Spider told by the Roman poet Ovid in his "Metamorphoses", Arachne was a Lydian girl who challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest. Arachne won, but Athena destroyed her tapestry out of jealousy, causing Arachne to hang herself. In an act of mercy, Athena brought Arachne back to life as the first spider. Stories about the trickster-spider Anansi are prominent in the folk traditions of the Asante people of Ghana. In some cultures, spiders have symbolized patience due to their hunting technique of setting webs and waiting for prey, as well as mischief and malice due to their venomous bites.
Athena with cross-strapped aegis Athena with cross-strapped aegis The Athena with cross-strapped aegis is an ancient statue of the Greek goddess Athena, which was made around AD 150 and is now displayed in the Antikensammlung Berlin (Inventory number AvP VII 22). The statue was found in 1880 during Carl Humann's excavations of Pergamon in the space to the west of the north stoa of the sanctuary of Athena, near the Lady of Pergamon. This area may have been the art collection ("museion") of the Attalid kings. When the statue was found, there were still traces of paint on it: the aegis had parts in