What is arachnophobia?

An abnormal and persistent fear of spiders...

» Home » Music & Theater Shows » Education & Reference » Phobias » What is arachnophobia? Print

Back to Actual Link » 4to40.com/qa/index.asp?p=What_is_arachnophobia

An abnormal and persistent fear of spiders. Sufferers of arachnophobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize that the risk of encountering a spider and being harmed by it is small or non-existent. This phobia was exploited in a 1990 movie “Arachnophobia”. The word is derived from the Greek ‘arachne’ (spider) and ‘phobos’ (fear) after the mythical Arachne, a maiden who was a skilled weaver, whom the goddess Athena turned into a spider on being challenged to a weaving contest.

Tags: Abnormal, Persistent, Fear of spiders, Arachnophobia, Anxiety, Encountering a spider, Non-existent, Phobia, Greek Word, Arachne, Spider, Phobos, Fear, Mythical Arachne, Maiden, Skilled weaver, Goddess Athena, Weaving contest