Arachne

In ancient Greece, a peasant girl named Arachne became renowned for her weaving skills that surpassed all mortals. Growing prideful, she boasted she was better than Athena, the goddess of weaving herself. When people began neglecting Athena's temples in favor of admiring Arachne's work, the goddess challenged her to a contest, disguised as an old woman.

Both created masterful tapestries - Athena's depicting divine power and justice, Arachne's showing the gods' embarrassing romantic escapades. Though Arachne's work matched Athena's in skill, her continued boasting enraged the goddess, who revealed herself and destroyed Arachne's work, beating her with a shuttle. In despair, Arachne hanged herself. Athena then transformed her into a spider, forever to weave but never again to create mortal beauty. Today, the class Arachnida, which includes all spiders, bears her name.