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 Ananse
the spider man
A hero of many folk tales in West Africa and the caribbean is Ananse.
He is both spider & man. When things are going well he is a
man but in times of danger he becomes a spider. Ananse likes to
trick the other animals and get the better of those who are much
bigger than himself. He may be greedy and selfish but he is also
very funny. He is a hero because he bought the gift of telling stories
to people.
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A
greek legend tells of Arachne a girl who was very skilled
at weaving. The goddess Athene challenged her to a contest,
Arachne won. The goddess became so cross that Arachne killed
herself. Athene was sorry and turned the little girl into
a spider so she could spin forever.Arachnid is the scientific
name for spiders, named after Arachne
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In 1306 the king of Scotland, Robert the bruce,was resting in a
barn after defeat by the English. He watched a spider trying to
spin a web. Six times it had failed, on the seventh attempt it succeeded.
Inspired by this to fight on, Robert the bruce finally defeated
the English at Bannockburn in 1314.
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| Spiders
have been admired for their tireless spinning for centuries.
This picture was painted by the Italian artist Veronese
in the 1500s. He wanted to depict the virtues of the great
cities of Venice, whose wealth was based on trade. To represent
hard work and industry he painted this picture of a woman
holding up the spider in it's web. |
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In
the middle ages the people in Taranto in southern Italy called
the large wolf spider (Lycosa
narbonensis) the tarantula. They believed the venom
of the spiders bite could only be flushed from the body bydoing
the tarantella, a lively dance. However, the bite was not serious.
An epidemic of spider bites at the time was probably caused by
the Malmignatte spider (Latrodectrus
tredecimguttatus).
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Marvel Comics 'Spiderman'
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The bite of a radioactive spider gave the comic book hero
his special powers. He is very strong, with a keen sense that
warns of danger, and he can cling to almost any surface. He
also has web shooters that come out of his wrists, which help
him catch criminals |
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Raiko
and the Earth spider
People have regarded spiders as dangerous and magical animals
for thousands of years.  This
Japanese painting from the 1830s shows the legendary warrior Yorimitsu
( also known as Raiko) and his followers slaying the fearsome Earth
spider.
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Do
you know anymore?
I'd love to hear them, email any tales, folklore and or pictures
to:
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