Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between poikilia and the specific brand of cunning termed mētis, “cunning intelligence” and argues that there exists a unique relationship between this form of cognition and ordinary objects, including the most familiar material of all: the human body. It is thus the purpose of this chapter to delineate how each of the figures termed with this epithet–Prometheus, Hermes, and Odysseus–merits this appellation through their skilful manipulation of their physical and bodily environments. In this way, Prometheus, Hermes, and Odysseus each typify different strategies of thinking in and through things and so reveal a conception of the mind as a concrete, material entity. Drawing on Lambros Malafouris’ theory of material engagement and Andy Clark’s extended mind hypothesis, this chapter demonstrates that a fundamental aspect of mētis is the extension of cunning into the material world, most notably in the form of lies and traps, doloi.
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