Okay, about Shelob:
I think that when Tolkien wrote about her, he was drawing inspiration from Homer's The Odyssey.
When Odysseus sails through a perilous cave, he needs to face a monster in the dark by the name of Scylla. She is a six-headed, spider-like creature who lurked in the dark, ready to spring on any man that come by. She is large and black, and the fact that she is female is emphasized. I just think they sound similar. Anyone else?
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