In Spidersilk the novel, Spiders play a big role in protecting Mark, the main character, and his friends. Spiders play a major role in the mythology of many different cultures. For example, in some variations of the Old Testament, a spider actually protected David from soldiers sent by King Saul to defeat him. The spider created a fresh web over its cave so the soldiers wouldn’t think to look in the cave. This is slightly reminiscent of how the Spiders worked to help out Mark. Of course, there’s a lot of other legends and myths about spiders, so check out this cool link: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/samhaintraditions/a/Spider-Mythology-And-Folklore.htm