to weave again.
Yes the past is always here with us in the present. How often do we see a very gifted person fall into excessive pride and become unable to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of others? How often that lead quickly to ruin. Many people are arachnephobic. Some simply stomp on any spider they come across. At best, a spider is only able to survive in dark, lonely damp corners of attics and basements, killed or swept away if found anywhere else. I hadn't realized there was so much to be learned from a little spider. No one can weave like Arachne, but all can learn from her story.
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