In the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', Mentor (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Μέντωρ, ''Méntōr''; gen.: Μέντορος) was the son of

Alcimus Alcimus (from ''Alkimos'', "valiant" or Hebrew אליקום ''Elyaqum'', "God will rise"), also called Jakeimos, Jacimus, or Joachim (), was High Priest of Israel for three years from 162–159 BCE. He was a moderate Hellenizer who favored the ru ...

. In his old age Mentor was a friend of

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

. When Odysseus left for the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

, he placed Mentor in charge of his son

Telemachus In Greek mythology, Telemachus ( ; ) is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who are central characters in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in search of his wandering father. On his return to Ithaca, ...

, and of Odysseus' palace. Athena's appearance as Mentor should not be confused with her appearance as Mentes in the first book of the ''Odyssey''.Odyssey, 1.179ff.

Mentor as term

Because of Mentor's relationship with Telemachus, and the disguised Athena's encouragement and practical plans for dealing with personal dilemmas, the personal name ''Mentor'' has been adopted in Latin and other languages, including

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, as a term meaning someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less-experienced colleague. The first recorded modern usage of the term can be traced to a 1699 book entitled ''

Les Aventures de Télémaque :''"Les Aventures de Télémaque" is also the title of a 1922 seven-chapter story by Louis Aragon.'' ''Les Aventures de Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse'' () is a didactic novel by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, who in 1689 became tutor to ...

'' by the French writer

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, PSS (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of ' ...

.Roberts, Andy. (1999) "The origins of the term mentor". ''History of Education Society Bulletin'', No. 64, November 1999, pp. 313–329. In the book the lead character is that of Mentor. This book was very popular during the 18th century and the modern application of the term can be traced to this publication.

References

External links

Homer’s Mentor: Duties Fulfilled or Misconstrued
��An on-line version of Andy Roberts' paper (see the References section) {{Authority control Alternative education Characters in the Odyssey Jungian archetypes