Myths differ on just why Zeus swallows his lover Metis. According to some versions of the story, the strange act is Zeus’s gambit to maintain divine sovereignty: After impregnating Metis with their first child (Athena), Zeus hears a prophecy that their second child will usurp him; he therefore swallows the still-pregnant Metis—and the unborn Athena—to ensure there will be no second child, just as his father Cronus tried to swallow him. Athena then bursts from his head.

In light of this backstory, Hymn 28 maintains themes of intergenerational conflict and obscured gender roles. In birthing Athena, Zeus both escapes the fate of his forefathers—the fate of usurpation by offspring—and takes on an unconventional childbearing role.