Homeric Greek
μῆτις
Metis
mētis
Cunning intelligence, craft, counsel. Not later philosophical wisdom, and not a vice-list for lying.
Etymology
μῆτις: cunning intelligence, craft, counsel. Also the name of a goddess swallowed by Zeus. English renderings (cunning, skill, practical intelligence, craft, resourcefulness, counsel) are context-dependent. They are not synonyms waiting in a drawer.
Historical usage
Odysseus is polymētis, of many turns of mētis. The Trojan horse, Nobody, the beggar, the bed’s secret: one faculty in different rooms.
Later development
Detienne and Vernant, Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society (1974/1978), remain the modern scholarly landmark. They describe a Greek contrast between mētis and more straight-line force, without making Odysseus a management consultant.
Why it matters here
Mētis is a way of moving through a world of stronger forces. It is morally mixed. The same faculty saves the men in the cave and endangers them when the name is shouted.
Stories that hold this word
Relationship type is not optional
A word present in a source text is not the same as a later critical term applied to that story.
In the source text
The OdysseyOdysseus is polymētis. Nobody, the beggar, the bed’s secret.
Related
In the source text
The Odyssey