The blessed gods had thus put an end to the war.
The hard work of
adjudicating the Titans’ arrogated honors
had been decided by force.
Now they demanded, by acclamation,
that their King and Lord
(even shrewd Earth agreed) ought to be Olympian Zeus,
the long-range thinker
who, among all the immortals,
has proven that he can distribute honors justly. [885]
When he became King of gods,
Zeus took Metis (Practical Wisdom)
as his first wife.
When it comes to dealing with mortal humans,
she knows the most.
But when Metis was about to give birth
to the steely-eyed goddess, Athena,
then, on the spot,
Zeus led the fluid mind of Metis his way,
with an inviting ruse.
In words that flattered, he invited Metis,
Ocean’s daughter,
to flow as one inside: [890]
a shrewdly consensual move,
inspired by the love gone awry
with Earth and starry Sky.
Those two made clear how to avoid
challenges from offspring,
so that the honor of King
would be held by none of the gods
(who, once born, live forever),
none, other than Zeus.
Rivalry was unavoidable.
From Metis,
only very intelligent children could ever be born.
Luckily, her first was a daughter:
steely-eyed Athena, born by the river Triton. [895]
The equal of her father Zeus,
she possesses both careful deliberation and firm resolve.
But these qualities, in a son,
would make him want to be
the new King of gods and men.
So, before Metis gave birth again,
Zeus pre-emptively banished all lawlessness of heart.
Before she to son,
he to her
gave pride of place.
He invited Metis
to flow as one inside.
Now the goddess makes clear to him
good and evil:
she, the consummate insider. [900]