Arachne the Weaver: a book club kit

Where it comes from. Ovid, a poet in Rome, wrote down this Greek myth about 2,000 years ago, and every spider's web still tells it.

In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). Arachne is a girl from Lydia who becomes the most marvelous weaver in the world. She boasts that she is better than the goddess Athena. Athena challenges her to a weaving contest, and Arachne's cloth is so good that it makes the goddess furious. Arachne is turned into a spider that weaves forever.

The lesson, in one line. Being proud and rude can spoil a great gift.

Reading plan, by the story's parts. Meeting 1: Part One, “The Girl Who Wove” and Part Two, “The Old Woman”, pages 1–7 (about 5 minutes aloud); Meeting 2: Part Three, “The Contest” and Part Four, “Forever Weaving”, pages 8–15 (about 6 minutes aloud). Each stop's own questions, which never give away what comes next: Arachne the Weaver by chapter.

Questions to talk about

1. What is the moral of Arachne the Weaver?
   The story's answer: Being proud and rude can spoil a great gift. Arachne was a wonderful weaver, but she boasted and was unkind to the goddess.
2. Why was Arachne turned into a spider?
   The story's answer: She boasted that she was a better weaver than Athena, and she mocked the goddess after the contest. Athena changed her into a spider.
3. Where does the word arachnid come from?
   The story's answer: It comes from Arachne's name. Scientists use arachnid for spiders, scorpions, ticks and their relatives.
4. Who told the myth of Arachne?
   The story's answer: It is an ancient Greek myth. The Roman poet Ovid wrote it down about 2,000 years ago in his Metamorphoses.
5. What does this myth explain, or try to explain?
   Listen for: Many myths explain how something came to be: a season, an animal, a name.
6. Was the main character right or wrong? Was the ending fair?
   Listen for: Myths are often hard on people; let the group disagree.

Did you know?

• The Roman poet Ovid wrote down this Greek myth about 2,000 years ago.
• Scientists call spiders, scorpions and their relatives arachnids, after Arachne.
• Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and crafts, including weaving.

Activity: Make a new myth

Each reader explains something they see every day (why cats purr, why puddles dry up) with a short made-up myth of their own, told round the circle in three sentences.