Metis means “wisdom,” “skill,” or “craft” in Greek, and in ancient Greek religion, it was a mythical Titaness belonging to the second generation of Titans.

By the era of Greek philosophy in the 5th century BC, Metis had become the mother of wisdom and profound thought. However, her name originally connoted “magical cunning” and was as easily equated with the trickster powers of Prometheus as with the “royal metis” of Zeus. The Stoic commentators allegorized Metis as the manifestation of “prudence,” “wisdom,” or “wise counsel,” in which form the Renaissance inherited her.

The Greek word Metis meant a combination of wisdom and cunning qualities. This quality was considered to be highly admirable, and the hero Odysseus was its incarnation. In the Classical era, Metis was regarded by Athenians as one of the notable characteristics of Athenians.

The proem of the Iliad made it clear that Homer’s first poem was about Menis, the wrath of Achilles. The Odyssey, however, focused on the heroic quality of Metis. The diversion of attention was consistent with changes in the general perception of heroic characteristics and their varying importance. The heroes of old with their brute strength became less accessible to a regular listenership than those with cunning and persuasive speeches like Odysseus.

Odysseus was amid with situations that could not be overcome by hitherto accepted heroic practices. There were many God or superhuman creatures that impeded Odysseus’ way back home. For example, Calypso kept Odysseus on her island because she fell in love with him. The Cyclops, the grand monster who could tear people apart with bare hands, prisoned Odysseus, and his fellows in the cave as reserve food. The Circe laced potion with insidious drugs that made people forget their native land, struck them, and turned them appear to be pigs. Against supernatural monsters and demi-goddesses, the hero could not employ the brute strength of the traditional Iliadic hero, and must, therefore, rely on his mind. 

Odysseus demonstrated the necessary leadership qualities required in attempting to excel at Metis. An issue that plagued the Ithacan was the protection of Odysseus’ crew, and his Metis was demonstrated not by saving them all, but rescuing as many as he can. It was a skill of leadership to judge necessary sacrifices, and Odysseus repeatedly did just this. When prisoned by Cyclops, Odysseus did not fight against the monster at the beginning when his first man was eaten but waited until the best opportunity to plot his fleet. Also, on the island of Antiphates, when Odysseus escaped with his fellows, Odysseus shrewdly commanded his crew to leave without attempting to rescue more ships. However, If he had done the hitherto considered heroic thing, that was to stay and fight in defense of his fleet, every man would have perished.

This episode also provided grounds for evaluating Odysseus’s powers of persuasive speech, the ability that revealed his Metis at most. Odysseus told his men that he would share what Circe told him, but he “stopped short of mentioning Scylla” (Book XII) so as not to scare them into inaction. This discretion showed forethought; to achieve his goal, Odysseus must keep his men ignorant. Then his speech of encouragement (Book XII) expressed many persuasive elements. Odysseus spoke of the past victory against the Cyclops to make his men more confident. He extolled his virtues, “my courage and wit and strategy rescued us,” to gain their trust in his leadership. Then he appealed to their piety by invoking Zeus, patron god of travelers, to protect them. This speech bolstered the crew.

Another crucial recurring aspect that demonstrated Odysseus’s cunning was his use of disguise. The disguise was the protagonist’s repeated use of concealment as a calculated response to a difficult situation. Examples of this included his deceptions of Nausicaa and Polyphemus (Book VI and Book IX, respectively). This fact might be regarded as a simple and effective ruse, but the implications for a Homeric hero were manifold. Concealing one’s identity was in direct odds to the achievement of Kleos, which was tantamount in all heroes. Glory led to a reputation that led to immortality through renown. To avoid troubles as often as Odysseus chose to show excellent disguise on his part to resist an almost instinctive need to be recognized for heroic deeds by one’s peers. Odysseus’ endurance of himself-imposed inconsequentiality demonstrated his dedication to Metis as an overriding necessity to achieve his goal, which was to return to Ithaca.

However, one thing was essential to note that when Odysseus’s dedication to the intelligent course of action waivered, he brought much trouble upon himself and his crew. Initially, Odysseus was the cause of his strife by insisting he and his men remain in the cave of the Cyclops to enjoy the rights of Xenia to which he was accustomed (Book IX, 104). But Polyphemus did not hold with the Greek customs and ate Odysseus’ crews. Odysseus could be made accountable for those of the team that died at the monster’s hands because they could have escaped before their unwilling host’s return. Moreover, On the island of Circe, Odysseus insisted his fellows to visit the house of Circe. Eurylochus criticized that “it was the reckless Odysseus who led them there. It was his fault they died.” 

Furthermore, Odysseus could not inhibit his tendency to pursuing Kleos as other heroes did. Admittedly, he excelled himself with the intelligent handling of the ruse of the name, which countered his quest for Kleos, the blinding, and the escape from the cave. All this was exemplary proof of his great skill of Metis and persuasive speech. However, Odysseus could not resist his quest for Kleos when he revealed his name, “if anyone among mortal men should ask who put out your eye in this ugly fashion, say that the one who blinded you was Odysseus the city-sacker” (Book IX). This quotation demonstrated the importance that Odysseus placed on his mortal peers, and even strangers he would never meet, of knowing of his achievement. However, this arrogance led to the establishment of the mythical driving force of the adventure plot in the Odyssey. Poseidon, the father of Cyclops, was the leading cause of trouble in Odysseus’ journey because he knew Odyssey was the culprit who ruined his son’s eyes

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Odysseus must reject the old customs of xenia and Kleos to survive, and he epitomized the struggle to adjust. His powers of Metis were formidable and essential to his survival. However, Odysseus was intermittently undone by his reluctance to reject his old conduct wholly. I can conclude that, while Odysseus demonstrated high power in Metis, his adherence to Xenia and his instinctive obsession with his Kleos ultimately connoted his actions.