The Wise Old Man (or "Senex") is an archetype as described by Carl Jung. It is also a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character.
In works of fiction, this kind of character is typically represented by a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world, to help tell stories and offer guidance, that in a mystical way illuminate to his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become.
The Wise Old Man is often in some way "foreign," that is, from a different culture, nation, or - occasionally - time than those he advises.
Examples of
the Wise Old Man in popular culture
Fantasy
- Albus Dumbledore from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
- Auron from Final Fantasy X
- Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series
- Allanon from Terry Brooks' Shannara series
- Brom from Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy.
- Elminster from the Forgotten Realms RPG setting
- Methuselah and Abbot Mortimer from Brian Jacques' novel Redwall. Both are mice.
- Press Tilton from the Pendragon series
- Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Sahasrahla and Kaepora Gaebora from The Legend of Zelda game series
- An unnamed character in the second public version of the online game RuneScape
- The god Saradomin mentioned in the online game RuneScape
- Wise Man from Ganbare Goemon / Mystical Ninja game series
- Belgarath the Sorceror
in David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon cycles.
Comics
- Professor Broom from Hellboy
- Professor X from the X-Men
- Ancient One from Doctor Strange
Mythology
- Merlin from the Matter of Britain and the legends of King Arthur
- Tiresias from the Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, and other Greek myths'
- Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh
- Odin principle deity of Norse mythology
Science Fiction
- Dr. Light from the Mega Man and Mega Man X game series
- Hoo-Lan from Bruce Coville's My Teacher is an Alien series
- Hyrum Graff from Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series
- Morpheus from The Matrix
- Thufir Hawat from Dune
- Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn from the Star Wars films.
- Peppy Hare from the Star Fox series.
- Zordon from Power Rangers
Miscellaneous film
- Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid
- Rafiki from The Lion King
- Shinyuki from American Ninja
Miscellaneous television
- Sherman T. Potter from M*A*S*H
- Uncle Jesse Duke from Dukes of Hazzard
Miscellaneous cartoons
- King Kai, Master Roshi, and Kami from Dragonball Z
- Chef from the South Park cartoon series
- Monterey Jack from Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
- Owl from Winnie the Pooh
- Papa Smurf from The Smurfs
- Professor Ochanomizu from Astro Boy
- Red-Haired Shanks from One Piece
- Splinter from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Gennai from Digimon series
Other genres
- Gen from the Street Fighter game series
- Oogruk, in Gary Paulsen's novel Dogsong
In some instances, the wise old wizard may be a wise old witch:
See also
Vieux sage