Harry-cles Potter and the Mythological Allusions
Throughout history, Greek and Roman mythology has become an ingrained part of society that; for most people; goes unnoticed. This continuous presence comes in the various forms of media with a large concentration in media intended for children to young adults. Whether they appear in books, television shows, movies, or music; these allusions are glaringly apparent in some of the most popular media of the 21st century. The mythological references in the culture of today comes in a variety of different types of allusions, from simply utilizing the names of various Greek and Roman names of gods, Harry goddesses, heroes and other mythological beings or figures, to following the path popularized by the heroes of the time, a common theme in young adult literature, as well as many other pieces of literature, called ‘The Hero’s Journey’. One of the pieces of young adult/children’s media that contains a large portion of mythological allusions is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling as well as the surrounding literary canon and subsequent films and books that are encompassed in what J.K. Rowling has entitled as The Wizarding World.
Though the series contains multitudes of allusions from various mythological sources such as; Christianity, Hellenistic mythos, Egyptian mythology, and now Native American folklore, the Greek/Roman element reigns supreme in sheer mass of references and allusions of all kinds.
Beginning with what came first, the Harry Potter series, would of course seem like the right place to start, however, in examining the background of the author J.K. Rowling, it becomes apparent that she has ample knowledge of the allusions she placed within her writing. J.K. Rowling, also known as Joanne or Jo Rowling, as well as Robert Galbraith, attained her B.A in French with a minor in Classics from the University of Exeter in 1986 (Willamette University College of Law – J.K. Rowling). The knowledge she gained from her studies of the classics aided her in her writing as she integrated allusions of etymology, mythos, and themes from Ancient Greece and Rome.
One of the ways in which Rowling demonstrates her understanding of classic mythology is how she imbeds allusions to classic stories within the themes and characters she presents. Her hero, Harry Potter, not only follows the careful and predetermined path of the Hero Journey, he also shares many similarities to specific Greek Heroes. In particular, Harry Potter harbors many parallels with Heracles. These parallels begin with the very beginnings of each of their stories with prophecy’s made that could have referred to them or one other person. In regards to Heracles, this prophecy comes as a proclamation by an oracle to Zeus, that the next child born will eventually become the next king of Mycenae (Robbins 62), which should have been Heracles had Hera not interfered by expediting the birth of Eurystheus so that he was born first. The prophecy parallel exists for Harry when a prophecy is made to Albus Dumbledore that a child born as the seventh month dies and whose parents had defied Voldemort three times would be the one who could defeat him (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, __ ). Like with the Oracle’s prophecy to Zeus, the baby born could have been someone other than the hero, though unlike in the Greek myth, the Harry Potter prophecy does ultimately end up being made about the hero, Harry Potter — though similarly influenced by an outside force to end up about who it did, as Voldemort chose Harry Potter to be the one who would defeat him rather than the alternative Neville Longbottom who met the same criteria. In addition to this parallel between the two heroes, others exist as well; both heroes surviving seemingly impossible events that were designed to kill them as infants, Heracles with the two snakes placed in his crib by Hera (Robbins 62) and Harry with Voldemort’s Killing Curse — which no one had ever survived before. Both heroes then went on to complete various tasks that were intended to be difficult, if not impossible; the 12 labors of Heracles and the arguable seven labors of Harry. The striking similarities between the Greek Hero and J.K. Rowling’s “Chosen One” is an obvious beginning to the vast and plentiful allusions placed within this well known and well loved series.
Continuing with the idea of Harry being similar to Heracles, circling back to Harry Potter serving as a perfect example of the “Hero’s Journey” explained by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With A Thousand Faces. This journey within itself is categorized in modern literature as stories that create a hero story by following the step by step path of what Campbell pens as the monomyth that is “The Hero’s Journey”.
Beginning with what Campbell claims to be the start of a hero’s journey, “The Call to Adventure” – a call to the hero to join a new and exciting -if not dangerous- world that is previously unknown (Lynne, Call to Adventure Awakening to Adventure in Harry Potter) (Shmoop, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Hero’s Journey), as portrayed in Harry Potter can be debated to be in more than one location in the series. In some ways, Harry’s call could be perceived to be when he receives the letter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a literal invitation to join a new and exciting world of magic, where he will be more than the unwanted child reluctantly taken in by an aunt and uncle, which seems pretty exciting. On the other hand, a more in depth analysis of the beginning of the series (along with the assistance of a bit more knowledge from the rest of the books) shows the possibility of this call to adventure, this call to a new and unheard of world, could in reality be a moment that takes place long before Harry is invited to join the world of magic. Harry is already a wizard, he was born a wizard to wizard parents who attended Hogwarts before him and were familiar with the magical world. So this letter to Harry wouldn’t be his being invited to a new world, but brought back to an old one, the real moment in which Harry is called to something unknown, is when he survives the killing curse inflicted upon him at the age of one by the series predominant antagonist, Voldemort. Harry survives the killing curse, a spell meant to end his life, except that it doesn’t. Harry lives, due to his mother’s love, that is the moment when Harry is called to adventure, this unprecedented turn of events is when Harry is called into a new and unknown world.