Archetypes: The Humble Teacher

[Ashley Kim]

“We both know how to get our own way: in the world of men you have no
rival in judgment and argument while I am pre-eminent among the gods
for ingenuity and ability to get what I want. And yet you did not
recognize Pallas Athene, Daughter of Zeus, who always stands by your
side and guards you through all of your adventures” (Book 13, pg 176,
lines 295-302).

Impressed with Odysseus’s sharp intellect and cunning, as the goddess
of wisdom, Athene takes an interest in Odysseus. Throughout the epic,
Athene acts as a mentor, guiding Odysseus and helping him overcome
obstacles. The role of a humble teacher is often portrayed as a
source of wisdom, a gift giver and conscience.

When Odysseus is imprisoned in Calypso’s home, it is due to Athene’s
persuasion that Zeus sends Hermes, ordering Calypso to free him.
Subsequently, when Poseidon sends a storm at him as an act of
animosity for blinding his son, Polyphemos, Athene “check[s] all the
other winds in their courses, bidding them calm down and go to sleep.
She summon[s] the strong North Wind with which she flattened the waves
in the swimmer’s path, so that Odysseus, favourite of Zeus might be
rescued from the jaws of death and come into the hands of the sea-
faring Phaeacians” Book 5, pg 72, lines 382-387). She later encourages
Odysseus to return home under a disguise of a beggar in order to
mislead the Suitors and to ensure the loyalty of his wife. She also
visits Nausicaa in her dreams, advising her to wash her clothes in the
river. There, Nausicaa meets Odysseus and directs him to her father,
King Alcinous, who offers him hospitality. Similarly, Athene acts as
a humble teacher towards Telemachus, Odysseus’s son. Disguised as
Mentor, she advises him to rid the house of the suitors and guides him
on his journey to Pylos. She also acts as a mentor towards Penelope
when she comforts her in her dreams. Through divine intervention,
Athene acts as a humble guide to different characters in the epic.


Humble teachers can appear in many forms, such as gurus, angels, and
spiritual beings. In modern literature, mentors can be depicted as an
anonymous figure such as the Teacher in the Da Vinci Code, or a
headmaster, such as Dumbledore in Harry Potter. In everyday life,
common examples of mentors are teachers, guidance counsellors,
parents, siblings and friends. In reality, however, everyone has the
ability to become a humble teacher by listening to others attentively
and supporting them by giving them advice and encouragement.