Metis was an Oceanid, the daughters of Oceanus and his sister Tethys, who were three thousand in number, and was of an earlier age than Zeus and his siblings. Metis was the first great spouse of Zeus, and also his cousin.
Metis was both a threat to Zeus and an indispensable aid:
Metis was the one who gave Zeus a potion to cause Cronus to vomit out Zeus' siblings.
It had been prophesied that Metis would bear extremely powerful children: the first, Athena and the second, a son more powerful than Zeus himself, who would eventually overthrow Zeus
In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus tricked her into turning herself into a fly and promptly swallowed her. He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. In time she began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain, and Hephaestus either clove Zeus's head with an axe, or hit it with a hammer at the river Triton, giving rise to Athena's birth. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown, armed, and armoured, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.
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