Athena, Telemachus and the Origin of the Word “Mentor”

Telemachus, walking the beach now, far from others, 

washed his hands in the foaming surf and prayed to Pallas: 

“Dear god, hear me! Yesterday you came to my house, 

you told me to ship out on the misty sea and learn 

if father, gone so long, is ever coming home …

Athena came to his prayer from close at hand, 

for all the world with Mentor’s build and voice, 

and she urged him on with winging words: “Telemachus, 

you’ll lack neither courage nor sense from this day on…”

"Telemacheia" Leslie Peterson Sapp 16"x20" Collage painting on panel.

And so Athena, daughter of Zeus, assured him. 

No lingering now—he heard the goddess’ voice— 

but back he went to his house with aching heart 

I love the way the gods appear in mortal form throughout The Odyssey. Sometimes it is Athena, sometimes Hermes, sometimes they appear as strangers, sometimes as people known to the character in question. There is a common theme in each appearance; the character meets a person who acts as a guide or helper. After this guide or helper leaves, the character realizes they have not been talking to a mortal person, but a god in disguise. The cloaked gods are described as having a numinous quality, or being beautiful, or glittering, or youthful. In this piece I attempt to express the simultaneous presence of mortal and divine with the figure of Mentor and the face of Athena in the sea and sky. 

"Telemachus knelt where the grey water broke on the sand" W. Heath Robinson

It is not my intention to tell you the entire plot of The Odyssey here. If you want a little background you can always visit cliffnotes.com (yes, cliff notes!) to get the context of the plot. What I want to show you is why I am inspired by this scene, and also to show you other artists' versions.

At this point in the poem, Athena has decided to go to Ithaca and advise Odysseus’ youthful son Telemachus. I am touched by Telemachus, who has grown up without a father, and longs to find him.

"Athena and Telemachus" lithograph by Marc Chagall, 1975

Prince Telemachus, 

sitting among the suitors, heart obsessed with grief. 

He could almost see his magnificent father, here … 

in the mind’s eye—if only he might drop from the clouds 

and drive these suitors all in a rout throughout the halls 

and regain his pride of place and rule his own domains! 

Daydreaming so as he sat among the suitors

Telemachus and King Nestor. Apulian krater. Mid-4th century BC. 

Athena persuades Telemachus, recently come of age, to go on a journey in search of news of his father.

Telemachus is gripped with self doubt. So, he goes down to the beach to pray. He is approached by the form of Mentor, a friend of his father.

Telemachus’ courage and conviction are revived. We all need encouragement and guidance. Sometimes we turn to those in our lives, and sometimes we turn to a spiritual practice. And sometimes it feels as though the divine universe has sent us someone to help us on our way… like a mentor. 

Why the Odyssey?

As with my vintage snapshots and classic films I love old stuff. This series of work just happens to be a whole lot older! I love being connected to the past. There is something about it that delights and inspires me infinitely. Finding bits and pieces of another time which I get to reassemble with bits and pieces of my own time to recreate a reality of my own imagination, my own making. My reality, my fantasy. It is an interaction, a co-creation.

Odysseus and The Sirens, Attic Red Figure, ca 500 - 480 B.C

Ancient writings open a door into my imagination. Ancient writing has a cadence that is different than today’s way of expressing oneself. It is simple and rich. The details are succinct and non-superfluous. Ancient stories are the foundation of all our other stories. It is part of our cultural, psychological heritage.

The Iliad and The Odyssey are one of the major cultural building blocks of western society. The character and incidents in it have been borrowed from and built upon ever since. It is one of the original Hero stories. Odysseus is the classic trickster hero. Its elements are reflected in almost every story you will read or watch.

Polyphemus & Odysseus' Escape on the Ram, Athenian Red Figure
ca 5th B.C.

About The Odyssey

Aristotle, in his work “Poetics“ reduces the Epic poem to 3 sentences: 

“...The story of The Odyssey can be stated briefly. A certain man is absent from home for many years; he is jealously watched by Poseidon, and left desolate. Meanwhile his home is in a wretched plight—suitors are wasting his substance and plotting against his son. At length, tempest-tossed, he himself arrives; he makes certain persons acquainted with him; he attacks the suitors with his own hand, and is himself preserved while he destroys them. This is the essence of the plot; the rest is episode.”

This is the bare bones of The Odyssey. But I’d have to say that the “episode” of it is the part that delights. He confronts monsters and gods, foreign people with strange abilities, drama, romance, heartbreak, daring feats, deceptions, politics, comedy, this story has got a bit of everything.

The Odyssey was written down almost 3000 years ago. It is a long story and it may seem sort of daunting to imagine reading it if you haven’t attempted. It isn’t exactly an easy read. You have to put yourself into a certain mindset, enjoy the poetry and appreciate the way our sensibilities have changed over the millennia. But the more you read ancient literature the easier it gets. It is the sequel to The Iliad, which is an equally long and influential poem about the Trojan War. It is also a beautiful book, but the Odyssey is actually easier to get. So if you are thinking about reading Homer, you may want to start with The Odyssey.

I found a wonderful primer about Greek mythology in general and about The Odyssey in particular on a terrific website called The Art of Manliness. 

Achilles and Patroclus, Attic Red Figure, ca 500 B.C