Metis (mythology)
The Greek word metis meant a quality that combined wisdom and cunning. This quality was considered to be highly admirable, the hero Odysseus being the embodiment of it. He used such strategy against Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. In the Classical era, metis was regarded by Athenians as one of the notable characteristics of the Athenian character. By the era of Greek philosophy in the 5th century BC, Metis had become the first deity of wisdom and deep thought. Her name originally connoted magical cunning. It was as easily equated with the trickster powers of Prometheus as with the royal metis of Zeus. The Homeric poems titled him Metieta.
Metis was an Oceanid, one of the 3000 daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She gave her cousin Zeus an emetic potion to cause his father Cronus to vomit out his siblings. These siblings included Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Their father had swallowed them out of fear of being overthrown. After Zeus and his siblings won the Titanomachy, he pursued Metis and they got married. Metis was both an indispensable aid and a threat to Zeus. He lay with her but immediately feared the consequences. Gaia and Uranus prophesied that Metis would bear a daughter wiser than her mother. Then she would bear a son more powerful than his father. This son would eventually overthrow Zeus and become king of the cosmos. Zeus tricked Metis into turning herself into a fly. He promptly swallowed her while she was already pregnant with their first child, Athena. Metis continued to give Zeus advice from within his mind.
Once Athena fully grew up, Metis crafted robes, armor, a shield, and a spear for her daughter. The girl banged her spear and shield together to give her father a terrible headache. Zeus could not take his headache anymore. He called upon Hephaestus, a son of Hera who was now Zeus's queen. Hephaestus cut his head open on the river Triton's banks. Athena emerged from Zeus's mind full grown. She wore the armor her mother made for her. Soon she became the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and crafts. Metis raised Athena in Zeus's mind during this entire process.
The Stoic commentators allegorised Metis as the embodiment of prudence, wisdom, or wise counsel. This form was inherited by the Renaissance. Jean-Pierre Vernant applied Metis as a concept of literary criticism along with Marcel Detienne. Plato made Poros, or creative ingenuity, a son of Metis. The Symposium text records this relationship at 203b. Scholars noted similarities between Zeus swallowing Metis and Cronus swallowing his children. These parallels caused some controversy regarding reproduction myths. Ancient thinkers viewed the swallowing as a metaphor for internalizing power rather than physical consumption.
According to a scholiast on the Theogony, Metis had the ability of changing her shape at will. Zeus tricked her when she transformed into a pikràn. Keightley notes that bitter makes little sense in that context. It has been variously corrected to muîan meaning fly or mikràn meaning small thing instead. Apollodorus stated that Metis was raped by Zeus. She changed many forms to escape him after he pursued her. An alternative version makes the Cyclops Brontes rather than Zeus the father of Athena before Metis is swallowed. Hesiod's account is followed by Acusilaus and the Orphic tradition. They enthroned Metis side by side with Eros as primal cosmogenic forces.
Metis Island in Antarctica bears the goddess's name. Number 9 Metis stands as one of the larger main-belt asteroids named after this deity. A moon of Jupiter carries the same title. These celestial bodies preserve the ancient name in modern scientific catalogs. The naming reflects enduring cultural resonance across millennia. No specific launch dates or discovery years appear in the source text for these objects. The focus remains on the attribution of names alone.
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Common questions
Who is Metis in Greek mythology?
Metis was an Oceanid, one of the 3000 daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She became the first deity of wisdom and deep thought by the era of Greek philosophy in the 5th century BC.
What happened to Metis after she married Zeus?
Zeus tricked Metis into turning herself into a fly and swallowed her while she was already pregnant with their first child, Athena. Metis continued to give Zeus advice from within his mind until Athena emerged full grown from Zeus's head on the river Triton's banks.
Why did Zeus swallow Metis according to prophecy?
Gaia and Uranus prophesied that Metis would bear a daughter wiser than her mother followed by a son more powerful than his father who would overthrow Zeus. This fear led Zeus to swallow Metis before the son could be born.
How does Metis relate to the goddess Athena?
Metis raised Athena in Zeus's mind during the entire process and crafted robes, armor, a shield, and a spear for her daughter. Athena emerged from Zeus's mind wearing the armor her mother made for her and later became the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and crafts.
Where is Metis Island located today?
Metis Island in Antarctica bears the goddess's name along with Number 9 Metis which stands as one of the larger main-belt asteroids named after this deity. A moon of Jupiter also carries the same title to preserve the ancient name in modern scientific catalogs.
All sources
12 references cited across the entry
- 2bookCunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and SocietyMarcel Detienne et al. — University of Chicago Press — 18 June 1991
- 3bookEncyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and MythologyTheresa Bane — McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers — 2013
- 6bookMyth, Ritual and ReligionAndrew Lang — Longmans, Green — 1901
- 7inlineHesiod, Theogony 929
- 9inlineKeightley, p. 153, note b.
- 10inlineApollodorus, 1.3.6.
- 12encyclopediaReproduction MythsHelen King