Mythology of Spiders

The word Arachnid comes from the Greek word Arachne, which means "spider" or "spider web."

In Greek mythology, Arachne was a human who was so talented at weaving that she challenged Athena, the goddess of war, handicraft, and reason, to a contest. When Arachne lost, Athena turned her into a spider. The scientific class Arachnida for spiders, scorpions, mites etc... comes from the Greek word Arachne, representing a class of arthropods that includes spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites.

Arachnids belong to the Arachnida class, a group of arthropod invertebrates with jointed appendages and segmented bodies. Arachnids have several characteristics that distinguish them from other arthropods, including:

• Eight legs

• No antennae, wings, or claws

• Fused head and thorax

Spiders were creatures of respect in various mythologies. For example, in Celtic mythology, the Irish believed it brought bad luck to kill a spider.