native of either
Lesbos, or Euboea. Her father, Macareus, was the son of Jupiter and
Cyrene.]

[Footnote 27: _Erigone._--Ver. 125. She was the daughter of
Icarus, and was placed among the Constellations.]

[Footnote 28: _How Saturn._--Ver. 126. By Phillyra, Saturn was the
father of the Centaur Chiron. We may here remark, that Arachne was
not very complimentary to the Gods, in the choice of her subjects;
probably it was not her intention or wish to be so.]

[Footnote 29: _Wicked one._--Ver. 136. Clarke translates
'improba,' 'thou wicked jade.']

[Footnote 30: _An Hecatean Herb._--Ver. 139. This was aconite, or
wolfsbane, said to have been discovered by Hecate, the mother of
Medea. She was the first who sought after, and taught the
properties of poisonous herbs. Some accounts say, that the aconite
was produced from the foam of Cerberus, when dragged by Hercules
from the infernal regions.]

EXPLANATION.

The story of Arachne is most probably based upon the simple fact, that
she was the most skilful artist of her time, at working in silk and
wool. Pliny the Elder tells us, that Arachne, the daughter of Idmon,
a Lydian by birth, and of low extraction, invented the art of making
linen cloths and nets; which invention was also by some attributed to
Minerva. This competition, then, for the merit of the invention, is
the foundation of the challenge here described by the Poet. As,
however, Arachne is said to have hanged herself in despair, she
probably fell a prey to some cause of grief or discontent, the
particulars of which, in their simple form, have not come down to us.
Perhaps the similarity of her name and employment with those of the
spider, as known among the Greeks, gave rise to the story of her
alleged transformation; unless we should prefer to attribute the story
to the fact of the Hebrew word "arag," signifying to spin, and, in
some degree, resembling her name.

In this story, Ovid takes the opportunity of touching upon several
fables, the subjects whereof he states to have been represented in the
works of Minerva and Arachne. He alludes, among other matters, to the
dispute between Neptune and Minerva, about giving a name to the city
of Athens. St. Augustine, on the authority of Varro, says, that
Cecrops, in building that city, found an olive tree and a fountain,
and that the oracle at Delphi, on bei