in Greek mythology, the daughter of Idmon of Colophon in Lydia; name means spider in Greek; weaver with such skill that she ventured to challenge the goddess Athena; depicted the gods' amorous adventures on her tapestry, while Athena showed the gods in majesty; jealous Athena tore Arachne's work to pieces; Arachne hanged herself in despair; rope turned into a cobweb by the goddess out of pity, and Arachne herself was changed into a spider, whence comes the name of the zoological class to which spiders belong, Arachnida; story told by Ovid in his ‘Metamorphoses'.