Harry Potter and
the Mythology Class

Vassiliki Panoussi (College of William and Mary)

The huge success of the Harry Potter book and film series has been a boon for the teachers and students of Classics. Our language students are delighted to be able to recognize Latin and Greek behind the various magic spells and to find familiar names from their readings in the series’ characters. The enthusiasm that the Harry Potter books have inspired in young people everywhere spills over to the college classroom. In this paper, I present some of the ways in which I have used Harry Potter in my Greek and Roman mythology class to showcase basic mythical motifs. I argue further that there is a close relationship between Harry Potter 7 and Vergil’s Aeneid, which renders it a useful foil to the teaching of the Roman epic.

Harry Potter’s struggle against Lord Voldemort revolves around numerous motifs familiar to the student of Greek myth. For example, the representation of the conflictbetween the child-hero and the villain, a conflict about world power, incorporates many of the qualities of the cosmic struggle found in texts like Hesiod’s Theogony.

More specifically, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows displays epic motifs important in the Aeneid. Harry’s katabasis recalls Aeneid 6, as we watch the young hero meet his parents and mentor, who supply him with strength and a sense of purpose for his mission. Harry, like Aeneas, suffers great losses, mostly of father figures, as he embarks, unaware, upon his mission to create a better world. Both are representatives of their larger community but must face their enemy alone in a duel. Throughout the series, Harry struggles to maintain control over his anger and ownership of his innermost thoughts. In this he resembles Aeneas, who also struggles against anger and grief. In the end, however, Harry succeeds where Aeneas has often been thought to succumb.

The important subplot of the Elder Wand is another point of contact between Harry Potter 7 and the Aeneid. The wand, made by Death himself, renders its owner invincible and is acquired by shedding blood. The story cannot fail to evoke Frazer’s equation of Aeneas’ golden bough with the cult of the Rex Nemorensis, whereby the new priest/king obtained power by killing the previous owner of the sacred branch.

The unpacking of such motifs in a mythology class renders the ancient readings palpable and relevant. Students also derive great pleasure in being able to appreciate their favorite book in fresh and unexpected ways.