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. A similar story occurs in the Jewish tradition, where it is David who is being chased by King Saul. Since then, it has been held in many Muslim traditions that a spider, if not holy, is at least to be respected. After seeing the spider's web, the Quraysh passed the cave by, since Muhammad's entry to the cave would have broken the web.
The tale goes on to say that Allah commanded a spider to weave a web across the opening of the cave. Īn 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. Ninhursag heard Uttu's screams and rescued her, removing Enki's semen from her vagina and planting it in the ground to produce eight previously-nonexistent plants. After giving Uttu the produce, Enki intoxicated her with beer and raped her. After being warned by Enki's wife Ninhursag that he would attempt to seduce her, Uttu ensconced herself inside her web, but agreed to let Enki in after he promised to marry her and give her fresh produce as a marriage gift. According to the myth of Enki and Ninsikila, she was the daughter of the water god Enki. Uttu, the ancient Sumerian goddess of weaving, was envisioned as a spider spinning her web. 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 Arachne, who was later equated as the Roman goddess Minerva. 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. 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. Spiders are associated with creation myths because they seem to weave their own artistic worlds. Numerous cultures attribute the spider's ability to spin webs with the origin of spinning, textile weaving, basket weaving, knotwork and net making. The spider has symbolized patience and persistence due to its hunting technique of setting webs and waiting for its prey to become ensnared. Spiders have been the focus of fears, stories and mythologies of various cultures for centuries.
In addition, the spider has inspired creations from an ancient geoglyph to a modern steampunk spectacle. 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.
From Greek mythology to African folklore, the spider has been used to represent a variety of 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. Throughout history, spiders have been depicted in popular culture, mythology and in symbolism. Pre-Columbian spider image from a conch shell gorget at the Great Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma