1. “Arachne”
By: Olivia E. Coolidge

2. Athena Athena is a prominent Greek goddess. She is a daughter of Zeus.
Her name can also be spelled “Athene”. However, the Romans refer to her as Minerva.
She is the Greek goddess of wisdom, the arts, weaving, and war.

3. Arachne 1st Paragraph A loom is a device used to weave cloth.
What was Arachne’s skill?
How does the author describe Arachne’s physical appearance?

4. 2nd Paragraph
What inference could you make about Arachne’s personality? Arachne is…
People think that must have taught Arachne how to weave.

5. 3rd Paragraph
How does Arachne feel about people thinking that Athena taught her?
Quote one line of dialogue that sets this story in motion.

6. 4th through 6th Paragraphs
How are Arachne’s attitudes and response to advice similar to those of Phaethon and Icarus?

7. 7th paragraph
“Arachne herself flushed red for a moment” is an example of what literary term?
The old woman is actually who in disguise?

8. 8th Paragraph Who was quicker? Athena or Arachne?
What did Athena weave into her pattern? What was in the four corners of her cloth?

9. 9th Paragraph What did Arachne weave into her cloth?
What are some words we could use to describe Arachne’s character?
How did Athena respond to this insult? What did she do to Arachne?

10. Final Paragraph Where do spiders come from according to the myth?
What lesson is this myth is trying to teach?

11. After Reading (page 66)
Answer these in the graphic organizer on page 66.
In the graphic organizer, what phenomenon’s origin, that we have still today, is explained through this myth?
What character becomes the first of this phenomenon? What choices does she have? What lesson can we learn?

12. Page 67
What other phenomenon could be explained through an original myth?
Replace the blanks in the Language and Writer’s Craft section with either
“Athene’s” or “Arachne’s”.