What was Zeuss Domaene in Greek mythology

Metis - The first love of Zeus

The goddess of ingenuity and cunning

Metis is a rather unknown goddess in Greek mythology. You probably already know your daughter, the goddess Athena or her husband, the father of gods Zeus himself!
Metis was the daughter of the Titan Oceanus and the Titaness and sea goddess Tethys, who, according to Hesiod, are the descendants of Gaia and Uranus. Oceanus and Tethys are the parents of all river gods and oceanids, of which there are around 3,000 each. That is why Metis has around 5,999 siblings. However, only 25 river gods and 41 oceanids are named, such as Metis himself, Styx or Elektra. That is why Metis is also known as Oceanidine.
Their name Metis, which comes from ancient Greek, means “wise advice” in German. This is why she is also known as the goddess of ingenuity and cunning, and it is said that she was the wisest of all deities and mortal women. In addition, like many other gods, she has the ability to transform. However, this ability would later become her undoing.

Metis helps Zeus to overthrow Kronos ‘

Metis met Zeus, who immediately fell in love with her and wanted to seduce her, at a young age. He confided in her his origins and that he wanted to free his siblings from the throat of his father Kronos and overthrow them, as an oracle had prophesied. Since Metis was the goddess of ingenuity, he asked her advice. She thought about it and advised him to use the following ruse: Zeus should have his mother Rhea prepare an emetic and mix it into a drink for Kronos. He should sweeten this with honey so that Kronos wouldn't taste the emetic and so it happened: Zeus immediately rushed to his mother Rhea and together they put the plan into action. Metis was instrumental in the overthrow of Kronos and the subsequent armed conflict, the so-called Titanomachy, between the Olympians and the Titans.

Metis becomes Zeus ‘first wife

After the long wars - Zeus was still in love with Metis - he approached her again and asked for her hand. After she had avoided this love affair for a long time with the help of her art of metamorphosis, she finally consented to the marriage and in this way became Zeus ‘first wife. That is why one of Jupiter's 79 moons is named after her (Jupiter is the name for Zeus in Roman mythology). They lived in an idyllic setting and Metis, it is said, became pregnant with twins. Life could not have been more beautiful for them until Gaia and Uranus Zeus prophesied that a daughter born to him would be his equal and a son would overthrow him.

Zeus outwits Metis

Zeus was afraid that he might lose his power and that this would not happen, he came up with a ruse: He challenged Metis to a transformation duel, which she did not suspect. Using every trick in the book, she turned into all sorts of animals until she finally became a fly. Zeus devoured her and with her her unborn children in a flash.
Another narration of the myth says that Zeus first received the prophecy that a son born by Metis would overthrow him, as he once did his father, whereupon Zeus swallowed Metis in her fly form before she was even pregnant. Accordingly, she first became pregnant in his body with two children, a girl and a boy, and then migrated through Zeus' blood vessels to his head to give him a headache.

The headbirth - the goddess Athena is born

Both versions have in common that Zeus had a severe headache a few months after devouring the Metis. Thereupon he called Hephaestus, the god of blacksmithing and fire, to him. He should split his head with the help of his blacksmith's hammer and see what was causing him such pain. After initial hesitation, this happened and a young goddess in full armor and armed jumped out of her father's head. It was the goddess Athena.

A mythical version says that Metis was now free again, but did not want to have anything more to do with Zeus, because she thought he was just as greedy for power as his father Kronos. It is not clear whether she was killed as a precaution so that she could not give birth to a son from Zeus after all, or whether she simply stayed away from Zeus, but her son was never born. The more likely version, however, is that Metis stayed in Zeus ‘throat and thereby acquired her astuteness, wisdom and cleverness.