ATHENA AND ARACHNE ~ WHEN ART CREATES HUBRIS

 Arachne, the spider woman 

Arachne,  ( Αράχνη , her name meaning spider in Greek), was a beautiful woman that had a great talent in weaving. Everyone was amazed at her work and one day, Arachne boasted that she had a greater talent than Goddess Athena Herself. Making such a claim wasn't a good idea, as this was an offense towards all the Gods- a very serious and even deadly act for the ancient Greeks. That is why Goddess Athena punished her severely.

The Story 

Arachne was a Lydian woman who was highly gifted in the art of weaving. Born to Idmon, a famous dyer in Lydia, Arachne was no ordinary weaver and the very act of her weaving was sheer magic and a sight to behold. Soon, news of Arachne's artistry spread far and wide and it is said that nymphs from the forests left their frolicking and gathered around Arachne to watch her weave. So moved were they by her skills that they remarked that she surely must have been trained by none other than Goddess Athena, the Goddess of weaving.

All this adulation was more than Arachne could handle and being an ordinary mortal who was quite vulnerable to human failings, she became quite arrogant about her superior skills. She was annoyed at being regarded as a pupil of Athena and began bragging about her skills, proclaiming herself to be far more superior to even Athena.

The Challenge

Now, when the Goddess of weaving heard of Arachne's bold claims, She was upset, but nonetheless decided to give the young woman a chance to regret her folly. Disguised as an old woman, Athena appeared before Arachne and warned her of the consequences of provoking the wrath of the Gods, but Arachne was not a bit remorseful and challenged Athena to a contest, declaring that if she lost, she would accept any punishment that Athena would decide for her.

It was then that Athena revealed Her true form and accepted the challenge. The stage was set for a battle in which a Goddess and a mortal pitted their artistic skills to decide on who was the better artist. The nymphs who had come to watch Arachne weave shrank back, horrified at Arachne's audacity, but Arachne was unshakable and stood her ground. And so the contest began, Athena at Her loom and Arachne at hers, each working with threads of gold and a splendid array of colors to decide who would outdo the other in this ultimate trial.

What unfolded next was a feast for the eye. Athena created a tapestry replete with scenes from the history of the Gods. She portrayed Zeus at the center of the Olympic Pantheon, as well as Her own contest with Poseidon and Her victory, which ultimately made the people of Athens name their city after Her. At the corner of Her tapestry, She artfully depicted humans who had dared to defy the Gods and who had been punished without a trace of mercy.

As for Arachne, she deliberately chose scenes that depicted the infidelities and amours of the Gods. She vividly portrayed Zeus and His string of indiscretions. She showed how Zeus had turned into a swan to seduce the Spartan queen Leda; a bull to entice Europa; an eagle to abduct Aegina; as a shower of gold to seduce Danae; and as a satyr to seduce Antiope. Arachne's work of art, according to the Latin narrative, featured twenty-one scenes of the various misdemeanors of the mighty Gods, including Poseidon, Apollo, Dionysus and others.

The transformation into a spider

Although Arachne had shown no respect for the Gods by choosing a subject that made a mockery of the supreme deities of the Olympus, even Athena had to admit that Her work was brilliant and flawless. However, the fact that Arachne, apart from her arrogance towards the Goddess, decided to mock the rest of the Divine Family through her artwork, was enough to enrage Athena. In the end, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom. Still in anger, the Goddess transformed Arachne into a spider ("arachni" in Greek), proclaiming that Arachne and all her descendants would henceforth hang forever from threads and be skillful weavers.

Arachne, like many other foolish mortals, had dared to question the supremacy of the Gods. She had, in her arrogance over her art, been blind to the consequences of challenging Them.

EDITED FROM: https://www.greeka.com/

ZEUS AND EUROPA

The story of Zeus and Europa is one of the most famous stories of the Hellenic Tradition-the love story between The King of the Gods and a beautiful mortal princess, who gave her name to an entire continent. Europa's story has been particularly popular since the ancient times and has been depicted in many ancient pieces of ceramics and coins. Moreover, it touched the painters of Renaissance, who created many impressive and inspired pictures having the myth as their theme. Nowadays, Europa and her transformed Divine Lover are depicted in the 2-euro coin of the European Union to pay attribute to the Godmother of Europe. 

The abduction from Zeus

The most popular version of Europa's story tells us that she was the daughter of Agenor, a Phoenician king, and later became a wife of Zeus, the King of Gods.

According to the story, Europa was the epitome of feminine beauty on Earth. Zeus once saw her on the seashore of Phoenicia playing with her friends. He was so captivated by her beauty that He fell in love with her and developed a strong desire to possess her. Immediately, He took the form of a white bull and approached her. The bull looked wonderful with its snow-white body and gem-like horns. Europa looked at the extraordinary animal curiously and dared to touch and hug him because He appeared so calm to her. Later, she was somehow motivated to climb on His back.

As soon as she did so, Zeus ran to the sea and carried her all the way from Phoenicia to the island of Crete. There He regained his human form and they made love under an evergreen tree. Later on, Europa gave birth to three sons of Zeus, Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. These men were known for their fairness and became the Three Judges of the Underworld, when they died. In fact, Minos founded the town of Knossos and gave his name to an entire civilization, the Minoan civilization.

Zeus loved Europa so much that He showered her with three priceless gifts. The first one was a bronze man, Talos, who served as a guard to her. He was the bronze giant that the Argonauts met and killed in their attempt to shore on Crete. The second was a dog, Laelaps, which could hunt anything she wanted. The last one was a javelin that had the power to hit the target, whatever it was. Europa was later married to one of the kings of Crete, Asterius, who adopted her sons and made her the first queen of Crete.

Searching for Europa

In the meantime, her father, Agenor, had ordered her brothers to cross the whole world and not to return if they hadn't found his precious daughter. Europa had four brothers. Cilix, her eldest brother, was searching for a long time but with no success. He ended up in a region in Asia Minor, which he named Cicilia after him and became a king there. Thasus eventually landed on the island of Thassos, also gave it his name and reigned there. Phoenix went to Africa.

Cadmus, the youngest and most beloved brother of Europa, asked the Oracle of Delphi what to do. The priests of the Oracle told him not to worry about his sister because she was safe. They also told him to go to Boeotia, a region to the north of Athens, and found a town there, which would become rich and powerful in the years to come. Indeed, Cadmus founded a town in Boetia to which gave his name, Cadmia. Later on, this town changed its name and was called Thebes.

The end

It is said that when Europa died, Zeus transformed her into a star complex and He himself took again the shape of the white bull to merge in the complex. The Taurus Constellation is believed to be the form of Zeus. Today the name Europa has been given to one of Jupiter's 16 moons and in fact this moon is very special, as it is believed to have water on its surface.

EDITED FROM: https://www.greeka.com/

WHEN INDOGREEKS INVADED INDIA

 The Indo-Greek invasion which happened after the fall of the Mauryan Empire was an important event in Indian history. In this video, we talk about the first phase of the Indo-Greeks invasion. In this phase, the territory up to Eastern Punjab was conquered by the Indo-Greeks.

Source  YouTube Channel Jay Vardhan Singh