I am no different from just about everyone else when it comes to squeamishness around spiders. I think they're beautiful--and I will stare at them as long as they remain still and at a safe distance from my skin. This unfortunately does not always go as planned, and I too weep at their sudden movements in my direction.
Spiders, as I learned, are actually pretty incredible beyond their fright factor. For one--they are one of the oldest organisms to date on our planet. There are many records of spiders in amber--be it their bodies or their webs. Last Halloween, palaeobiologist Professor Braiser at the University of Oxford examined amber found by hunters in East Sussex. This one piece of amber contained a spider web dating back to the Cretaceous period--140 million years ago (BBC article). Spiders are not only older than the human race, but they date back to the age of the dinosaurs and thereby survived what the dinosaurs didn't.
In addition to being our elders, spiders have "one up" on humans. Spider webs can lift five times more weight than steel. Scientists have been trying to determine how it is spider silk is so strong and how to replicate it in technology. With this innovation, scientists could even create bullet proof vests capable of stopping a bomb (ABC News). Try to reflect on that for a moment: tiny little critters that we give a bad name are capable of creating technology beyond human capability.
There's a greek myth about a woman from Lydia named Arachne who was talented in the art of weaving--so much that she claimed to be better than Athena--a goddess. As in any myth, gods do not particularly enjoy when mortals think they are better than the gods, so Athena descended from her mountain dressed as an old woman and warned Arachne to not offend the gods. But, Arachne was quite confident and told the stranger just how confident she was. Of course, the old lady challenges Arachne to a weaving contest, and only after Arachne accepts does she reveal her true form as none other than the goddess Athena. So, Athena weaves an intricate scene of Poseidon and herself giving gifts to the people who named their city after her. Arachne weaves not only a tapestry of Zeus' mistresses (how rude--he's Athena's father), but makes it so life-like, intricate and beautiful that even thick headed Athena admits that Arcachne's is better. But, Athena is enraged that Arachne would call such a challenge, think so highly of herself and weave something insulting, she curses Arachne and tears up her tapestry. Humiliated, Arachne hangs herself. Athena then takes pity on Arachne and brings her back to life with the juice of aconite, but brings her back as a "spider." Thus, Arachne and all of her descendants will forever hang and be masterful weavers.
Why would I bother retelling a long story about spiders? Well, it's important to see how a society before us had respect for spiders. All these myths about Black Widows biting off the heads of their lovers or films like Arachnophobia are just as inaccurate as Jaws. Spiders may be creepy because they have eight eyes, eight legs, and tend to make their way into your house, but they're actually worth admiration. There's an ancient proverb, " If you wish to live and thrive, let the spider stay alive," and many people in Ireland and England don't kill spiders because it is a sign of a "happy home." Even more, when Jesus is born under King Herod's fear of the Messiah and order to kill all newborns, it was a baby spider who hid Jesus from the soldiers in the cave. It's said that Joseph prayed to God to protect Mary and their baby, and the spider heard the prayer and weaved a massive web that impressed the soldiers so much in its complexity, that they assumed it had taken days to make, and they didn't want to enter the cave and destroy it.
So, you might not be cured of your fear of spiders. I certainly am not about to feel comforted by their presence in my bedroom, but I do hope you will reflect on their capabilities, and the way they are portrayed by other societies. If we reevaluate the way we see nature--and all of its inhabitants--we can better appreciate just how incredible the world really is.
