Classical Mythology in Harry Potter Characters

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The Harry Potter book series has sold over 450 million copies and has been translated into almost every language on the face of the earth (“Harry Potter”). Millions have faithfully followed the story about this magical world and have fallen in love with the many enchanting characters. What most readers do not recognize is the prominence that classical Greek/Roman mythological allusions play in the beloved Harry Potter roles through their names and personality attributes. The importance of names is extremely significant to a person’s identity, especially in literature where words are meant to bring stories to life. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, continues this concept through her characters by linking their names to classical …show more content…

She had to have put in an abundance of time and research in order find and make these allusions, but she did so in order to create a further depth and meaning to her characters. J.K Rowling stated, “I love freakish names and I have always been interested in folklore and I think it was a logical thing for me to end up writing” (“What Jo Says About”). Through Rowling’s interest in mythological folklore, she ingeniously links her characters to those of classical mythology, which only proves to add complexity and strength to her characters. Readers who are educated on these classical counterparts will be entranced by their similarities and will have a further connection to these particular characters due to the new depth they hold. Through comparing and contrasting the similar roles, readers will be able to have a stronger background and sense of who this wizarding character is with the groundbreaking resemblances to the classical figures. J.K. Rowling does a remarkable job with creating the etymology of her characters’ names and does amazing work by extending her allusions so that their portrayals closely resemble the traits and behaviors of their classical namesake. Although this can often be found in fiction, the extent and detail that Rowling puts into her etymological work is scarcely found in modern literature. Through her characters’ names and classical folklore background, Rowling continues and modernizes these Greek/Roman mythological figures, grounds her wizarding characters, and adds even more magic into her

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