Cunning intelligence in Greek culture and society

Abstract

Metis refers to "a particular type of intelligence, an informed prudence" (11). As a proper name, refers to the daughter of Ocean, Zeus' first wife who is consumed by Zeus almost as soon as she conceives Athena (11). The term is used in a variety of contexts, but almost always with relation to "practical effectiveness," "the pursuit of success in a particular sphere of activity: it may involve multiple skills useful in life, the mastery of the artisan in his craft, magic tricks, the use of philtres and herbs, the cunning stratagems of war, frauds, decits, resourcefulness of every kind" (11). In Homer, the term is used in the Iliad, in the episode of the Games, where Antilochus uses metis to win the race despite the fact that his horses are not as strong as his competitors (12). "In every confrontation or competitive situation-whether the adversary be a man, an animal or a natural force-success can be won by two means, either thanks to a superiority in 'power' in the particular sphere in which the contest is taking place, with the stronger gaining the victory; or by the use of methods of a different order whose effect is, precisely, to reverse the natural outcome of the encounter and to allow victory to fall to the party whose defeat had appeared inevitable" (13). IN some cases, metis can be considered cheating, when the rules of the game are disregarded. In other cases, however, "the more surprise it provokes the greater the admiration it will arouse, the weaker party having, against every expectation, found within himself resources capable of putting the stronger at his mercy. Certain aspects of metis tend to associte it with the disloyal trick, the perfidious lie, treachery-all of which are the despised weapons of women and cowards. Bu others make it seem more precious than strength. It is, in a sense, the absolute weapon, the only one that has the power to ensurevictory and domination over others, whatever the circumstances, whatever the conditions of the conflict" (13). "The Greek myths which tell the story of how the son of Kronos won power and established his definitive sovereignty emphasise the fact that victory in the struggle for power had to be won not by force but by a cunning trick, thanks to metis" (13). Zeus - son of Kronos - swallows metis. In the Iliad, another episodes indicates the temporal framework in which metis works: "It operates on a shifting terrain, in uncertain and ambiguous situations. Two antagonistic forces confront each other. Over this fraught and unstable time of the agon metis gives ona hold without which one would be at a loss. During the struggle, the man of metis-compared with his opponent-displays at the same time a greater grip of the present where nothing escapes him, more awareness of the future, several aspects of which he has already manipulated, and richer experience accumulated from the past. This state of vigilant premeditation, of continuous concentration on activity that is in progress, is expressed by the Greeks in images of watchfulness, of lying in wait, when a man who is on the alert keeps watch on his adversary in order to strike at the chosen moment" (14). Kairos as situated here with relation to past/present/future; watching, anticipation, etc. "The man of metis is always ready to pounce. He acts faster than lightning. This is not to say that he gives way to a sudden impulse, as do most HOmeric heroes. On the contrary his metis knows how to wait patiently for the calculated moment to arrive . . . Metis is swift, as prompt as the opportunity that it must seize on the wing, not allowing it to pass. But in no way does it act lightly (lepte). With all the weight of acquired experience that it carries, it involves thought that is dense, rich and compressed (pukine). Instead of floating hither and thither, at the whim of circumstance, it anchors the mind securely in the project which it has devised in advance thanks to its ability to look beyond the immediate present and foresee a more or less wide slice of the future" (15). future-oriented nature of metis - not just associated with the immediate present as kairos often is. "It is metis which, overtaking the kairos, however fleeting it may be, catches it by surprise. It can 'seize' the opportunity in as much as, not being 'light', it has been able to foresee how events will turn out and to prepare itself for this well in advance. This mastery over the kairos is one of the features which characterised the art of the charioteer" (16). forecasting/foresight as key to women scientists; perhaps include concluding chapter on these kinds of texts - Goodenough, Seward, women in HE/nutrition, AAUW, etc???? Is this concept of kairos sufficient or perhaps problematic for women??? While the young man's metis is "light," lacking in foresight, that of thw ise man is deeper: "With the weight of all the knowledge he has accumulated over the years, he can explore in advance all the many avenues of the future, weigh up advantages against disadvantages and make decisions with a full knowledge of the situation" (16). Thucydides describes Themistocles ability "of arriving at the most correct idea concerning the future, taking the widest point of view and foreseeing, as far as possible, the hidden advantages and disadvantages in what cannot be seen" (18). temporal focus and temporal depthThuc I, 138, 3. Foresight: prometheia or pronoia. Accompanied by understanding of events after they occur, which is its opposite (18). Metis is "not one, not unified, but multiple and diverse" (18). The term polumetis or pokilometis or aiolometis describes this variety/diversity. Poikilos refers to that which is shimering, shifting, and always changing; aiolos refers to the root aion, which denotes "the life force realised in human existence and, then, continuity of life, duration of life, a period of time" or "swift, mobile, changing" (19). Metis' "field of application is the world of movement, of multiplicity and of ambiguity. It bears on fluid situations which are constantly changing and which at every moment combine contrary features and forces that are opposed to each other. In order to seize upon the fleeting kairos, metis had to make itself even swifter than the latter. In order to dominate a changing situation, full of contrasts, it must become even more supple, even more shifting, more polymorphic than the flow of time: it must adapt itself constantly to events as they succeed each other and be pliable enough to accommodate the unexpected so as to implement the plan in mind more successfully" (20). For the Greek,s like can only be affected by like: "Victory over a shifting reality whose continuous metamorphoses make it almost impossible to grasp, can only be won through an even greater degree of mobility, an even greater power of transformation" (20). Metis also has the power of metamorphosis, and changed herself into the forms of a lion, bull, fly, fish, bird, flame, etc. (20). Metis' "suppleness and malleability give it the victory in domains where there are no ready-made rules for success, no established method, but where each new trial demands the invention of new ploys, the discofery of a way out (poros) that is hidden. Conversely, the ambiguous, disparate, unstable realities with which men attempt to come to grips may, in myth, take on the apperance of polymorphic monsters, powers of metamorphosis which delight, in their cunning, to disappoint all expectations and constantly to baffle the minds of men" (21). Metis - cunning, deceit, operates through disguise: "In order to dupe its victim it assumes a form which masks, instead of revealing, its true being. In metis appearance and reality no longer correspond to one another but stand in contrast, producing an effect of illusion, apate, which beguiles the adversary into error and leaves him as bemused by his defeat as by the spells of a magician" (21). "Cunning, dolos, tricks, kerde, and the ability to seize an opportunity, kairos, give the weaker competitor the menas of triumphing over the stronger, enabling the inferior to outdo the superior rival" (27). "To bring about a reversal of the position metis must foresee the unforseeable. Engaged in the world of becoming and confronted with situations which are ambiguous and unfamiliar and whose outcome always lies the balance, wiley intelligence is only able to maintain its hold over beings and things thanks to its ability to look beyond the immediate present and forsee a greater or lesser section of the future" (27). foresight - Nutrition, Physics resourcement - Psychology - saying work is provisional (resourcement) - Psychology & Nutrition expediency kairos (but, unlike women in Brady's study, they did not "play stupid" or use feminine ploys, as far as I can tell) 2. The Fox and the Octopus (works of Oppian) In hunting and fishing, the term "dokeuein" refers to being on the look out, being constantly alert and watching (31). Pollux writes that the hunter must have a piercing eye so as to aim at the vital parts (kairia). He must posses oxus, or a sharp eye, and agrupnos, or be alert (32). The fox is associated with metis, and in myth, "its words are more beguiling (haimuloi logoi) than those of the sophist" (35). The fox is known as kerdo (36). The shifting intelligence of the octopus can be found in the sophist and the politican (39). "For it is in his shifting speeches, his poikiloi logoi that the sophist deploys his words of 'many coils,' periplokai: strings of wordsw hich unfold like the coils of the snake, speeches which enmesh their enemies like the supple arms of the octopus. For the politican taking on the appearance of the octopus, maing himself poluplokos, involves not only possessing the logos of the octopus but also proving himself capable of adapting to the most baffling of situations, of assuming as many faces as there are social categories and types

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