The Wiley International Handbook of Mentoring

31On the Threshold of Mentoring: Recognizing and Negotiating the Liminal Phase

David Starr‐Glass

SUNY Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

Then to Telémakhos the grey‐eyed goddess appeared again with Mentor's form and voice, calling him out of the lofty emptied hall: “Telémakhos, your crew of fighting men is ready at the oars, and waiting for you; come on, no point in holding up the sailing.”

The Odyssey (1998), Book II, Lines 418–423

Even in the distant world of the Homeric legends, where mortals and the gods met regularly and conversed casually, it is likely that Telémakhos, the son of Odysseus, would have responded immediately to the commands of the gray‐eyed Athene. She was, after all, a goddess—the embodiment of intelligence and insight—and few mortals would have questioned her orders or doubted her wisdom. However, the gray‐eyed Athene came to Telémakhos not as a goddess but in the “form and voice” of Mentor. Odysseus was pursuing his own deeply personal journey in distant lands and had asked Mentor, his faithful and trusted friend, to guide his only son Telémakhos. Mentor had established a deep and caring relationship with Telémakhos, but when they met, it was often not Mentor who was present; instead, it was Athene, the passionate defender of Odysseus, who came in the guise of the mortal Mentor.

Athene had taken time to develop a relationship with Telémakhos, a relationship built on growing trust and confidence. It was only when this relationship was firmly ...