Arachnids are the scientific name for spiders. And for good reason. A mortal girl, named Arachne challenged the goddess Minerva to a weaving competition. [Minerva being the roman equivalent of Greek goddess Athena- goddess of wisdom, crafts and warfare]. Minerva excelled in weaving but so did Arachne and at the end of the competition, Arachne's flawless tapestry stood out against Minerva's. Minerva being a goddess was angry beyond reason at Arachne for outwitting her. Therefore, she cursed her to keep on weaving forever and ever. Arachne, once a beautiful lass became the first spider ever. Her beauty turned hideous and she never stopped weaving her web.
It might be difficult to believe ill about people we consider divine, but leaders do make terrible mistakes. None here can deny that Mahatma Gandhi was not flawless. Yet some mistakes like Minerva's is foolish. Minerva is also known to have whacked Arachne and then after Arachne hanged herself out of fear and shame, Minerva turned her immortal as a punishment and then turned her into a spider.
Apollo- The god of music and Pan -the god of nature staged a music contest. Pan proved the clear winner, but all the kings present as judges out of fear of Apollo declared him the winner Except for King Midas who supported Pan. Apollo, enraged turned King Midas's ears to that of a donkey's.
All these might not be true or not. But even then, these stories shows that powerful people are easily corrupted. This can be easily connected to our current politicians and rulers. We can learn the lesson that beauty and power comes with a price but so does being fair. Fairness are given lesser value than a grain of mud nowadays. For some matters, turning to our ancestors is not always the answer. The past can guide us only so far. Let our actions be guided by the consequences that our future will face.
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