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: Goddess of War Star News reported fellow SBS drama "Giant" would be receiving an additional ten episodes added to its production order, pushing the start-date for "Athena" back to December. It was soon confirmed the series would premiere December 13, with new episodes to follow every Monday and Tuesday. "Athena: Goddess of War" premiered as announced on December 13, 2010, with 22.8% of the domestic television viewing audience watching the premiere. New episodes continued on Mondays and Tuesdays apart from a delay between the thirteenth and fourteenth episodes stemming from a production shutdown as a result of cast injuries. In its place, a