Minerva and the Web
Minerva was walking once on a bright and dusty beach. The day was brilliant white and the sea hissed with hushed satisfaction. The goddess had just finished helping scientists in a nearby valley perfect their latest invention; a stronger computer. They had called Minerva there to receive her blessing (or at least her consent) on their product. Having seen the wonders man was capable of in the name of knowledge had pleased the goddess greatly. So to reward herself, she walked along the shore, to revel in the greatness the gods could create.
By and by Athena found a piece of driftwood from which she could best admire the pretty scene. When she sat upon it, a gleam brought on by the bright day caught her eye. It was her long-since-finished handiwork that stared back at her. A grey spider’s web was dangling in the knob of the pale wood; usually this site would have been barely visible but not today. Athena admired the beauty of the weaving and felt the surge of victory over her once arrogant foe. She went so far as to mock the spider;
“Where is your brilliance now Arachne? You, insect who once sought to challenge Minerva herself. Ha! Even now, long after our contest is over, I am still a goddess and you are still as you ever were, insignificant.”
Just then a harsh wind blew the weaving of the web and the spider was left to clutch to the driftwood. When the wind had passed, the spider’s work was gone and the insect began again. As Minerva watched the spider continue on its mercenary drudge, she began to feel guilty. How could man help but be foolish, it being a creature with such a miserable fate, having to be born human? To work and work, to live and die, to love and hate in all too short a time. Was it their fault they were so foolish? Could anything be done to help them? Moved by pity Athena decided to aid man, and a smile crossed her face as she looked upon the web.
So, all the gods were called to discuss Athena’s new plan. She proposed an idea to connect all the people of the earth, by means of a web, believing that this net would stop man from making the same mistakes over and over again by sharing information with one another. If only this had happened earlier, then perhaps Arachne would have learned the mistake of Niobe, or Niobe learn the mistake of Medusa, Medusa the mistake of Marsyas. But such was sadly not the case.
Each god said that they would contribute what they knew, or what they wanted people to know, for gods must also have their secrets. When it was near complete, wicked and listless Discordia felt that all was going far too well so she slyly spoke too loud “Who will guard this wonderful new web we are making? Surely, whoever does will have to be powerful and wise. For this will be as large as the whole world. ” All the Gods began to think of how powerful and wise they were, and then Mars spoke.
“This will help us fight wars in the future, to share strategies, control weapons even to launch attacks, I should control it.”
At this Hermes frowned “No, this will be more for Trade than for War, Mars. For what system of communication is not used for commerce? If anything, I should control it, I am the messenger of trade.”
“For Trade?” laughed Apollo “Trade of music perhaps. With a tool like this, the musician can play anywhere in the world, even long after the sound has stopped.”
Ceres then said “Those matters are trivial; this is a creation of great purpose. With this people can keep records of Nature. They can know when a frost is coming from the north, a storm from the south; this will help them understand the physical world.”
Neptune, who above all, lives to surprise sailors with sudden storms, feared that man would grow to know his tricks. “Man should not know the thoughts of the gods…I should guard it, to make sure our important secrets are not released.”
Before long all the gods were fighting about who should be the one in charge of this web. Venus claimed it would be the best way for people to find matches. Bacchus claimed it would be best for spreading the rules of drinking games. Juno insisted that she was the queen of the gods, so therefore should have control of this second world, since her husband controlled the first. Pluto did not much care either way, all the wisdom men could gain would not save them from his inevitable fate. Minerva was furious that someone would presume they could control what was her idea. Surprisingly Jupiter refrained from the fight, “I have one world to be king of already” he chuckled “there is no need for me to have another.” Eventually the scene became exactly what Discordia wanted; a bitter and loud argument.
The clouds shook and darkened with the anger of the gods. Eventually Minerva, frustrated with the pettiness of her family, asked Jupiter to make a decision. For his word was law. At this he considered what each one had said.
“This web,” he began “will be everything, so it is not for any one god to control. Each one of us has had a part in it, each one of us will control it in our own ways. However, we cannot allow man to grow too wise from our knowledge.” Jupiter then looked at Discordia, who had been standing behind Mars, lest anyone know she started the argument.
“You, you are the most necessary for this project to work. Spread your skills about this web, once it is given to man. Confuse the facts, cut the connections, when they least expect it. Do not act too much, so man does not give up on the web, just enough. Always make man doubt the facts on this web, perhaps they are, perhaps they are not.”
Minerva was angered by this; her idea was first fought over and now was being turned against those she was trying to help.
“How can you allow this father? This web was supposed to make men wiser, not more confused.”
Jupiter then asked her:
“What would happen if man was to suddenly receive everything we gods have without working for it?”
Then she understood. To simply give man all the answers to life would make him lazy and arrogant, true knowledge must be worked for. Minerva then thought of Arachne, the inspiration for her great endeavor and realized that Jupiter was right. Man should not grow arrogant, to exact revenge on the world would be exhausting.
When they had finished with their work, they decided that they could not just hand down the web all at one time. For this is not how a web is woven. To weave a web strings must be pulled at attached all over.
The Gods handed down their strings to many people. From the mechanical city of Pittsburg, to the rolling skies of Santa Monica, farther still to the ends of the earth, to Asia, to Africa, to Europe, to all over. To scientists, to artists, to musicians, to students and to politicians. The politicians would later claim that the gods had handed it directly down to them, even to go so far to say that they had created it, but as we all know, that is ridiculous. Each person contributed what they knew in addition to what the Gods had put in. Slowly but surely the web grew stronger, and as it grew more and more people became attached to it, thus fulfilling the dream of Minerva to connect men to one another, to share information, stories, lessons, etc. Once the web had taken root, the gods left it mostly to man so that he may continue to maintain and expand the web, but they always kept an eye on it. However, while the other gods go about their regular business, the one goddess who is always involved is Discordia. Do not think man so wise as that he must always be kept in check by the Gods; man often spreads his own wrong information, believing it to be true. One can always count on man to argue a point until it is certain he is completely wrong. But, whenever man gets a little too close to being completely right in any field and it is then when Discordia steps in.
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