I read about Arachne and Athena when I was young and always remember how surprised I was when I read it. Every time I read it, it still blows my mind how Arachne was so much more skilled than Athena. She clearly had better skills at weaving, but then again, Athena is a goddess. It comes down to the simple fact it is a moral versus a goddess, so Athena was never going to really lose in the first place. To me, the gods have too much pride to lose in any event, especially to a mortal.
Athena
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I find it funny that Arachne's weaving was much better than Athena's. It confuses me how exactly a mortal could make a better product than a goddess who rules over that art. The story definitely has logical flaws, yet it gets the message across that you should never challenge the gods.
Athena reminds me of the god Dionysus. Athena and Odysseus scheme about how to get back at all the suitors who are living in his house, being with his wife, and eating and drinking all his food and wine. Athena comes up with a plan to make him seem old so that the suitors won't think much of him. This deception is very similar to what Dionysus did to Pentheus when Dionysus makes Pentheus do what Dionysus says as kind of a pay back to not believing he was a god. Athena set up the scheme of making Odysseus seem old to also get pay back for the suitors taking over everything Odysseus left behind.
I enjoyed getting to see two different sides of Athena. In "The Odyssey" she is amused by Odyseus lying to her and trying to deceive her. She even takes part In tricking his wife and kids by changing his appearance. Here she is very laid back and is willing to help even if he did try to lie to her. It almost seems like she respects him more because of that. But we see in "The Contest of Arachne and Minerva" that she can also be jealous. She hates people being better than her or portraying that they're better than her so much that during the competition she weaved in images of the fates of mortals who had wronged her in the past.
While I was reading the odyssey book 13 I like how Athena ( daughter of Zeus) was doing everything she could for Odysseus to return back to his home land (Ithaca). Poseidon ( brother of Zeus) made obstacles for Odysseus. Even though he made it impossible for Odysseus to succeed Athena was there to help him. I found myself enjoying this book because I feel like in each family theirs always some kind of feud and I saw this with Athena and Poseidon ( Athena's uncle). Like any family feud usually theirs always other family members who get involved. This happen here when Zeus gave Poseidon the idea of turning the ship into stone while the people in the city watch. I found this very relatable because their is always that one person who chooses a side like here with Zeus helping Poseidon.
I love how we get two completely different sides to Athena in The Odyssey and The Contest of Arachne and Minerva. In the contest with Arachne, Athena is extremely jealous of Arachne's weaving abilities and is very angered upon discovering that Arachne really is better than her, resulting in her turning Arachne into a spider. However in The Odyssey, Athena is protecting Odysseus during his travels, wanting him to return home safely, even creating a plan to defeat his wife's suitors. Athena is even proud of Odysseus's quick wit and clever ways of lying and creating stories, something she is good at doing. I think it's interesting how both Arachne and Odysseus have a quality/gift that Athena has as well (weaving and lying), but the two had very different experiences with the goddess.
Also, I wonder if Athena really would have pardoned Arachne for saying she was the best at weaving if she begged her pardon like Athena said she would when she was disguised. Even if Arachne apologized and Athena ended up seeing her work anyway, would she still have been furious once she realized Arachne's work was better? Was Athena more so upset because Arachne made a mockery of the gods?
The story of Athena in Ovid's "Metamorphoses" strikes me as relatable. Athena is challenged by Arachne to a weaving contest and, though Athena weaves a complex piece showing Arachne the dangers of challenging a goddess, is still bested when she looks upon Arachne's piece (which insults the gods and diminishes their power) and it is just as technically good as hers. She the proceeds to beat Arachne and turn her forever into a spider. I think that most people can relate to the feeling of expecting to be the best and then being proven wrong by someone you perceived as lesser than you. It's a classic high school feeling- you studied so hard for a test just to have Jenny No-Study do better than you, sparking feelings of jealously, inadequacy, and frustration. Athena takes that feeling and blows it into literal god-like proportions. She's the goddess of wisdom and weaving is kind of her thing, so it's only natural to expect that when she's bested at it, not only does she feel stupid, which is against her very nature and purpose, but she feels that her status is being challenged and lessened, something a god can simply not stand for. She even warned Arachne what would happen to her via the very tapestry she was weaving! So should we really expect anything other than a tantrum of divine magnitude? I think we've all been where Athena is after being beaten- too bad we can't turn people into spiders.
I think that the rivalry between Poseidon and Athena is interesting and shows their clashing personalities. They seem to be opposed in everything that they are both involved in. First, in the history of the Parthenon we find that Poseidon and Athena fought to win over the Athenians to be the patron of Athens. While Poseidon gave them naval superiority from striking the rock and giving them sea water, Athena gave them an olive tree, an idea of prosperity and peace. Also, in Book 13 of the Odyssey we see them on opposing sides once again. Athena has helped Odysseus find his way home and continues to help him come home as a hero and defeat his wife's suitors to return to power, while Poseidon has done everything to stop his journey and hurt Odysseus and anyone who helps him. They are both very demanding personalities who are quick to punish and condemn. When on opposing sides, they will do anything to hurt the other and win whatever competition is put before them.