Arachne (Josephine Davison), plays a hideous half-spider creature on the 1997 episode "Web of Desire" in the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
At one time she was a beautiful queen. However, she was incredibly vain and when her daughter's beauty began to outshine her own, Arachne had her daughter thrown into the ocean where she drowned. As a result, Zeus cursed Arachne and turned her into the hideous spider. She was banished to a deserted island in the Charybdian Sea.
When a shipload of pirates landed on the island to bury their treasure, Arachne began to kill them. She laid eggs inside their bodies, planning to grow an army of spiders to rule over. Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Iolaus (Michael Hurst) are shipwrecked on the island shortly after the pirates. They take refuge in the large cave and soon find their numbers dwindling.
Arachne appears to prey on the men inside the cave. She soon sets her sights on Iolaus. After Iolaus is captured, she attempts to mate with him. Hercules comes to his rescue, with the help of the pirate captain Nebula (Gina Torres). Hercules battles Arachne until he is able to show her reflection which is her greatest weakness. He does this by using one of the men's shields. Upon seeing her own grotesque appearance she bursts into flames and dies.
Trivia[]
- Josephine Davison also appeared as Princess Alexa in the 1997 episode "War Bride" of the TV series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys".
- Josephine Davison also appeared as the goddess Artemis in the 2000 episode, "Motherhood" of the TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess".
- Josephine Davison also played villainess Morgana in 20 episodes of the 2005 TV series, "Power Rangers SPD".