Metis, the Mother of Athena - Greek Gods Explained

Thanks to Jonathan Doberski for help with my research.

#GreekMythology

[bintimes]

I like the idea that Zeus just thought too hard and made his mind hurt so bad that a goddess shot out of him

[heathers]

So if Zues essentially crafted a deity that is his wisdom, or set his wisdom separate from himself as the deity Athena.... this would explain why he's left dictating his actions based on his downstairs brain.

[thebaldcat]

Métis is Zeus’s cousin, which ironically makes her one of his least related partners.
That also makes Athena one of his least inbred children.

[MrMighty]

Too bad that we only know Pseudo-Apollodorus' take on this. Would be interesting to hear what the real Apollodorus had to say.

[KyloHen]

Fun fact Métis being swallowed by Zeus is theorized by me that it is one of the reasons Hestia didn’t want a husband. Another is that she was Cronus’s first born meaning she experienced her 2 sisters 2 brothers and rock being swallowed by Cronus.

[jamessirot]

Don’t some versions say Hephaestus cut open Zeus’ head and they let Athena out?

[Warrior-Of-Virtue]

I'm surprised that Metis has never appeared in popular culture. At least nothing I've ever heard of. A deposed Queen of Olympus coming back for revenge would be an interesting concept.

[francy]

What I really find interesting is the fact that even if the prophecy talked about a male son Athena is still more powerful than Zeus (at least in my opinion), think about it. She's the only one other than Zeus that has access to his lightnings and the Aegis, in every argument or fight she had with other gods she has always won, every faction of a war she has taken the sides with has won and most important she's Zeus' pride, he accepts everything she says and with her cleverness she can easily manipulate him, both emotionally and mentally, and when you can control the big boss, well, YOU become the big boss. I think she doesn't overthrow him just to not create an infinite cycle of child overthrowing the parent.

[AlienFriend]

"So we all know Zeus is married to Hera, who is the queen of the gods, and they're a great couple."
*Ah yes, A husband who constantly cheats on his wife who instead of being angry at Zeus, is angry at the woman who was probably tricked by him...true love.*
Edit: Jesus Christ guys! I know he was being sarcastic, my comment is a joke!

[lernreed]

There was a comment over on one of overly sarcastic productions videos that basically said that Zeus and Metis’s prophesied son was technically Dionysus. Since Metis was a part of Zeus (after he ate/absorbed her) and Zeus gave birth to Dionysus, that made him Metis’s son, too, in a roundabout way. I combined this head canon with another comment that says that Zeus knows Dionysus has the power to overthrow him so he keeps Dionysus perpetually drunk.

[lenardbordo]

There are different stories on what became of Metis after she was eaten. One story implies that Metis turned either into the shield Athena is wearing or the owl that always stands on her shoulder. That would explain why the most famous Greek goddess of wisdom seems to have no interest in knowing what became of her mom.

[wilburn]

To be honest, it seems that Metis' son would be more powerful than Zeus whoever his father was. So even if Zeus did not bang Metis, someone else would, and she would still have that son.

[Ghstily]

I always just figured that Zeus getting his skull cut open because of a headache, (a common treatment back in ancient times) gave him brain damage and his lost wisdom personified as Athena, but he’s still just as smart as ever because his neutrons grew back due to him being a god.

[IlyassKorra]

I love this new style of videos, i hope you do more of these

[arcticdino]

Since Metis still gave birth to Athena from within Zeus, and Athena burst out of Zeus's skull, Zeus is lucky Metis wasn't pregnant with twins when he ate her because the son might have come out chestburster style.

[kesegosedumedi]

I love how Zeus is always making children from every woman he meets

[silverish]

Yooo, I'm so early. Love your humour and the education factor, keep on making these!

[Noah]

YES. I’ve been waiting for another one on Greek Mythology.

[CJCroen]

Two things:
1. My personal headcanon surrounding Métis is that the reason Zeus keeps making stupid decisions is because Métis keeps subtly influencing him and wants him to royally screw up so he can be overthrown, mainly as revenge for him absorbing her.
2. I find it interesting that some sources say that all of the Big Three were once married to Oceanid nymphs—Zeus had Métis, whom he disposed of when she became a potential threat; one Roman myth had Hades being initially married to an Oceanid named Leuce (Leuke?) who died and was memorialized by either Hades himself or Persephone via a poplar tree; and while she’s usually a Nereid, some stories claim that Poseidon’s wife Amphitrite was an Oceanid. I think this says a lot about all three of them.

[TheDramaNut]

I can't get over the fact that Zeus went to Hephaestus to chop open his head because he thought he had a headache and Hephaestus agreed to do it.