ARACHNE

Closeup

Closeup

Final

Final

3D Posed Model

3D Posed Model

Lineart

Lineart

"Maeonian maid Arachne thought herself Athene's match, but she lost her shape and still today must spin and spin her web."

Arachne is, according to Ovid, the daughter of a shepherd who was known as a great weaver. She challenged the Goddess Athena to a weaving contest that was to prove, not only her superior skill over that of a god, but also tell various stories about how the Olympians deceived and misled mortals, particularly through various transformations. Athena's weaving depicted stories about mortals being punished when they set themselves as equals to the gods. In the end, it was Arachne who weaved better tapestries, but Athena didn't exactly enjoy losing to a mortal woman, so she destroyed her work. Arachne took her own life as a consequence, but eventually Athena brought her back as a spider, condemned to weave for eternity.
This is an interesting tale, possibly representing censorship, and one of many examples of the tenuous relations between the Olympian gods and mortals.
I liked SMITE's design for this character and the way they combined weaving tools into her armour. Her spider legs remind me a lot of Nerubians from World of Warcraft.

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Credits go to Hi-Rez Studios (SMITE) for the character model and design. And Kaiology for extracting the xps and rigging it and making it available to us.

Date
May 31, 2023