The Ancient Roots and Modern Power of Mentorship

Mentorship! At long last, we have an episode dedicated to understanding and appreciating this form of relationship.

Let’s start by exploring what mentorship means. When trying to understand a word, I first turn to its etymology, its origin.

Mentorship is an interesting one because mentorship is derived from a character, unlike most other words in the English language, which are derived from older words with defined and understood meanings. It’s derived from Mentor, a figure from ancient Greek literature.

Homer’s The Odyssey is a story about Odysseus’s journey home in the years following the Trojan War. While Odysseus is away, presumed dead by many, the goddess Athena (the goddess of intelligence) appears to Odysseus’ son, Telemachus. She appears disguised as an old family friend, Mentor, to offer Telemachus support and guidance in dealing with his challenges during his father’s absence.

There is an interesting article in The Atlantic, which documents a conversation with classicist Gregory Nagy and describes the significance of this relationship and what it can tell us about the purpose of mentorship. Much of what I’m about to share with you stems from this article.

In the story, Athena (the goddess of knowledge), acting as Mentor, comes to Telemachus when he is misdirected, unsure about anything, and lacking a sense of purpose or ability to address the situation he and his mother are experiencing during Odysseus’s absence. In the original Greek text, he’s referred to as being “napios,” which means “disconnected.” Nagy describes the meaning of this ‘disconnect’ as being disconnected from the ancestors, and disconnected intellectually, morally, and emotionally. He’s essentially purposeless and powerless in his given situation.

Through Athena’s guidance, Telemachus gains a sense of purpose, leadership, confidence, and courage to take action to rectify the situation he is experiencing. As a result, he sets out on a voyage to find the truth about Odysseus, whether he is still alive or has perished. Athena, disguised as Mentor, accompanies Telemachus on this journey.

Before Athena first visits Telemachus, the gods convene to decide the course of action to help Odysseus. At this meeting, Athena proclaims that she will visit Telemachus to give him more encouragement and to put power [menos] into his heart. Nagy describes the meaning of menos as “heroic strength,” not just any kind of strength, but the kind of surge of power you feel in being able to put things into action.

I love this story. I think mentorship and it’s value is something that is not understood by most people. To me, this story provides a grounding in what mentorship is really about.

I have been both a mentor and mentee, multiple times now. The meaning that speaks to the depth of the value of my experience, as both mentor and mentee, is the role of the mentor as a guide, what the mentor is guiding the mentee towards, and the experience of connecting the mentee to their inner strength and guidance. The topic of our last episode was The Power of the Heart, so the idea of mentorship as being a way to put power into the mentee’s heart, also speaks very strongly to me.

To be an effective guide requires a deepened wisdom by the mentor and the ability to sense and understand what is core to the mentee’s experiences and, as we are speaking in mythology…let’s call it their “destiny.” What I mean by this is an overall sense or understanding of the essence of the mentee and what they are capable of. It is seeing in the mentee what they might not be able to see themselves and guiding them to take action towards it. It is seeing this not in an image that the mentor herself is projecting, based on her own desires or beliefs, but seeing it from the perspective of the mentee.

In my experience, this doesn’t happen as explicitly as it may sound; it can unfold quite subtly. Often, it’s as simple as the mentor asking the right question or offering an observation that opens the mentee up to something that was not in their presence before.

As for the mentor, the reward lies in witnessing this process unfold and the wisdom they gather through this and the practice that allows it.

I cannot answer for you, but for myself, time and time again my mentors have helped me to see the bigger picture and helped to bring to life new insights and parts of myself that have significantly improved my life. I have been fortunate to have had very good mentors over the last few years, who have helped me to move closer to my authentic self, and I have done the work myself to assist with this process. Being mentored is not a passive task. It requires developing an openness and willingness to ask for and receive new insights into yourself, and a commitment to taking action to realise and embody these insights.

Do you have a mentor yourself, or have you been a mentor? If so, what parts of the story of Telemachus and Athena resonate with your experience? If you have not had a mentor before, or do not have one now, what is holding you back?

Mentorship is a beautiful and powerful form of human connection. In future episodes, we will talk about how to open ourselves up to this form of connection as both mentors and mentees.

Thanks for being on this journey!

Best wishes,

Natalie Shaw
CEO @ OneUpOneDown