Brooklyn Museum: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Arachne

Judy Chicago (American, b. 1939). The Dinner Party (Heritage Floor; detail), 1974–79. Porcelain with rainbow and gold luster, 48 x 48 x 48 ft. (14.6 x 14.6 x 14.6 m). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. Photograph by Jook Leung Photography

Arachne
Mythic, worshipped in ancient Greece, dates vary, beginning circa A.D. 8

Arachne, a Greek weaver who appears in Ovid's poem Metamorphoses (A.D. 8), angered Athena, the patron goddess of weaving, by bragging that her skills were greater than the deity's. When Athena challenged her to a competition, Arachne chose to weave scenes of Zeus' infidelities to Hera. Incensed by her boldness, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry, smashed her loom, and cursed her with guilt. When the poor girl hanged herself, Athena took pity on her, loosened the rope, and transformed her into a spider.

Related Place Setting

Sophia

Related Heritage Floor Entries

Antigone
Atalanta
Camilla
Cassandra
Circe
Clytemnestra
Daphne
Hecuba
Helen of Troy

Hersilia
Lysistrata
Pandora
Praxagora
Pythia
Sibyl of Cumae
Rhea Silva
Vesta
Virginia

Last updated April 13, 2007.
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Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Arachne

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Arachne