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Throughout history, there have been many cultural depictions of spiders in popular culture, mythology and in symbolism. From Greek mythology to African folklore, the spider has been used in human culture to represent many varied things, and endures into the present day with characters such as Shelob from ''The Lord of the Rings'' and Spider-Man from the eponymous comic series. The spider has symbolized patience and persistence due to its hunting technique of setting webs and waiting for its prey to become ensnared. It is also a symbol of mischief and malice for its toxic venom and the slow death it causes, which is often seen as a curse. In addition, the spider has inspired creations from an ancient geoglyph to a modern steam-punk spectacle. Although not all spiders spin webs to hunt prey, numerous cultures attribute this ability with the origin of spinning, textile weaving, basketry, knotwork and net making. Web-spinning has also associated the spider with creation myths because they seemingly can secrete their own artistic worlds. Spiders have been the focus of fears, stories and mythologies of various cultures for centuries. Philosophers often use the spider's web as a metaphor or analogy; and today, terms such as the ''Internet'' or ''World Wide Web'' evoke the inter-connectivity of a spider web.〔 == In folklore and mythology == The spider, along with its web, is featured in mythological fables, cosmology, artistic spiritual depictions, and in oral traditions throughout the world since ancient times. In Ancient Egypt, the spider was associated with the goddess Neith in her aspect as spinner and weaver of destiny, this link continuing later through the Babylonian Ishtar and the Greek Athena, who was later equated as the Roman goddess Minerva. The most notable ancient legend that explains the origin of the spider comes from the Greek story of the weaving competition between Athena the goddess, and Arachne, sometimes described as a princess. This story may have originated in Lydian mythology; but the myth, briefly mentioned by Virgil in 29 BC, is known from the later Greek mythos after Ovid wrote the poem ''Metamorphoses'' between the years AD 2 and 8.〔Ovid ''Metamorphoses'' (vi.5–54 and 129-145), also mentioned in Virgil's ''Georgics'', iv, 246.〕 The Greek Arachne (αράχνη) means "spider", and is the origin of Arachnida, the spiders' Class in taxonomy. This myth tells of Arachne, the daughter of a famous Tyrian purple wool dyer in Hypaepa of Lydia. Due to her father's skill with cloth dyeing, Arachne became adept in the art of weaving. Eventually, she began to consider herself to be a greater weaver than the goddess Athena herself, and challenged the goddess to a weaving contest to prove her superior skill. Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had earned her the patronage of Athens, while Arachne wove a tapestry featuring many episodes of infidelity among the Gods of Olympus, which angered Athena. The goddess conceded that Arachne's weaving was flawless, but she was infuriated by the mortal's pride. In a final moment of anger, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom with her shuttle and cursed Arachne to live with extreme guilt. Out of sadness, Arachne soon hanged herself. Taking pity on her, Athena brought her back to life transformed as a spider, using the poison aconite; "—''and ever since, Arachne, as a spider, weaves her web''." The scholar Robert Graves proposed Ovid's tale may have its roots in the commercial rivalry between the Athenian citizenry of Greece and that of Miletus on the isle of Crete in Asia Minor, which flourished around 2000 BC. In Miletus, the spider may have been an important figure; seals with spider emblems have been recovered there. In African mythology, the spider is personified as a creation deity Anansi, and as a trickster character in African traditional folklore. There are many variations of the name including Kwaku Ananse of the Ashanti in West Africa(his original name) and anglicized as Aunt Nancy (or Sister Nancy) in the West Indies and some other parts of the Americas. Stories of Ananse became such a prominent and familiar part of Ashanti oral culture that the word Anansesem—"spider tales"—came to embrace all kinds of fables. This fed into the ''Anansi toree'' or "spider tales"; stories that were brought over from Africa and told to children of Maroon people and other Africans in the diaspora. These tales are allegorical stories that teach a moral lesson. North American cultures have traditionally depicted spiders. The Native American Lakota people's oral tradition also includes a spider-trickster figure, which is known by several names. As chronicled in the legend of ''The "Wasna" (Pemmican) Man and the Unktomi (Spider)'', a man encounters a hungry spider family, and the hero Stone Boy is tricked out of his fancy clothes by Unktomi, a trickster spider figure. The spider is also present as the deity Iktomi, which is occasionally depicted in this form.〔 In Native American mythology, the spider is also seen in the legend about the birth of the constellation Ursa Major. The constellation was seen as seven men transformed into stars and climbing to paradise by unrolling a spider's web.〔 The Hopi have the creation myth of Spider Grandmother. In this story, Spider Grandmother thought the world into existence through the conscious weaving of her webs. Spider Grandmother also plays an important role in the creation mythology of the Navajo, and there are stories relating to Spider Woman in the heritage of many Southwestern native cultures as a powerful helper and teacher.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/totems-to-turquoise/cosmology/the-spider-woman )〕 The South American Moche people of ancient Peru worshiped nature; they placed emphasis on animals and often depicted spiders in their art.〔 The people of the Nazca culture created expansive geoglyphs, including a large depiction of a spider on the Nazca plain in southern Peru. The purpose or meaning of the so-called "Nazca lines" is still uncertain. Spiders are depicted in Indigenous Australian art, in rock and bark paintings, and for clan totems. Spiders in their webs are associated with a sacred rock in central Arnhem Land on the Burnungku clan estate of the Rembarrnga/Kyne people. Their totem design is connected with a major regional ceremony, providing a connection with neighboring clans also having spider totems in their rituals. ''Nareau'', the Lord Spider, created the universe, according to the traditional Cosmology of Oceania's Kiribati islanders of the Tungaru archipelago (Gilbert Islands); similarly, ''Areop-Enap'' ("Old Spider") plays an important part in the creation myth of the traditional Nauru islanders of Micronesia. In the Philippines, there is a Visayan folk tale version of ''The Spider and the Fly'' which explains why the spider hates the fly. The ''Tsuchigumo'' (translated as "Earth spiders") of Japan, is a mythical, supernatural creature faced by the legendary Minamoto no Raiko. Depending on the version of the story, the ''Tsuchigumo'' was able to take the visage of either a boy or a woman. In one version, while on a search for a mythical giant skull, Minamoto is lured to a house and placed in an illusion created by a ''Tsuchigumo'' in the guise of a young boy. However, after suspecting foul play, Minamoto breaks this illusion by striking out at him with his sword. Minamoto then discovers himself as actually being covered in a spider's web, and after tracking him down, learns that the boy is in reality, a giant spider ''Tsuchigumo''. Another Japanese mythological spider figure is the ''Jorōgumo'' ("prostitute spider") which is portrayed as being able to transform into a seductive woman. In some instances, the ''Jorōgumo'' attempts to seduce and perhaps marry passing samurai. In other instances she is venerated as a goddess dwelling in the Jōren Falls who saves people from drowning. Her name also refers to a golden orb-spider species ''Nephila clavata'' (''Jorō-gumo'', or Jorō spider). An Islamic oral tradition holds that during the Hijra, the journey from Mecca to Medina, Muhammad and his companion Abu Bakr were being pursued by Quraysh soldiers, and they decided to take refuge in the Cave of Thawr. The tale goes on to say that Allah commanded a spider to weave a web across the opening of the cave. After seeing the spider's web, the Quraysh pass the cave by, since Muhammad's entry to the cave would have broken the web. Since then, it has been held in many Muslim traditions that a spider is, if not holy, then it is at least to be respected. A similar story occurs in the Jewish tradition, where it is David who is being chased by King Saul. David hides in a cave, and Saul and his men do not bother to search the cave because while David was hiding inside, a spider had spun a web over the mouth of the cave. The 10th Century Saint Conrad of Constance is sometimes represented as a bishop holding a chalice with a spider. According to this story, while he was celebrating Easter Mass, a spider fell into the chalice. Ignoring the commonly-held belief of the time that all or most spiders were poisonous; as a token of faith, Conrad nevertheless drank the wine with the spider in it. For King Robert the Bruce of Scotland, the spider is depicted as an inspirational symbol, according to an early 14th century legend. The legend tells of Robert the Bruce's encounter with a spider during the time of a series of military failures against the English. One version tells that while taking refuge in a cave on Rathlin Island, he witnesses a spider continuously failing to climb its silken thread to its web. However, due to perseverance the spider eventually succeeds, demonstrating that, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again".〔 Taking this as being symbolic of hope and perseverance, Bruce came out of hiding and eventually won Scotland's independence. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cultural depictions of spiders」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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