Arachne

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Arachne
アルケニー
MT2SMT1 SFCSMT4DCBR Artwork from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II SFC artwork from Shin Megami Tensei Artwork from Shin Megami Tensei IV Artwork from Devil Children Black Book and Red Book
Other Name(s)	RantulaRevelations: Persona
Origin	Greek culture Roman culture
Race(s)	AkumaDevil Children Black Book and Red Book Devil Children White Book Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book Devil Children Fire Book and Ice Book FemmeDigital Devil Story: Megami Tensei Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II Kyūyaku Megami Tensei Shin Megami Tensei Shin Megami Tensei II Shin Megami Tensei if... Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Colosseum 20XX Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Megami Ibunroku Persona Megami Ibunroku Persona: Ikū no Tō Hen VerminShin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux Shin Megami Tensei IV Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Alignment(s)	Neutral-ChaosShin Megami Tensei Shin Megami Tensei II Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Colosseum 20XX NeutralShin Megami Tensei IV Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Dark-NeutralShin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
Order(s)	Pagan

Arachne is a Demon in the Megami Tensei franchise.

Profile

Origin

Arachne, from the the Greek word for "spider", is a woman in Classical mythology said to have been turned into a spider by Minerva (Pallas Athena). The first surviving record of Arachne is from Ovid's Metamorphoses, though an earlier allusion to the myth can perhaps be found from the Roman poet Virgil.

In Ovid's narrative, Arachne was a Maeonian seamstress of great renown who refused to give credit to Minerva (referred to as Pallas) for her skills, earning herself the ire of the goddess. Minerva appeared before Arachne disguised as an old woman and attempted to warn Arachne not to antagonize the gods and to pray for forgiveness. Arachne responded by challenging Minerva to appear before her and compete with her in a contest, to which Minerva shed her disguise. Weaving her tapestry on the Areopagus in Athens, Minerva made a tapestry depicting the gods transforming humans as punishment, so that it may serve as a lesson for Arachne. Arachne's tapestry, on the other hand, defiantly depicted various sexual exploits of the gods with women, many of which featured the gods in the form of animals. When Minerva looked at Arachne's tapestry, she was unable to find any flaw; enraged either at the flawlessness, the contents, or both, she destroyed Arachne's tapestry and struck her on the forehead. This humiliation being too much for her to bear, the "spirited" (animosa) Arachne hanged herself. In an act of both pity and punishment, Minerva lifted Arachne up and sprinkled a potion of Hecate, transforming Arachne into a spider.

While Ovid's version is the first surviving complete narrative, it is highly plausible that he was adapting an existing Greek story: Arachne is a Greek name, and Ovid's story draws upon Greek themes such as hubris; this is the majority opinion, held by scholars such as Fritz Graf (1996) and Gianpiero Rosati (2024). It is likely, however, that Ovid modified the narrative to fit the Metamorphoses' overarching critique on authority and censorship.

Another variation of the myth is found in a scholium on Nicander's Theriaca, with the account attributed to a certain Zenodotean named Theophilus. This version takes place in Attica and has Athena act as Arachne's tutor in weaving while teaching her brother Phalanx, who is absent in Ovid's narrative, in the art of war. Athena is angered when Arachne and Phalanx engage in incestuous sexual intercourse with one another, and transforms the pair into spiders, cursing them to be eaten by their offspring. Johnston (2009) hypothesizes that by "Zenodotean" the scholiast meant that Theophilus was a pupil of the Homeric scholar Zenodotus, and would have thus lived in the Hellenistic period.

Design

Arachne's design in Shin Megami Tensei is a naked woman with insectoid limbs and her hair in a hime cut hanging upside down from a thread coming from her rear or crotch, though she has also been depicted on the ground with her knees bending backwards to accommodate her insectoid limbs. This design is the one primarily used throughout the series, and received a slight change in Shin Megami Tensei IV changing her skin to green, going from light green down to her torso when it becomes a darker green. Arachne also received a design in Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, where she is depicted as having the body of a spider with red spots across the abdomen and the spider's thorax merging with the armless body of woman. The back and sides of her body are covered in the spiders carapace and the front being that of a pale skinned woman, which is completely exposed from the neck down to her waist. Her head is entirely human, having a hime cut similar to the prior depiction however with more a more jagged fringe and glowing red eyes.

Gameplay

Shin Megami Tensei

	Name Level HP MP Arachne 48 700 90	Strength 22 Intelligence 17 Magic 17 Vitality 15 Agility 25 Luck 14
Location Psychic World
Race Alignment EXP Yen / Macca Magnetite Moon PhaseDemon Aggression Drop Femme Chaos (250) 1152 ♄Macca0 1152 0 Soma (0⁄256)
Attack Accuracy Defense Evasion M. Attack M. Effect 99 31Most versions/30Super CD-ROM² 51Most versions/50Super CD-ROM²/49Mega-CD 27 19 19 Resistances Boss (1): "Resists Guns & Ice." Sword Gun Fire Ice Elec Force Nerve Almighty ×1 ×¼×0.25 ×1 ×¼×0.25 ×½×0.50 ×1 NulNull ×1 Expel Death Magic Bind Charge Dex Needle Non-Elem. NulNull NulNull ×⅝×0.625 NulNull ×¾×0.75 ×⅞×0.875 NulNull ×1
Basic Attack Element Hit(s) Target Sword 3-6Due to a bug, hits only once in the Mega-CD version Single enemy
Magic Skills Skill Attribute Cost Description Mazanma Force 7 MP Blasts a group of enemies with a strong gale. Dormina Nerve 3 MP Puts multiple enemies to sleep. Marin Karin Magic 6 MP Charms one enemy.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

	Name Level HP MP Arachne 40 350 157	Strength 46 Dexterity 42 Magic 42 Agility 55 Luck 46
Race AlignmentFactored with certain skills Speech C. CostCompendium Summoning Cost Vermin Neutral — —
Resistances — DrnDrain — WkWeak — — — — ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1
Ailment Resistances StrStrong ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1
Basic Attack Element Hit(s) Target Effect Phys 1 Single enemy —
Skills Skill Cost Description Level Stun Needles 14 MP 1-3 hits of Heavy Gun damage with 60% chance of Bind to random enemies. Innate Damascus Claw 7 MP 1-3 hits of Medium Phys damage to one enemy. Innate Blast Arrow 16 MP Medium Gun damage to all enemies. 41

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

	Name Level HP MP Arachne 44 409 153	Strength 43 Dexterity 69 Magic 36 Agility 73 Luck 46
Race AlignmentFactored with certain skills Speech C. CostCompendium Summoning Cost Vermin Neutral Girl (A) 24480
Resistances — NuNull — WkWeak NuNull — WkWeak — ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1¼×1.25 ×1 ×1 ×1¼×1.25 ×1
Ailment Resistances ×½×0.50 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1
Skill Affinity — +3 — −3 — — — — — +1 — —
Basic Attack Element Hit(s) Target Effect Phys 1 Single enemy —
Skills Skill Cost Description Level Stun Needles 22 MP 1 to 3 hits of medium gun damage and 60% bind to multiple foes. Innate Blast Arrow 19 MP Medium gun damage to all foes. Innate Sukunda 25 MP Debuffs all foes' agility by 1 level. 45

Megami Ibunroku Persona

PSPSP

	Name Level HP SP ArachnePersona RantulaRevelations: Persona 34 340 272	Strength 43 Vitality 22 Dexterity 25 Agility 19 Luck 26
Location Mana Castle, Thanatos Tower
Class Order Type Subtype Recruit Personality Gender Persona Talk Oni Femme (DWDemon WomanRevelations: Persona ) ForceHigh Str; good at Force-subtype spells Gravity ✔ Gloomy, Snappish Female Pallas Athena
M. Atk M. Def EXP Persona EXP Yen Drop 77 44 828 828 ¥Yen1510 Magryva Stone (△Less Common)
Resistances "Repel: 50% Gravity / Weak: Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth" Sword Two-Hand Spear Axe Whip Thrown Arrow Fist ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 Handgun Machine Gun Shotgun Rifle Tech Rush Anti-Boss Special ×1 ×1 ×1½×1.50 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×¼×0.25 ×1 Fire Ice Wind Earth Electric Nuclear Blast Gravity ×1½×1.50 ×1½×1.50 ×1½×1.50 ×1½×1.50 ×½×0.50 ×½×0.50 ×1 Rpl ×½Repel (×½ Damage) Death Nerve Occult Curse Expel Prayer Bless Miracle ×1 ×¾×0.75 NuNull ×1 ×1 NuNull NuNull ×1
Basic Attack Element Hit(s) Target Range Sword 1 Single enemy Sword
Skills SkillPersona / Revelations: Persona Cost Range Description Inherit Grydyne / Force 10 SP B Heavy Gravity damage (area) ✔ Magryva / MagnetAll 12 SP D Medium Gravity damage (all foes) ✔ Genocide Fan / GiantPin 0 SP Two-Hand Light Tech damage (1 foe) ✘ Tackle / Tackle 0 SP F Medium Rush damage (1 foe) ✘ Stun Claw / ParaNail 0 SP F Light Tech damage+Paralyze (1 foe) ✘

	Name Level HP SP ArachnePersona RantulaRevelations: Persona 34 340 272	Strength 43 Vitality 22 Dexterity 30 Agility 19 Luck 26
Location Mana Castle, Thanatos Tower
Class Order Type Subtype Recruit Personality Gender Persona Talk Oni Femme (DWDemon WomanRevelations: Persona ) ForceHigh Str; good at Force-subtype spells Gravity ✔ Gloomy, Snappish Female Pallas Athena
M. Atk M. Def EXP Persona EXP Yen Drop 77 44 1076 1159 ¥Yen1888 Magryva Stone (△Less Common)
Resistances "Repel: 50% Gravity / Weak: Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth" Sword Two-Hand Spear Axe Whip Thrown Arrow Fist ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1 Handgun Machine Gun Shotgun Rifle Tech Rush Anti-Boss Special ×1 ×1 ×1½×1.50 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×¼×0.25 ×1 Fire Ice Wind Earth Electric Nuclear Blast Gravity ×1½×1.50 ×1½×1.50 ×1½×1.50 ×1½×1.50 ×½×0.50 ×½×0.50 ×1 Rpl ×½Repel (×½ Damage) Death Nerve Occult Curse Expel Prayer Bless Miracle ×1 ×¾×0.75 NuNull ×1 ×1 NuNull NuNull ×1
Basic Attack Element Hit(s) Target Range Sword 1 Single enemy Sword
Skills SkillPersona / Revelations: Persona Cost Range Description Inherit Grydyne / Force 10 SP B Heavy Gravity damage (area) ✔ Magryva / MagnetAll 12 SP D Medium Gravity damage (all foes) ✔ Genocide Fan / GiantPin 0 SP Two-Hand Light Tech damage (1 foe) ✘ Tackle / Tackle 0 SP F Medium Rush damage (1 foe) ✘ Stun Claw / ParaNail 0 SP F Light Tech damage+Paralyze (1 foe) ✘

Compendium

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Compendium Entries
Shin Megami Tensei (A-Mode DDS)	Origin: Greece A skilled tapistry-weaver in Lydia. She challenged Athena, goddess of weaving, to a contest. Arachne's work was skilled, but her tapestry depicted Zeus's lewd actions. This infuriated Athena, who turned Arachne in to a spider woman.
Shin Megami Tensei II (A-Mode DDS)	出身地：ギリシア リュディアの機織りの女神。機織の技術を鼻にかけ、ギリシアの機織りの女神でもあるアテナに勝負を申し入れる。アルケニーの織物は素晴らしい物であったが、ゼウスの淫らな愛の姿の絵柄であったため、アテナの怒りをかい、蜘蛛女に変えられる。 Translation:
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey	A spider demon of Greek lore. Once a skilled seamstress, she was changed after challenging Athena. She spun a tapestry mocking the gods in the contest, and Athena cursed her to become a spider.
Shin Megami Tensei IV	A spider demon of Greek lore. Once a skilled seamstress, she was changed after challenging Athena. She spun a tapestry mocking the gods in the contest, and Athena cursed her to become a spider.
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse	A spider demon of Greek lore. Once a skilled seamstress, she was changed after challenging Athena. She spun a tapestry mocking the gods in the contest, and Athena cursed her to become a spider.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army	A spider demon of Greek lore. Once a skilled seamstress, she was changed after challenging Athena. She spun a tapestry mocking the gods in the contest, and Athena cursed her to become a spider.
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon	A spider demon of Greek myth. Once a skilled seamstress, she was changed after challenging Athena. She spun a tapestry mocking the gods in the contest, and the goddess cursed her to become a spider.
Devil Children Black Book and Red Book	GBC: クモのイトと　６ぽんのてを　うまくつかって　とてもうつくしい　ふくをつくる　クモおんな PS: クモの糸と　６本の手を　上手く使って　とても美しい　服をつくるクモ女 Translation:
Devil Children White Book	クモのイトと　６ぽんのてを　うまくつかって　とてもうつくしい　ふくをつくる　クモおんな Translation:
Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book	クモの糸と６本の　手をうまく使って　美しい服を　作る　魔法の薬でクモの　体に　なって　しまった　クモ女 Translation:
DemiKids Light Version and Dark Version	A maiden who now has four extra arms because of a mistakenly cast spell.
Devil Children Fire Book and Ice Book	クモの糸と６本の　手をうまく使って　美しい服を　作る　魔法の薬でクモの　体に　なって　しまった　クモ女 Translation:

Game Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei

Upon returning to Tokyo, the Hero will be occasionally confronted by the voice of a girl asking for his help in his mind. He soon discovers that the voice is coming from the psyche of the chained-up Messian girl in Shibuya who has been possessed by a demon, so he and the party are sent into her mind to remove it from her. Reaching the center of her mind, the party finds that Arachne is the demon who has been possessing the girl, and so they eliminate her to free the girl.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	Arachne
	RantulaRevelations: Persona
Japanese	アルケニー Arukenī	Arachne
Korean	아라크네 Arakeune	Arachne
	뜨게비DeviChil

Gallery

See Gallery

References

General

• "A New Web for Arachne", Antike Mythen: Medien, Transformationen und Konstruktionen (2009), Sarah Iles Johnston. Published by Walter de Gruyter. pp. 1-22. ISBN-13: 978-3-11-021724-7. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110217247.0.1

Specific