2604498 Probably first published illustration of Tarantella legend. Bite of spider Lycosa tarantula thought to cause Tarantism, an illness in which the suffer wept and swept before going into a wild dance. From \'\'Magnes: sive de Ars Magnetica\'\', Rome, 1643, by Athanasius Kircher.; (add.info.: Probably first published illustration of Tarantella legend. Bite of spider Lycosa tarantula thought to cause Tarantism, an illness in which the suffer wept and swept before going into a wild dance. From \'\'Magnes, sive de Ars Magnetica\'\', Rome, 1643, by Athanasius Kircher.); Universal History Archive/UIG; out of copyright.