Dionysus (Ch 13)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Dionysus,  Dio (connection to I.E. Sky God) + nysus ("son of")
     (l.) Bacchus
     Dionysus Lysios, "the deliverer", empowers one with a state of total irresponsibility, group identity
Domain: Thrace, Phrygia (Asia Minor/Modern Turkey/Near East) and/or a party
Genealogy: Zeus + Semele
Claim to Fame: God of wine (grapes, fermentation), drunkenness, madness, ecstasy, fertility  
     (complement to Magna Mater figure, whereby she is "dry earth" he is "fluid earth"). Constant
     assertion of divinity, always an outsider, wild cult following
Iconography: Grapes, cantheros, ivy, panther skin, thyrsus (pole wrapped with ivy, topped with
     pinecone), satyrs, fauns, sileni, usually bearded, maenads.
Literature: Euripedes' Bacchae, Homeric Hymn to Dionysus

Myths

I. Birth - (Preface) Zeus + Persephone = Zagreus, but Hera has the titans dismember and devour the child. Athena manages to rescue the heart and gives it to Zeus, who swallows it before destroying the Titans. Becomes the foundation for Orphic Religion, whereby humans are believed to be born from the ashes of Titans, a harsh savage race, but posses within them the divine spark due to cannibalism.
Zeus then disguises himself as a mortal and sleeps with Semele, daughter of King Cadmus and Harmonia. Hera tries to trick her into revealing Zeus's "godhood", who complies and fries her to a crisp as he unleashes thunderbolts. Her unborn child, Dionysus, is rescued by Hermes, brought to Zeus, sewn into his thigh for gestation, and is born a second time, whereby he is raised by the Nymphs of Nyssa in the Far East.

II. Maturity - After inventing viticulture in Nyssa in the East, Dionysus is driven mad by Hera, and wanders throughout the Egypt, Syria, and Phrygia in search of a cure. He is cured by Cibele, and during his stay in Phrygia he picks up cross-dressing (associated with Eastern cultures) as well as his own entourage. Newly supported, he begins to push socially established boundaries.

Primarily characterized by orgiastic worship and Thiasus, a wild group of followers (Ekstasis, "standing outside oneself"; Enthousiasmos, "having the god within" = god in, reason out, loss of identity.)

     Thiasus:

     - Satyrs: Half man, half goat/horse ("Faun" in latin)

     - Sileni: drunken followers

     - Maenads: "mad women", clad in leopard skins and snake headbands, wielding thyrsus.

     - Bacchae/Bacchantes: the original groupies (human)

     Rituals:

     - Satyrs chasing Maenads (promotion of sexual licentiousness and violence)

     - Sparagamos, "tearing" apart of live flesh

     - Omophagy, "eating raw flesh" while still alive

     - Animal sacrifice (ie. rabbits, squirrels, dogs, etc)

IV. Midas and the Golden Touch - King Midas of Phrygia captures Silenus, the lead Sileni of the Thiasus famed for his tall tales. For his return, Dionysus grants Midas one wish. King Midas's golden touch becomes a gift and a curse, as he can no longer eat, drink, or touch those he loves, so he washes it out in the Pactolus River, which now flows with gold.

V. Resistance to Dionysus:
1. Dionysus and his Thiasus are prevented passage through Thrace by Lycurgus (King of Thrace), so Zeus drives the king blind/mad.
2. Proetids, daughter of Proetus (King of Argos) refuse the new religion of Dionysus along with the women of Argos. Dionysus plagues them with a nasty itch that can only be soothed by wild behavior, shouting, and dancing.
3. Dionysus is abducted and bound by sailors, who think he is a mere mortal. When the bonds miraculously fall off, they still refuse to acknowledge his divinity, so the ship starts to flow with wine and creep with ivy. Dionysus transforms into a lion and the crew jumps into the sea, becoming dolphins.
4. Upon Dionysus' return to Thebes, his divinity is rejected by Pentheus, King of Thebes, his own cousin, despite the warnings of Cadmus (former king) and seer Tiresias. As a result, the women of Thebes are driven to insanity, and wander about Mt. Citharon behaving badly. Pentheus has a mysterious stranger arrested, who thwarts his imprisonment and drives Pentheus insane with double vision, loss of identity, and the curiosity to spy on the maddened women of Thebes. Naturally, he is caught and torn to pieces, head mounted on a stake and paraded through Thebes by his own mother. Thebes regains their senses and realize the legitimate power of Dionysus, affirming him as their deity.

Hermes (Ch 12)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Hermes, from Herma "stone heap", original I.E. apotropeic trail markers
     (l.) Mercury
     Hermes Psychopompus ("soul guide") conveys souls on their final journey to Hades.
     Hermes Argeiphontes ("slayer of Argus")
Domain: Arcadia, mainly the Peloponnesus,
Genealogy: Zeus + Maia, pleiade (daughter of Atlas + Pleione)
Claim to Fame: God of mischief, thieves, merchants, night time travellers, heralds and messengers.
      Trickster god, resourceful rascal. Inventor of the lyre. Deliverer of Dionysus.
Iconography: Petasus ("travellers hat"), Talaria ("[winged] sandals"), Caduceus ("[snaky] staff"")
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Homer's Odyssey, Homer's Iliad, Ovid's Metamorphosis,  
      Aechyslus' Prometheus Bound

Myth

I. Theft of Apollo's Cattle - Hermes steals 50 head of Apollo's finest cattle by reversing their tracks in the sand, but he is tracked down by the testimony of the only witness, an old man. Hermes takes refuge in the cave of Zeus and Maia and pretends to be an innocent babe, denying all knowledge of the theft and preventing Apollo from "god-handling" him by letting go an omen ("burp/fart").
Apollo demands justice from Zeus, while Hermes lies charmingly, offering an exchange for a new instrument he invented: the lyre. Not only is her absolved from his crime of theft he is given the responsibility of guide to the gods (perhaps to keep him busy and out of trouble?)

II. Hermaphroditus - Hermes and Aphrodite have a son who has the misfortune of being lusted after by Salmacis,  a naiad ("water nymph"). While he is bathing in her spring unaware, she pounces and clings to his back, praying to the gods they'll never be seperated. The gods answer her prayers and the first hermaphrodite is created.  The pool itself becomes fabled for its emasculation of all male bathers.

III. Slayer of Argus - Io is lusted after by Zeus, but a scornful Hera transformed her into a heifer and set Argus ("one hundred eyes") to watch her. Zeus sends Hermes, who lulls Argus to sleep before killing him, and Io is set free. Hera takes the eyes of Argus and puts them on her favourite bird, the peacock, and sends a Gadfly to plague Io so she must wander the earth in search of relief.

Apollo (Ch 11)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Apollo
     (l.) Apollo, Phoebus ("bright/shining"), Loxius ("crooked/devious")
Domain: Ambiguous non-hellenic origin (Lycia, Hyperborea). Came to occupy Delphi.
Genealogy: Zeus + Leto. Brother to Artemis. Father of Asclepius (father of medicine).
Claim to Fame: God of poetry, prophecy, medicine, sailors, colonization, archery. Installer of the oracle
     at Delphi. Conqueror of land but not of love.
Iconography: Sun, lyre, raven, swan, laurel wreath, dolphin
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Ovid's Metamorphosis

Myth

I. Delian Apollo - On the island of Delos, Leto finds refuge from the wrath of Hera, who is trying to prevent the birth of her children. In exchange for sanctuary, the lonely island is promised wealth, civilization, populace and fame. After 9 days of labour, Eilethya (goddess of childbirth) is sent to assist her, as conjured by Iris (goddess of the rainbow). Artemis is born first and it is either her or Eilethya that assists Leto with the birth of Apollo. From then on, the island is used as a treasury for the Athenians.

II. Pythian Apollo - Prophetized before birth that he is destined to seek a location for an oracle, Apolo comes to Crisa, at the foot of Mt. Parnassus. After slaying the dragon residing there (symbol of I.E. domination over autochthonous cultures), he leaves it there to rot and it becomes known as Pytho[n] ("to rot"). In punishment for slaying Ge & Themis' dragon, Apollo is exiled to Thessaly for 9 years (roots for the purification Festival of Stepteria, which occurs every 9 years).
Upon his return, Zeus sends his two eagles around the earth, and drops the Omphalus ("navel", Zeus stand-in that tricked Cronus) where they meet, which becomes the city to be known as Delphi.

III. Apollo Delphinius - After transforming himself into a dolphin (delphis), Apollo commandeers a Cretan ship and enlists the sailors as attendants for his oracle (symbol of minoan cultures being 'commandeered' by I.E. forces). Delphi becomes the sanctuary name, becomes an athletic/academic hub as well as a treasury of the rich and powerful.
Apollo installs Pythia, the prophetess of Apollo, upon a tripod (symbol of divine power) to relay oracles to the priest of Apollo for interpretation. Generally an asexual, postmenopausal mortal speaking in tongues. Believed to be possessed by Apollo, whereas it's more likely she was hallucinating from breathing in fumes from a nearby chasm or chewing copious amounts of laurels and vegetation. Also created and forwarded the maxims "know thyself" and "nothing too much" to warn humankind against our own hubris.

IV. Olympian Idol
1. Pan (Goat god, associate of Dionysus) criticizes the music of Apollo, boasting he can pipe better than Apollo can play his lyre. King Tymolus and King Midas are consulted as judges for the competition, and when Midas hubristically spites Apollo by siding with pan, he sprouts donkeys ears that from that day on must be wrapped in a turban. Pan is spared, only because of his divine company.
2. Marsyas (satyr) and his flute challenges Apollo to a musical contest, whereby the victor can do anything to the vanquished. Marsyas is easily defeated by Apollo and his lyre, and as a result is flayed alive.

V. Labours of Love - Apollo met and transcended a series of lovers, seemingly cursed to never find companionship.
1. Cassandra (daughter of Priam, King of Troy): offered the gift of prophecy in exchange for sexual favours. When she renegs on her end of the deal, she is cursed: always prophesies the truth, but never believed.
2. Cumaen Sibyl: Offered as many years of life as the grains of sand in her hands in exchange for sexual favours. She also renegs on the deal, she is cursed with a long life without lasting youth. Reduced in stature to the extent she becomes only a voice eternally wishes for death instead of obscurity.
3. Marpessa (lover of mortal argonaut Idas): Zeus intervenes with her abduction, giving her a choice of lovers. Apollo is rejected because she is afraid of abandonment once in her old age.
4. Daphne ("laurel", daughter of River Peneus) - Eros strikes Apollo with a golden arrow and Daphne with a leaden one so she will reject his advances. She flees and calls upon her father's help to escape Apollo's grasp, and is thus transformed into the laurel tree that is foreverore sacred to Apollo.
5. Hyacinthus (Spartan inamorato of Apollo ): killed by an errant discus, sent by a jealous Zephyrus (west wind). Apollo causes Hyacinth flower to sprout from the blood, the petals inscribed "ai, ai...", the cry of lament from Apollo. Worshipped annually him at the Hyacinthia (Spartan tomb).
6. Coronis (legitimate wife): pregnant with Apollo's child Asclepius, Coronis has an affair with another mortal, which is witnessed by Apollo's raven. Out of rage, Apollo blackens the feathers of his raven, and mortally wounds his wife. Filled with regret, he sets up her funeral pyre, but manages to salvage his  unborn son out of the flames. Asclepius is handed over to Chiron, the wise centaur, to be tutored in the healing arts. Asclepius matures to become known as the father of medicine, symbolized by his medical staff coiled with a single serpent, and sets up temple complex Epidaurus in the Peloponnesus to serve as a healing sanctuary honouring the gods.

Eros (Ch 9)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.)Eros, root of "erotic", "erotica, etc.
     (l.) Cupid
Domain: Athens.
Genealogy: Considered either a conceptual element to procreation, or the illegitimate love child of Ares and Aphrodite.
Claim to Fame: God of raw sexual energy, desire, and passion. Later became known as the god of homosexuality.
Iconography: Cupid's Bow, winged figures, arrows.
Literature: Hesiod's Theogony, Plato's Symposium, Speech of Socrates, Ovid's Metamorphosis

Myth

I. Birth: two traditions of his birth.
     1. Hesiod's Theogony: born from Chaos, one of the original elements to create life is lust.
     2. Eventually became known as the son of Aphrodite and Ares

II. Speech of Aristophanes (comedian): At Plato's Symposium, Aristophanes theorized there was originally 3 genders of humans (male, female, androgynous), and all were round in figure (ie. four hands, four legs, attached at the spine, etc.). The species grew so strong that they hubristically began to challenge the gods, so to weaken them Zeus cut them in two. From that day forward, each half-human walked the earth, longing for their other half. Those of androgynous sex became heterosexual, and those of a bisected same-sex became homosexual

III. Speech of Socrates: Socrates quotes a wise woman from Mantinea named Diotema, who claims that Eros, though he is not beautiful himself, is resourceful enough to obtain what he longs for but doesn't possess (ie. beauty, wisdom, goodness). He is an intermediary between human and divine, and though remarkably unremarkable, his pursuit of conceptual merit is what adds an intellectual aspect to love.
It is this example that inspires individuals to move beyond the appreciation of the physical realm of beauty, and more towards the beautiful soul, or beautiful concept, behind the outward representation.
Called "Platonic Love", this attraction may have its roots in sexuality, but is perpetuated by the desires of the mind and the soul to enrich the spirit.

IV. Psyche ("soul"): Once upon a time, Venus became envious of a Greek princess, named Psyche, and ordered Cupid to make her fall in love with the vilest of creatures. When he went to do his bidding, Cupid himself fell in love with her (ironic?). He abducted her and placed her in his palace, where the lovers visited each night but he departed before sunrise each morning. When her sisters came to visit, they tricked Psyche into thinking she was sleeping with a monster, so one fateful night she took a knife to bed along with her anonymous lover.
Before she was to slay the monster, Psyche lit a lamp to take one look at her lovers face. Upon realizing that it was Cupid Psyche starts, and a drop of wax spills on the sleeping God, waking him up.
Enraged, he takes flight, but not before Psyche grabs hold of his ankle. She ends up plummeting to the earth. In short, the only way Psyche could win back Cupid's love was to complete 4 impossible tasks set forth by Aphrodite, which she manages to complete with divine assistance.

Artemis (Ch 10)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Artemis
     (l.) Diana
     Potnia Theron, "mistress of the animals"
     Kourotrophos, "protector/destroyer of the young" (See Niobe)
     Phoebe, "bright", "shining" (alike to Phoebus, her brother)
     Identified with Selene ("cold/white/chaste") Hecate (Chthonian deity of crossroads, ghosts,
     and black magic) and the Magna Mater fertility goddess.
Domain: Ambiguous non-hellenic origin with significant Asia Minor connections to fertility deity.  
     Temple of Artemis at Ephesus once one of seven wonders of the world.
Genealogy: Zeus + Leto. Sister to Apollo.
Claim to Fame: Goddess of nature, animals, hunting, eternal virginity, childbirth, chase. Parthanos.
     Original femme fatal: hunts and destroys, then returns home to dance and flirt with the nymphs.
Iconography: the moon, small woodland animals, newborns, archers bow, constellations
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Ovid's Metamorphosis, Euripedes' Hippolytus

Myth

I. Birth: Born on Ortygia/Delos "Quail Island" on Mt. Cynthia, then assists with the birth of her brother.
II. Tears of Niobe: Niobe, Queen of Thebes, boasts she is more deserving of honor than Leto because she has given birth to 14 Niobids (7 sons, 7 daughters). Leto hears this slander, and Zeus invokes the wrath of Apollo and Artemis who slay all 14 niobids mercilessly. Zeus manages to save Niobe, and transforms her into a rocky crag in Phrygia known for its streaming of tears down the rock face.
III. Actaeon: A wandering hunter, Actaeon, stumbles upon a glade on Mt. Cithaeron where Diana and her attendants are bathing unaware. Artemis transforms the peeping-tom into a stag and sics his own hounds on him, which tear him apart limb from limb.
III. Callisto: One of Diana's favourite attendents Callisto (from Calliste, "most beautiful") is seduced and impregnated by Jupiter. As a result she is exiled along with her newborn child, Arcas, but transformed into constellations: Callisto into a Ursa Major (bear), and Arcas/Arctophylax/Arcturus/Bootes into Ursa Minor.
IV. Orion (Sirius, "dog"): A hunter and worshipper of Artemis from the island of Chios, Orion persues Merope (daughter of Oenopion, King of Chios). Her father gets Orion drunk and blinds him when he is passed out, forcing him to wander East where Helius restores his site. He then tries to rape Artemis, who sics a scorpion (Scorpius) on him and stings him to death. The two are preserved as constellations in the heavens.
V. Hippolytus (chaste devotee of Artemis): Aphrodite causes his step mother, Phaedra, to fall in love with him. She reveals her secret only to a nurse, who forces her to come clean with her son-in-law. Hippolytus haughtily rejects Phaedra, who is so hurt she commits suicide and leaves a note falsely accusing Hippolytus of rape (Potiphar's Wife motif). His father, Theseus calls down a curse, whereby his son will be killed by a "bull from the sea". In his dying hour, Artemis appears to Hippolytus and promises a cult in his honor, whereby virgins will cut their hair and lament his death, then enact vengeance on Aphrodite's favourites.

Cybele (Ch 9)

Etymology and Epithets: Cibele, Magna Mater, "The Great Goddess", Earth Mother

Domain: Phrygia, Modern Day Turkey (Near East)

Genealogy: Sprung from Phrygian rock/earth.

Claim to Fame: Fertility Goddess, one of the original deities from more primitive times.

Iconography: Hermaphroditic status, polished cone, many breasts/heads/arms, almond tree. Often attended by orgiastic worshippers alike to Dionysus' contraband.

Literature: Linear B.

Myth

I. Birth: Sprung autonomously from the Phrygian earth, Cybele was originally hermaphroditic in nature, but castrated herself to attain female identity (indicates prevalence of ancient matriarchal societies). From her severed male genitalia, an almond tree sprouted.

II. Followers: Attended by the Corybantes ("whirlers"), who wield drums, cymbals, and horns, as well as Galli, eunuchs who took Cybele's castration as an example for them to follow. Also picked up by priests as justification for the castration of youth in ancient times.

III. Attis: One day Nana (water nymph, daughter of River Sangrios), picked a blossom from the almond tree, from which Attis was born 9 months later. He is abandoned however, only to be nursed by a billy goat in the wild. 

Cybele unknowingly falls for the youth, who is essentially a manifestation of her own severed genitalia (once again, theme of searching for what was lost/severed, ie. Aristophanes). Because Attis' affections lie with someone else, Cybele drives him insane due to to her jealousy. In his madness, Attis castrates himself and dies. A remorseful Cybele appeals to Zeus however, who decrees that Attis' body should never decay (quirk: only his little finger moves, and hair continues to grow).

Aphrodite (Ch 9)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Aphrodite
     (l.) Venus, ie. Venereal
     Cytherea (Island of Cythera), Cyprogenes (Island of Cyprus)
     Philommedes ("laughter loving") or Philomeides ("genital loving")
     Associated with Magna Mater (eastern fertility goddess), ie. Innana, Ishtar, Astarte, Cybele
Domain: See Epithets. Cyprus, Cythera, Near East
Genealogy:
     Aphrodite Urania ("celestial") Castration of Uranus by Cronos, genitals falling into the sea.
     Aphrodite Pendemos ("common"/"profane") Child of Zeus and Dione ("she-zeus")
Claim to Fame: Goddess of lust, romance, procreation of mammals, beauty and passion.
     A female Ares, passion without the bloodshed.
Iconography: Earliest depictions of her are of a polished cone. Attendants are Eros ("erotic"), the 3
     Gratiae/charites ("graces") personifications of femininity, and the 3 Horai ("hours"/"seasons")
     daughters of Zeus and Themis.
Literature: Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad, Ovid's Metamorphosis, Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite.

Myth

I. Priapus (bastard child of Aphrodite): A fertility daimon (demon, lesser god), Priapus is most often depicted as a small hunchbacked, ithyphallic ("erect penis") gnomelike figure. Used as an apotropaic bringer of luck commonly featured in gardens.

II. Pygmalion (King of Cyprus): Because the Cyprian women refuse to acknowledge her divnity, Venus drives them all to prostitution. Disgusted by their behaviour, Pygmalion carves an ivory statue of a nude women and subsequently falls in love with it. His prayer for it to become his wife is granted by Aphrodite, and the statue becomes flesh and blood (later versions named Galatea).

III. Myrrha: Child of Cinyras, the grandson of Pygmalion and Galatea, Myrrha is punished for her mothers hubristic claim that she is more beautiful than Venus, and falls in love with her own father. Suicidal, Myrrha's nurse arranges a secret meeting between father and child. Naturally, their identities are revealed to one another, and Cinyras attempts to strangle his own daughter, Myrrha is spared by the gods by being transformed into a Myrrh tree, whose resinous tears are collected as precious material.

IV. Adonis (adon, "lord"): The epitome of masculinity, symbol of a dying vegetative beloved.
      1. The incestuous child of Myrrha and her father, Adonis is stolen by Aphrodite at birth and given
      to Persephone to rear. When Persephone refuses to return him, Zeus interferes and arbitrates that
      Adonis shall receive 1/3 of the year with each goddess, and the last third wherever he wants.
      He decides to spend 2/3 of the year above ground, with 1/3 with Persephone, symbolic of the
      portion of the vegetative cycle reserved for fallow. He is later killed by a boar.
      2. Adonis is just another paramour of Aphrodite, who falls in love with him at first sight while he
      is out hunting. He chooses to ignore her warnings of injury, and he is gored in the groin by a wild
      boar. From the blood that drips on the earth, an Anemone ("wind" flower) sprouts, symbolizing
      the fragile beauty of moral human life.
Scenes of Adonis are often depicted on Sarcophagi, representing the idea of a rebirth within death and giving meaning to burial. The Ritual of Adonia honours the fertility goddess and a dying vegetation god through ritual wailing and singing, and effigies of dead youth, mourning those who die too young. The Gardens of Adonis, seeds planted in shallow soil that spring up quickly and die also carry this sentiment.

V. Anchises: Zeus attempts to shorten Aphrodite's leash by claiming that "no man can sleep with the divine and retain their manhood", so Aphrodite must disguise herself as a mortal to seduce her prey. Anchises unwittingly sleeps with her, only to wake up and realize his emasculation.
The Trojan hero and founder of Rome, Aeneas, is the result of their tryst.

Athena (Ch 8)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Athena
     (l.) Minerva, mens "mind"
     Tritogeneia ("daughter of Triton"), possibly a reference to Triton, god of River of Lake, birthplace?
     Panoply ("all armed")
     Glaukopis, "grey eyed"/"owl eyed"
     Pallas, "weapon brandishing" (See Myth.II)
     Parthanos, "virgin"/"maiden" (See Myth. III)
Domain: Athens. Panhellenic status.
Genealogy: Zeus + Metis. Delivered through Zeus' cracked skull.
Claim to Fame: Goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, craftsmenship, spinning and weaving, protectorate of cities and heros. Symbolic of a union between indigenous matriarchal cultures and the import of an indo-european sky god (snaky, but born from Zeus. An androgynous figure = warrior princess).
Iconography: Snake, aegis, helmet, owl, olive sprig
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Athena, Hesiod's Theogony, Linear B, Ovid's Metamorphosis

Myth

I. Birth: Zeus impregnates Metis ("wisdom") and swallows her in fear that her son will overthrow him. Instead a daughter is born from his splitting headache (either fights her way out, with a mighty war cry, or is freed by the hammer of Hephestus). Depicted on the East Pediment of the Parthanon.
II. Pallas: Athena's childhood friend, Pallas (daughter of Triton), is accidentally killed as they are at play. In remorse, a wooden statue is fashioned in her honor, adorned with the aegis. Zeus abducts the Palladium and places it in Troy, where it becomes on of the preconditions of Trojan defeat later on.
III. Parthanon ("house of the virgin"): Rested atop the acropolis ("high city") in Athens, the Parthanon was built in mid 5th century BCE under Pericles. It was said that Athena and Poseidon battled for patronage of the city, with the citizens as the jury. While Poseidon produces an immense salt spring/stampede of horses (variant), Athena touches the earth with her spear and the first olive tree sprouts. While her birth is depicted on the East Pediment, her victory over Poseidon is depicted on the west.
IV. Arachne: A mortal spinster by the name of Arachne boasts that she is better than Minerva at weaving. Upon hearing this hubris, Minerva appears under the guise of an old woman, and warns Arachne of her arrogance and to "know thyself". Arachne pays no heed to this warning, and is thus challenged to a weaving contest which she is defeated. Not only does Minerva smash Arachne's own loop over her head, she prevents her from completing suicide by transforming her into a spider