HARRY POTTER SERIES
The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, includes many characters and creatures that are based on Mythology. Harry Potter is a young boy who gets accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and has to battle a very dangerous dark lord. I will only be discussing a couple but the mythological references are endless throughout the books!
The first creature I am going to talk about is "Fluffy". Fluffy guards the Philosopher's stone and is a three headed dog. As I mentioned earlier, Cerberus was a a three headed dog who guarded the underworld. In the books Fluffy is a vicious dog, but can be tamed by music. Harry uses a flute to make Fluffy go to sleep. In ancient myth Orpheus plays music from a lyre and puts Cerberus to sleep.
Another creature frequently mentioned are Centaurs. The Centaurs live in herds in the forbidden forest. They are very wild like in the greek myths, and they are very free.
One thing that is taken from mythology is the philosophers stone. It is a stone that would grant immortality and turn lesser metals into gold. It was sought after by many alchemists.
Lastly, the Basilisk in the book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets represents a mythological basilisk and also Medusa. The basilisk "petrifies" students at Hogwarts in the book which makes them freeze and become statue like. Medusa could do the same thing to anyone she looked at, and basilisks of the myth could also freeze someone in their place.
Like I said before, there are infinite amounts of mythology in these books, and also many books published about the mythology in this series.
If you are interested in buying the books, or getting a unique book experience try:
http://www.pottermore.com/
Sources:
http://www.crystalinks.com/philosopherstone.html (Philosopher's Stone)
http://www.livescience.com/11196-real-roots-7-magical-beasts-harry-potter.html (Centaurs)
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Greek-Mythology-in-Harry-Potter-126574.html (Myth)
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Harry-Potter-vs-Mythology-211327.html (Myth)
The first creature I am going to talk about is "Fluffy". Fluffy guards the Philosopher's stone and is a three headed dog. As I mentioned earlier, Cerberus was a a three headed dog who guarded the underworld. In the books Fluffy is a vicious dog, but can be tamed by music. Harry uses a flute to make Fluffy go to sleep. In ancient myth Orpheus plays music from a lyre and puts Cerberus to sleep.
Another creature frequently mentioned are Centaurs. The Centaurs live in herds in the forbidden forest. They are very wild like in the greek myths, and they are very free.
One thing that is taken from mythology is the philosophers stone. It is a stone that would grant immortality and turn lesser metals into gold. It was sought after by many alchemists.
Lastly, the Basilisk in the book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets represents a mythological basilisk and also Medusa. The basilisk "petrifies" students at Hogwarts in the book which makes them freeze and become statue like. Medusa could do the same thing to anyone she looked at, and basilisks of the myth could also freeze someone in their place.
Like I said before, there are infinite amounts of mythology in these books, and also many books published about the mythology in this series.
If you are interested in buying the books, or getting a unique book experience try:
http://www.pottermore.com/
Sources:
http://www.crystalinks.com/philosopherstone.html (Philosopher's Stone)
http://www.livescience.com/11196-real-roots-7-magical-beasts-harry-potter.html (Centaurs)
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Greek-Mythology-in-Harry-Potter-126574.html (Myth)
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Harry-Potter-vs-Mythology-211327.html (Myth)
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Fluffy (Photo Credit)