Arachne was turned into a spider by Athens for many different reasons. The first was the obvious one in the beginning, she was boasting that her skills were greater than even Athena’s, the goddess of such arts. This alone was an insult. When Athena challenged Arachne to a contest of weaving, Athena weaved a tapestry depicting the good traits of the gods, such as their generosity and prowess. Arachne, however, weaved a tapestry depicting the opposite: a tapestry mocking the worst mistakes of the gods, primarily focusing on Zeus’s countless acts of adultery. This pushed Athena over the edge, but what sent her careening off of it was that Arachne’s tapestry actually, in fact, might have been better than Athena’s. Athena beat Arachne to the brink of death, but held off of killing solely for her respect of her prowess in weaving. As such, she turned her into a spider, allowing her and her spawn to weave forever.