Zeus' swallowing of his wife Metis (Th. 886-900) is a pivotal moment in Hesiod's Theogony. This act of divine consumption is ostensibly prophylactic by Zeus, eliminating the possibility of any future rivals for his position as foremost of the gods. It has, however, a deeper function in the myth -the unification of male bie "violence" and female metis "cunning". 1 Kronos and Prometheus before him almost manage this union through their status as ankulometis "crooked of counsel", but it is only

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... ough the ingestion of his spouse that Zeus achieves this fusion of the masculine and the feminine. This is the ultimate act of control whereby the procreative force of the feminine, which itself brings about a regular influx of rivals, is appropriated by the supreme male deity. 2 The binding of binary forces (male:female, bie:metis, eros:eris) is combined with the negation of the female procreative force (e.g. Hecate's virginity and her concurrent status of kourotrophos,