(Extract from: The Legions of Athena)
Arachne had many names while she was still alive, the most common of these being ‘the Weaver’ or ‘the Spider queen’. Centuries ago, when Athens was still a young city, Arachne was a powerful and influential witch. Her power was so great that people began to say that it could even rival the gods. Whether or not these claims held any truth, Arachne and her ever growing followers believed it blindly. So much so that the Spider queen began boasting that she would be a better ruler for Athens than Athena. Soon a civil war broke out within the country. But it was not a long war, as boasting of possessing godly powers and having actual godly powers was not the same. The war ended in a month with Athena personally ending Arachne’s life on the battlefield.
Today this battle is often retold as a children’s fairy tale. But the war is replaced by a weaving contest between the two and Arachne’s death is replaced with her being turned into a spider. Athena had earned the name ‘The Goddess of War’ after this. Not only had she crushed her opposition entirely, she did so without even losing a single battle during the war.