abstract
| - In Greek mythology, Mentes (Μέντης) is the name of two different Trojan War leaders, the King of the Cicones (according to the Iliad) and the King of the Taphians and the son of Antiloches (according to the Odyssey). In Book XVII of The Iliad, Apollo disguises himself as Mentes to encourage Hector to fight Menelaus, ("Hector,now you're going after something you'll not catch, chasing the horses of warrior Achilles, descendant of Aeacus. No mortal man, except Achilles, can control or drive them, for an immortal mother gave him birth. Meanwhile, warrior Menelaus, Atreus' son, standing by Patroclus, has just killed the best man of the Trojans, Euphorbus, son of Panthous, ending his brave fight.") In The Odyssey, a deity again takes on the form of Mentes. This time, in Book I, the Goddess Athena disguises herself as Mentes (son of Anchialos), 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 and travel to Pylos and Sparta to learn of his father.
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