Homeric Hymns

Myths differ on just why Zeus swallows his lover Metis. According to some versions of the story, the strange act is Zeus’s gambit to maintain divine sovereignty: After impregnating Metis with their first child (Athena), Zeus hears a prophecy that their second child will usurp him; he therefore swallows the still-pregnant Metis—and the unborn Athena—to ensure there will be no second child, just as his father Cronus tried to swallow him. Athena then bursts from his head.

In light of this backstory, Hymn 28 maintains themes of intergenerational conflict and obscured gender roles. In birthing Athena, Zeus both escapes the fate of his forefathers—the fate of usurpation by offspring—and takes on an unconventional childbearing role. Athena’s birth itself symbolizes her wisdom and knowledge of war strategies; she emerges from Zeus’s head, connoting the wisdom and will of Zeus, while her armor speaks to her domain of military schemes. Athena is an extension of Zeus as opposed to a potential threat to his power, and she is described as the “joy of wise Zeus” (91). Much like her father, she offsets traditional gender roles, occupying authority over the traditionally masculine endeavor of war strategy. Zeus shares with Athena the aegis-shield, and both gods bear the epithet “aegis-holder.” This shield, made of goatskin and a Gorgon head, creates a reciprocal relationship between Zeus and Athena and solidifies Athena’s status within the pantheon.