Mentes (King of the Taphians)

Mentes (Greek: Μέντης, Méntēs) is the name of the King of the Taphians and the son of Anchialus. He is mentioned in the Odyssey.[1][2][3]

In Book I, the Goddess Athena disguises herself as Mentes, an old family friend of Odysseus, when she goes to visit his son, Telemachus. Athena, disguised as him, tells Telemachus that he is sailing to the city of Temese with his own crew, claiming that he is in search of copper. "Mentes" (truly Athena) recommends that Telemachus should call a counsel to try to remove the suitors. Then he should see King Nestor at Pylos and King Menelaus of Sparta, to make inquiries as to the whereabouts of his father. Upon his return, but he should kill the suitors, either by stealth or publicly.[4]

Although Mentes had hardly any appearances in Greek myths of earlier antiquity, he became a symbol of a guardian and a mentor. Later, his name got a derogatory flavor and became a symbol of a sinister messenger.[2]

He is not to be confused with Mentor, the elderly friend of Odysseus in whose care Telemachus was placed during the Trojan War. To add to the possible confusion, Athena also takes the guise of Mentor (in Book II of The Odyssey). Nor is this Mentes the same character as the Mentes in the Iliad, who is king of the Cicones.
References

Homer, Odyssey, 1,96-125.
Vojtech Zamarovský (1980). Bohovia a hrdinovia antických bájí. Bratislava: Mladé letá. pp. 295–296.
Strabo, Geographica 10, 456, 14-16.

Homer, Odysea, 1,96-325.

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Characters in the Odyssey
House of Odysseus

Penelope (wife) Telemachus (son) Ctimene (sister) Anticlea (mother) Laërtes (father) Autolycus (grandfather) Eurycleia (chief servant) Mentor (advisor) Phemius (musician) Eumaeus (swineherd) Philoetius (cowherd) Melanthius (goatherd) Melantho (maid) Argos (pet-dog)

Monarchs and royals

Alcinous of Phaeacia Arete of Phaeacia Nestor of Pylos Menelaus of Sparta Helen Princess Nausicaa of Phaeacia Agamemnon of Mycenae

Gods

Aeolus (wind god) Athena Apollo Artemis Atlas Calypso Circe Helios Hermes Poseidon Zeus Oceanus Old Man of the Sea

Others

Achilles Ajax Amphimedon Anticlus Antiphates Antiphus Aretus Cyclopes Demodocus Demoptolemus Deucalion Dolius Echephron Echetus Elpenor Eupeithes Euryalus Eurylochus Halitherses Heracles Idomeneus Irus Kikonians Laodamas Laestrygones Medon Mentes Mesaulius Peisistratus Perimedes Perseus Polites Polydamna Polyphemus Scylla and Charybdis Sirens Stratichus Suitors of Penelope Tiresias Theoclymenus Thrasymedes

Suitors

Agelaus Amphinomus Antinous Ctesippus Eurymachus Leodes

Greek Mythology

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