Arachne

Description

Originally written and published in German in 1898 and translated to English the same year, Arachne is the last novel by Georg Ebers, one of the most renowned German Egyptologists. Besides being a respected scientist, known mostly as the discoverer of an Egyptian medical papyrus dating from circa 1500 BC found in Luxor, Ebers was a talented and prolific fiction writer, known to the general public as the author of historical romances, out of which Arachne was one of the most popular pieces.

The novel is about Ledscha, a beautiful young woman living in ancient Egypt. After she lost her love, the Gods inspire love into her again, this time toward a Greek sculptor who wants to use her as a model for his statue of Arachne, the mythical weaver who was transformed into a spider by the Gods as punishment for her hubris to challenge Athena. Unfortunately, it seems like the young woman is just about to be disappointed again as the sculptor wants to replace her with another woman. However, the final decision, as always, belongs to the Gods – they will have the final word in Ledscha’s love story and grant her happiness and cause her sadness.

Arachne is only one out of the many historical romances by Ebers that he wrote in order to popularize Egyptian and Greek mythology. His other novels include An Egyptian Princess, written and published in 1864, Uarda, which came out in 1877, Homo Sum, dated to 1878, Serapis, from 1885, and Cleopatra, published in 1894. His books were very popular because of their exciting topics, as well as for Ebers’ great and engaging style. The stories of his novels are always eventful and the characters always well-rounded and credible, even if the subject matter of his books takes the reader to ancient, often mythical times. His books also did an excellent job popularizing the discoveries of Egyptologists.
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