
Mentor was an Ithacan Greek man who was a servant of Odysseus during the 12th century BC. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War in 1193 BC, Odysseus placed Mentor and Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus and his palace. When Athena visited Telemachus, she did so while disguised as Mentor, and she (as Mentor) encouraged Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and go abroad to find out what happened to his father. Because of Mentor's relationship to Telemachus, the term Mentor came to refer to someone who imparted wisdom to a less-experienced colleague.