Arachne is a woman who boasts that she is better at weaving than Minerva, goddess of weaving. One day, she challenges a disguised Minerva to a weaving contest. Arachne weaves the superior tapestry, depicting the gods in various disguises raping and deceiving mortals. Furious, Minerva punishes Arachne’s arrogance by transforming her into a spider.
Arachne Quotes in Metamorphoses
The Metamorphoses quotes below are all either spoken by Arachne or refer to Arachne . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 6: Arachne
Quotes
Get the entire Metamorphoses LitChart as a printable PDF.
Arachne Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Arachne appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 6: Arachne
...needs to demand praise from those who dare to deny her power. She thinks of Arachne, a girl who has become famous because of her artistry. However, Arachne claims to have...
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Minerva disguises herself as an old woman and tells Arachne to pay tribute to Minerva. Arachne may be the best human weaver, but she isn’t...
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Arachne weaves a tapestry that depicts Jupiter kidnapping Europa in the disguise of a bull. She...
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Furious at her rival’s success, Minerva rips up Arachne’s tapestry. She then fastens a halter around Arachne’s neck and suspends her in the air....
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Book 6: Niobe
The story of Arachne spreads. When Niobe, the queen of Thebes, hears it, she doesn’t take it as a...
(full context)