Mentor

in Greek legend, the son of Alcimus and a faithful friend of Ulysses. He is mentioned frequently in the Odyssey. When Ulysses went to the Trojan war his domestic affairs were left in the care of Mentor. He took charge of the education of Telemachus, Ulysses' son. When Telemachus started in search of his father, Minerva assumed the form of Mentor and accompanied him, acting as counselor in times of difficulty or danger. The French writer, Fenelon, in The Adventures of Telemachus, develops the character of Mentor to such an extent that the word has come to be used metaphorically to designate a faithful monitor who is ever at hand to warn or advise.