MENTOR or ATHENA?

 WHO'S WHO in MENTOR-WORLD!

Homer (as in "famous Greek author" not "Simpson"!) spins the whole tale in the "Odyssey" but, for our purposes, the short version will suffice.

When Odysseus, also known as Ulysses and the King of Ithaca , went off to fight the Trojan War and bring back Helen, he asked Mentor, the person he trusted more than anyone else, to oversee his household and care for his young son Telemachus.

Mentor has been portrayed as half-god and half-man, half-male and half-female, believable yet unreachable, the union of both goal and path, wisdom personified (Daloz,  1983).  Because of this seeming split personality, some have characterized him as "dithering" which may explain how Athena came into the picture!

Ten years later, when Odysseus had yet to return home, the now adult Telemachus went searching for his father, accompanied by Athena.

(As a quick aside, Athena was the daughter of Zeus who gave birth to her, fully grown and fully armed, all by himself [that's a story for another time!].  As his favourite child, Athena was allowed to use his weapons, including his thunderbolt.  Over the years, she's come to be regarded as the goddess of war;  the goddess of wisdom;  the epitome of reason;  the patron of crafts, domestic arts and industry;  the mother of all growing things;  a symbol of purity.) 

On this particular journey, Athena assumed Mentor's role, not only to raise Telemachus but also to develop him for responsibilities he was to assume over his lifetime.  As "earth mother", she encouraged and nurtured him.  As "war maiden", she taught him to be fierce and brave in battle by engaging him in martial arts. 

Eventually father and son were reunited to fight against those scheming to take over Odysseus' throne and Telemachus' birthright.

Today "Mentor" is used to describe a trusted advisor, friend, teacher, wise person, role model.  Consider famous Mentor-Protégé pairs:  Socrates and Plato, Hayden and Beethoven, Freud and Jung.

Perhaps we should use "Athena" instead!  In fact, Mentoring groups for women often refer to her, represented by her bird, the owl, or tree, the olive.  And women are increasingly more visible as Mentors:  Maya Angelou and Oprah, Oprah and Dr. Phil,  Dr. Phil and women around the world.  

Want to know more?  Read "Athena's Disguises:  Mentors in Everyday Life" by Susan Ford Wiltshire.