Minerva is both the Roman goddess of weaving (who, in the poet Ovid’s telling, turned the girl Arachne into a spider in a fit of anger) and the name of Weber’s young daughter; the show’s ...

The goddess Minerva is jealous of the young Arachne who is more clever it in weaving. Out of spite, Arachne Minerva rushed into hell, then transforms into a spider that will forever spinning its web.