[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 bronze.
Mentes (truly Athena) recommends that Telemachus should call a counsel to try to remove the suitors of Penelope.
[4] Although Mentes had hardly any appearances in Greek myths of earlier antiquity, he became a symbol of a guardian and a mentor.
To add to the possible confusion, Athena also takes the guise of Mentor (in Book II of The Odyssey).