What mortal weaver was transformed into a spider by Athena?

The mortal weaver transformed into a spider by Athena was Arachne. Her story is best known from Book 6 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where the gifted weaver challenges the goddess Minerva, the Roman counterpart of Athena, to a contest.

Arachne came from Lydia and was famed for weaving so skillfully that she claimed her talent surpassed the goddess’s. Athena first appeared disguised as an old woman and warned Arachne to show humility. When Arachne refused and repeated her challenge, Athena revealed herself and accepted the contest.

Both produced extraordinary tapestries. Arachne’s work portrayed episodes of divine misconduct, while Athena’s showed her victory over Poseidon and scenes emphasizing the gods’ authority. Although Arachne’s tapestry was technically flawless, Athena destroyed it in anger. Arachne, overcome with shame, hanged herself; Athena then transformed her into a spider, condemning her descendants to weave forever.

The myth explains the spider’s web-spinning and warns against hubris. Ariadne, Procne, and Philomela are other mythological women, but none is the canonical answer to this transformation story.