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. 

The Song of the Sirens!

‘Come closer, famous Odysseus—Achaea’s pride and glory—

moor your ship on our coast so you can hear our song!

Never has any sailor passed our shores in his black craft

until he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips,

and once he hears to his heart’s content sails on, a wiser man.

We know all the pains that Achaeans and Trojans once endured

on the spreading plain of Troy when the gods willed it so—

all that comes to pass on the fertile earth, we know it all!’

"Song of the Sirens" Leslie Peterson Sapp 16"x20" Collage painting on panel

So they sent their ravishing voices out across the air
and the heart inside me throbbed to listen longer.

Although this is one of the most well known episodes of The Odyssey, it is surprisingly short. If you want to know the context of the story and some analysis, you can visit cliffnotes.com here.

"Ulysse et les sirènes" Pablo Picasso, 1947

The goddess Circe, Odysseus’ sometime seductress, sometime ally warns him of the dangers of passing the Island of the Sirens.

The high, thrilling song of the Sirens will transfix him,

lolling there in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses,

rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones …

Race straight past that coast!

She gives him a plan to safely pass, knowing that Odysseus himself will not be able to resist his own curiosity:

Soften some beeswax

and stop your shipmates’ ears so none can hear,

none of the crew, but if you are bent on hearing,

have them tie you hand and foot in the swift ship,

erect at the mast-block, lashed by ropes to the mast

so you can hear the Sirens’ song to your heart’s content.

But if you plead, commanding your men to set you free,

then they must lash you faster, rope on rope.

In the Victorian era, there was really only one way that a painter could depict nudity or sexual themes, and that was to base the painting on some kind of pre-Christian mythology. So this story of the Sirens was used again and again to show The Sirens as sexual temptresses, bent on snaring innocent seafaring men to their death.

"La Sirena" Giulio Aristide Sartorio, 1893

"The Sirens and Ulysses" William Etty, 1837

"The Sirens and Ulysses" Herbert James Draper, 1909 

The theme of woman as temptress is one that inspired Max Beckmann again and again. (He is one of my favorite painters, but sometimes his obsession with this is something I have to look past!) His painting gave me the idea of placing Odysseus in the foreground. I wished to place more emphasis on Odysseus’ ordeal, rather than the seductive forms of The Sirens.

"Odysseus and the Sirens" Max Beckmann, 1933

While I think that this story taps into a universal truth of temptation, I tend to think of it as a temptation of ego, rather than exclusively about sexual temptation. If you hear their words, they are not just seductive women. They flatter Odysseus’ ego, calling him “remarkable” or ‘famous”, “Achaea’s pride and glory” and a “great chief”. Plus they promise knowledge and wisdom, and they lie, claiming he will be able to leave once he gets his fill of information. But, of course, he would never get his fill, and would have simply wasted away, listening to their flattery, unable to let go of their ego. 

The Siren Vase, red-figured stamnos, 480BC-470BC

Penelope, the Matchless Queen of Cunning

So by day she’d weave at her great and growing web—

by night, by the light of torches set beside her,

she would unravel all she’d done.

"Penelope, the Matchless Queen of Cunning" Leslie Peterson Sapp 16"x20" Collage, acrylic, cheese cloth, fiber paste

Aside from the interesting literal story, this scene also taps into the archetype of Woman as Weaver, or the Weaver of Fate or Destiny. This is a universal archetype, with versions in cultures all over the world and across time. 

Click here for a little list of weaver archetypes in mythology.

Mayan Teotihuacan Spider Woman

Included in my depiction is a couple fanciful elements: The tiny ship in the deep background… could it be Odysseus coming home? Also, the scene she is weaving is about Scylla and Charybdis, an incident in Odysseus’ adventures that Penelope could not possibly have known about. I thought it would be interesting to propose that maybe she is unconsciously following her husband’s wanderings in her dreams or in her deep creativity.

"Penelope Unravelling Her Work at Night" Dora Wheeler, 1886
Silk embroidered with silk thread

I also like this scene because Penelope is a person who is making the best of a situation where she is almost powerless, and must use her cleverness and guile to survive. She is put into a difficult position by her husband’s extended absence, a position that is difficult for us to comprehend today. It displays a big difference not only in the position of women in society and succession of kingship and property, but also of the sacred tradition of hospitality. 

To learn a bit about hospitality, read the analysis section of cliffnotes.com or a great article about The Odyssey in one of my favorite online magazines, The Art of Manliness.

Penelope and Laertes’ Shroud. Red Figure Red Vase. S. 440 BC.

For a description of the context of this scene, look at cliffnotes.com.

The Land of the Lotus Eaters

So off they went and soon enough 
they mingled among the natives, Lotus-eaters, Lotus-eaters 
who had no notion of killing my companions, not at all, 
they simply gave them the lotus to taste instead … 
Any crewmen who ate the lotus, the honey-sweet fruit, 
lost all desire to send a message back, much less return, 
their only wish to linger there with the Lotus-eaters, 
grazing on lotus, all memory of the journey home 
dissolved forever.

"The Land of the Lotus Eaters" Leslie Peterson Sapp 16"x20" Collage painting on panel

The Lotus Eaters is another brief but well known episode in The Odyssey, and takes place on one of the many islands that Odysseus and his crew stop at, and they barely escape. Not because of a fighting foe, but because a potential pitfall of basic human nature. 

Most of the time people interpret this scene with two meanings; either The Lotus Eaters people who are lost in drug addiction, or people who have rejected society’s requirement to work, or strive, to achieve, and they live in the moment, at peace and one with nature. There is a famous Tennyson poem about it. Here is a link to an essay by Mike Jay about how the The Lotus Eaters symbolizes a rejection of over work, progress, colonization, imperialism. 

"The Lotus Eaters" W. Heath Robinson

I have a pretty unconventional version of the Lotus Eaters in this series, in fact, you could say I took a flight of fancy to a meaning no one else, as far as I know has arrive at.

When I start working with an image, I often start with a google search of images, to see who else out there has painted the scene and how they interpreted it, how they dealt with the space, the positioning of the characters, etc. When I did a search for the Lotus Eaters I ran across some pretty unexpected images. 

Some were connected to The Lotus Eaters, a new wave band from the early 80’s. They were one of the very earliest bands that were ascribed a gay identity. 

 

Along the same lines I came across the a Yaoi graphic novel series called The Lotus Eaters. Yaoi is a genre of graphic novels and fiction from Japan that focuses on same-sex romances between boys (but produced for a female audience). 

From these things I made a leap from The Lotus Eaters being a symbol not only of the rejection of work and strife to being a rejection of the masculine compulsion to prove one’s masculinity. What if the incident is a fable for men’s’ constant anxiety to appear strong, capable, macho, and above all, not gay? What if the horror of being perceived as gay is enough to compel one another to never even touch on that isle for fear that once you taste it, you’ll never escape?

But I brought them back, back 
to the hollow ships, and streaming tears—I forced them, 
hauled them under the rowing benches, lashed them fast 
and shouted out commands to my other, steady comrades: 
'Quick, no time to lose, embark in the racing ships!’— 
so none could eat the lotus, forget the voyage home. 
They swung aboard at once, they sat to the oars in ranks 
and in rhythm churned the water white with stroke on stroke.” 

To me, this scene also has a great deal of humor to it. I love the image of grown up tough guys being dragged away, tears streaming down their faces, like children who don’t want to leave a playground. I think it is funny that these men, so adventurous and brave, would cry over something like that. I love that they simply forgot all about the important mission they are on, and didn’t care anymore.

I think Odysseus’ reaction is hilarious; “Quick! No time to lose! Let’s get the heck outta here before anyone else eats these flowers!” He knew that if too many of his men tasted the flower, his plans to return to Ithaca would be doomed.

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

My New Series Based on The Odyssey

Penelope, The Matchless Queen of Cunning.

For those of you who have been following my work for a while know that my art has gone through a lot of changes lately. I have developed a new style and a new technique. I've integrated collage and expanded my expression and repertoire of subject matter. I produced, among other things, an entire show based solely on classic film noir.
Now I have found my art has evolved again. Inspired by an invitation from my friend Myra Clark to participate in a show at Gallery 114, I decided to take a big leap and produce a show based on Homer's The Odyssey.

Three original sketches of Mentor and Telemachus.

As always, as I progress in this series I will be posting my work in progress, including sketches and mock-ups. These are some images tracking the progress of a scene where Telemachus, Odysseus' son, prays to Athena. She appears to him in the form of Mentor. Although he appears to be a normal being, Telemachus swiftly realizes he is not who he seems, but that it is Athena speaking to him and guiding him.

Larger, more complete drawing of Mentor and Telemachus.

Tiny collage sketch of Mentor and Telemachus.

"Shades of Noir" at RiverSea Gallery

"The Blueprint Remains" 36”x48”

I am once again proud to be the featured artist at RiverSea Gallery. The show opening is October 8th, from 5:00-8:00pm. The featured show exhibit will be hung in the main room through the month of October (but remember my work is always available at RiverSea!)

For this exhibit I have created a body of work based on images from classic film noir. 

Each piece is created using a multi-step process: 

First I procure the source image from a film. Sometimes I find images from the internet, but more often I capture a screen shot with my camera directly from my TV screen as I play the movie. 

This image is from the famous movie "The Killers"

From this image I create several drawings. 

 

Then I make a small collage based on the drawing. The collage’s tiny size makes it necessary for me to simplify and abstract the shapes in the image. I pay careful attention to simplifying shapes, color relationships, and the interaction of darks and lights. I sometimes start on a dark brown ground, which further helps me to edit out unnecessary details and distill the image to its essential parts.

"The Blueprint Remains Miniature" 4.5"x6"

 I then create a large piece based on the small collage. 

RiverSea Gallery is located in beautiful Astoria, Oregon on the northern coast that features great painting, sculpture, craft and jewelry. 

(503)325-1270

1160 Commercial Street, Astoria, Oregon

Open Monday-Friday 11:00-5:50

Sunday 11:00-4:00

Show Opening: October 8th, 5:00-8:00pm