Arachne and Niobe Notes

Arachne and Minerva

Tritonia supported the Aonians' righteous rage and songs.
Tritonia, contemplating how to best safeguard her reputation, considered the fate of the Lydian Arachne.
Arachne's skill in wool work was renowned throughout Lydia, surpassing her humble origins.
Arachne's father, Idmon of Colophon, was a dyer of Phocian purple wool.
Despite being orphaned and of low birth from Hypaepa, Arachne's craftsmanship gained widespread recognition.
Nymphs from Timolus and Pactolus would gather to admire Arachne's creations.
Arachne's skill in forming balls from unspun yarn, softening threads, and weaving was exceptional.
Observers believed Pallas (Minerva) must have mentored Arachne, which Arachne denied and challenged the goddess to a competition.
Pallas, disguised as an old hag, advised Arachne to yield to the goddess and seek pardon.
Arachne scorned the old woman's advice, expressing her disdain for the goddess and questioning why Minerva wouldn't appear.
Pallas revealed herself, causing fear among the nymphs and Phrygian girls, except Arachne.
Arachne blushed, her cheeks turning red before fading, similar to the sky at dawn.
Arachne persisted in her challenge, and Pallas accepted the contest.
Both Pallas and Arachne set up their looms and began weaving.
They used slender warps, split threads with rods, and wove the weft with sharpened shuttles.
They worked swiftly, their skill and zeal evident in their movements.
They wove imperceptible arrays of shades, resembling sunlight through rain, creating a rainbow effect.
They inlaid strings of rigid gold, weaving ancient tales into their work.
Pallas depicted the Areopagus in Cecrops' city and the contest to name the land.
She portrayed the gods, including Jove, the sea-god with his trident, and herself with a shield, spear, and helmet.
Pallas depicted the earth sprouting an olive tree, symbolizing her victory.
She included four cautionary examples in the corners:
- Haemus and Queen Rhodope, transformed into icy peaks for calling each other gods.
- A Pygmy mother turned into a crane by Juno.
- Antigone, transformed into a stork for opposing Juno.
- Cinyras, weeping over his daughters, now temple steps.
Pallas framed her work with peaceful olive leaves.
Arachne wove the bull disguise that tricked Europa, making the scene appear real.
She depicted Asteria in the eagle's grasp and Leda with the swan.
Arachne portrayed Jove's various disguises and affairs, including:
- Jove as a satyr with Nycteus' child.
- Jove as Amphitryon with the Tirynthian wife.
- Jove as gold with Danaë.
- Jove as flame with Asopus' child.
- Jove as a shepherd with Mnemosyne.
- Jove as a spotted snake with Deo's child.
She also depicted Neptune's disguises:
- Neptune as a bull with Aeolus' girl.
- Neptune as Enipeus, siring the Aloads.
- Neptune as a ram, tricking Bisaltes' child.
- Neptune as a steed with the crops' kind corn-haired mother.
- Neptune in dolphin form with Melantho.
Arachne accurately depicted each figure.
She portrayed Phoebus as a peasant, hawk, and lion, and Liber deceiving Erigone with grapes.
Arachne ended her weave with a braided fringe of vines and flowers.
Pallas, enraged by Arachne's skillful depiction of the gods' crimes, tore up the cloths and beat Arachne with her shuttle.
Arachne, in despair, hanged herself.
Pallas, in pity, transformed Arachne into a spider, cursed to weave for eternity.
- Pallas sprinkled herbal sap of Hecate to remove the girls hair, nose and ears.

Niobe

The story of Arachne spread throughout Lydia and Phrygia.
Niobe, despite Arachne's fate, remained prideful and refused to humble herself before the gods.
Niobe's pride stemmed from her husband's art, their noble lineage, the kingdom's power, and especially her children.
Niobe considered herself the happiest of mothers.
Manto, Tiresias' daughter, urged the women of Thebes to offer prayers and incense to Latona and her twins.
The women of Thebes obeyed, but Niobe arrived in Phrygian robes, disrupting the rites.
Niobe questioned why people worshiped Latona and her twins instead of her, boasting of her own divine connections.
Niobe's lineage:
- Father: Tantalus, who dined in heaven.
- Aunts: The Pleiades.
- Grandfather: Atlas, who holds the sky.
- Father-in-Law: Jove.
Niobe ruled Phrygia with her husband and possessed great wealth and beauty.
She had seven daughters and seven sons and expected more in-laws.
Niobe contrasted her large family with Latona, who had only two children after being refused land for childbirth.
Niobe declared her safety in numbers and claimed she was too great for Fortune to harm.
She mocked Latona's childlessness and ordered the women to abandon the rites.
The women obeyed but continued to worship Latona in secret.
Latona, angered by Niobe's pride, appealed to her twins for vengeance.
Latona explains that Niobe dares to set her babes other mine and calls her childless.
Phoebus and Phoebe agreed to avenge their mother and traveled to Cadmus' citadel.
Two of Amphion's sons, Ismenus and Sipylus, were riding horses on an open plain.
Phoebus shot Ismenus through the heart with an arrow.
Sipylus fled but was also struck by an arrow in the neck.
Phaedimus and Tantalus, wrestling together, were shot through as one by Apollo.
Alphenor, attempting to lift their bodies, was killed by Apollo with a blade through his torso.
Damasichthon was shot in the knee and then in the throat while trying to remove the arrow.
Ilioneus prayed to all the gods for mercy but was still struck in the heart.
The mother learned of this fate through rumors and grief.
Amphion, Niobe's husband, killed himself.
Niobe, now pitied even by her enemies, mourned over her sons' corpses.
Niobe, still proud, taunted Latona, claiming her grief was greater than Latona's joy.
Phoebus and Phoebe shot the daughters of Niobe.
One daughter died freeing an arrow from his guts.
Another died as she soothed her mothers pain.
Six daughters died by various wounds.
The last daughter dies as Niobe begged the God to leave her one.
Childless, Niobe sat among the corpses of her family, petrified with grief.
Her body turned to stone, but she continued to weep.
A strong wind carried her to her native slopes, where she became a weeping stone.
The goddess' wrath caused all men and women to revere the twin-bearer's godhood even more.