GREEK MYTHOLOGY IN J.K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify and explain the Greek mythological references in the novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by Joanne K. Rowling, the British novelist. In order to reach the mentioned goal, a source text which has most of the main mythological stories, and some other valid sources by some known scholars, who have studied the matter at hand and analyzed every myth carefully were selected. The mythological categories and references that have been identified and compared to their equivalents in Greek mythology are, immortality, curiosity, mythical creatures, transformation, characters who symbolize Greek figures, and heroism. The reason for choosing these categories as employed by the writer, on the one hand, is to illustrate the link between the text and Greek mythology and on the other to show the subsequent universalizing effect on the selected literary text. These two facts have always created a ground for a deeper understanding of the text and an everlasting appeal to human nature, whether of children or adults, to develop interest in stories of and in all times and places.