When Odysseus went to fight in the Trojan war he left his son, Telemachus, in the care of Mentor, a wise and trusted friend. When Odysseus failed to return with the other survivors, a pack of evil suitors, believing him dead, came calling on his wife, Penelope, who was looking to lay claim to his lands. Athena, goddess of wisdom, disguising herself as Mentor, encouraged Telemachus to stand up to the bullying suitors and go fetch his father home.

This is the origin of the word 'mentor' which we use to refer to a counsellor or teacher who provides wisdom, advice and expertise to a less experienced person. We even have professional mentors in the work place helping new recruits, or in schools for students having difficulties.

In the Hero's Journey the mentor provides a similar role to our protagonist.

Many follow the mould of Mentor himself: a wise elder, but a mentor is also a male or female who serves as guide and teacher, such as Merlin to Arthur, Mr Miyagi to the Karate Kid and Sportacus to LazyTown, to name some familiar examples. They are worthy role models who provide inspiration, training and examples of behaviour and, most importantly for the story, prepare the protagonist to face the unknown. They can be gruff drill instructors, enthusiastic sports coaches, inspiring teachers, crusading newspaper editors, steadfast relatives or the local battler. The possibilities are limitless and, really, the mentor doesn't even have to be real or, for that matter, a person. They need simply be inspirational figures.

Take, for instance, the apocryphal spider that had seven goes at making a web before it succeeded and inspired Robert the Bruce to try, try, try again until Scotland was free. The spider could be said to be Robert's mentor. Anytime the protagonist asks 'What would Jesus do?' (or whichever hero of myth, history or fiction whose example they have chosen to follow) they are looking to their metaphorical mentor for guidance.

Parent Figure and Teacher
The relationship between mentor and protagonist is meant to reflect that of parent to child, or a teacher to a student. Harry Potter and Dumbledore serve as a prime example of this. The orphaned Harry looks up to Dumbledore while the professor prepares him for the troubles to come while also counselling him, advising him, giving out additional information when it is needed but who also expresses disappointment when Harry fails to live up to expectations.Other parent figures teaching stern but loving lessons include the masters who impart wisdom to young 'Grasshopper' in Kung Fu, the TV series.

Parental figures tend to be first met before the call to adventure occurs. They may be a regular fixture of the local community or they may be an actual family member.

Not all teachers rely on kindness and gentle wisdom to impart knowledge, some favour 'tough love' methods, giving the occasional kick up the backside to reinforce the lesson.

NCIS Agent Gibbs has a mentoring role toward his team, teaching them his rules and methods, supporting their decisions but letting them know in no uncertain terms when they have fallen short. A more extreme example would be Career Ship's Sergeant Zim from the book Starship Troopers whose job it is to, quite literally, push the recruits to breaking point and to turn them into soldiers worthy of the Mobile Infantry.

This tough love style mentor is more often encountered at the threshold to adventure, or as a companion on the way.

On Leaving
It is not the purpose of the mentor to carry the protagonist through the entire adventure. At some point, the hero must go on alone, making their own decisions, right or wrong, and the mentor can only hope they have done enough to prepare them.

Gandalf the Grey demonstrates three tired and tested reasons why the mentor might leave the protagonist: being needed elsewhere, being stolen and dying.

In The Hobbit, Gandalf sets things in motion by setting the dwarfs up with Bilbo, but is only an occasional companion on the way. He has offered counsel and advice, he has made sure the adventurers number more than the unlucky thirteen and he has provided the party with a thief, but he is required elsewhere as the Council of the Wise are locked in battle with the Necromancer. Mind you, he usually manages to turn up at the very nick of time if something happens beyond the abilities of hobbit and dwarf.

Likewise in The Fellowship of the Ring Gandalf prepares Frodo for his initial journey to Rivendell, finding companions and advising him en route — things to take and when to be on his way by. Though he has promised to be with the hobbits, he wants to be sure he has that just-in-case moment covered. Which is fortunate, as Gandalf is betrayed and imprisoned by his brother wizard, Saruman.

Thirdly, Gandalf leads the Fellowship, again offering his wisdom with an eye to the worst happening., which is what transpires in the darks of Moria.

The departure of the mentor might serve as the very call to adventure the protagonist is waiting for. If the mentor is murdered then it may be up to his student to avenge him. If they are taken, they may need rescuing. The student may be called on to take up the mentor's mantle when a crisis arises in their absence. Or the mentor may be testing their student in their tough love way by throwing them in at the deep end to see how they cope.

If the mentor survives to see the protagonist come home then there may be one of those heart-warming moments when the master acknowledges the student has become, if not an equal, then at least competent. They may even congratulate them on their achievements.

Mentors with Feet of Clay
We should pause a moment to consider the matter of the mentor with feet of clay. Sometimes our protagonist will sit in the light of their favoured paragons of virtue, or exemplars of honourable behaviour, only to discover that they are not all they are supposed to be.

There is a good example in the movie Get Smart (2008) where Agent 23 plays the part of both friend and mentor to Maxwell Smart, who wants to be a field agent just like him. Although he seems to really like Max, Agent 23 shows no hesitation when it comes to betraying him or setting him up. Another would be mentor is Long John Silver of Treasure Island fame, who presents himself as a fatherly mentor figure to Jim Hawkins, though he intends to do away with Jim and his friends.

The clay-footed mentor need not be an actual villain, just someone who failed to stand or who let down the community down once, or maybe the mentor is a hypocrite. It is always possible they are mentoring the protagonist as an act of redemption. Examples of who fits the bill are: the older cop tainted with corruption, taking the novice under his wing in the hope of steering them past the pitfalls that they themselves befell; the Olympian mired in scandal who coaches the outsider team of misfits when nobody else gives them a chance; the hypocritical sage who finds himself compelled to live up to his own teachings when faced with a student's idolisation.

When the protagonist learns the truth they can feel let down or disillusioned, even betrayed, by their mentor. The protagonists may be so disgusted by their mentor's failings that they turn their backs on all they have learned. Or they may forgive their mentor for being human or admire the way their mentor has tried to overcome their past.

The Mentor's Journey
Finally, there is one more aspect of the mentor to consider: the Mentor's Journey. This follows a three step path of apprentice, journeyman and master.

Obi Wan Kenobi was a padawan long before he was a Jedi Master, and Dumbledore was once a Hogwarts' student just like Harry. In the beginning, there were masters who helped them take those first stumbling steps towards the threshold of adventure.As they grew in confidence they undertook the Hero's Journey armed with what they had learned from their masters, to which they add their own journeyman experiences. As a Jedi Knight, Obi Wan battled evil, and as an adventuring wizard, Dumbledore overcame the precursors to He-who-must-not-be-named.

As masters in their own right — one of the Jedi and one of wizardry — time came for these champions to train and mentor the next generation to follow the hero's journey. For an author,  the failings of a mentor figure and the history to what they did to make them worthy of the job gives the character greater depth and makes them more interesting.

Now I did say last time that I would be looking at Threshold Guardians as well, but due to one thing and another I find myself with time and space for mentors only. Next time, I promise: Threshold Guardians.