The classical world generally refers to “The cultures of the ancient Greeks and Romans.” (Powell, Barry B.) Classical mythologies are those myths that “were bequeathed to us in the writings of the Greeks and Romans,” (Powell, Barry B.) even though “their names and stories are much older than the written word.” (Powell, Barry B.).

C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling both use aspects of classical mythology and mythological figures in their fantasies, and although “Greek and Roman myths are an indelible, indispensable, inescapable part of our cultural background and heritage,” (Grant, Michael and Hazel, John) the two authors’ education and upbringing can lead us to understand why they borrowed so heavily from the classical world and the differences in their borrowing.

Born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898, C.S. Lewis’ first structured learning of the classical world began at Wynyard School under the tutorship of Reverend Robert Capron. From Wynyard, Lewis went on to Campbell College followed quickly by a move to Malvern College, where one of his greatest influences was “Harry Wakelyn Smith (1861-1918) who taught classics… from 1885 until his death in 1918,” (Green, Roger Lancelyn and Hooper, Walter) and from where Lewis was introduced to the writings of Virgil.

After Malvern College it was then onto Great Bookham, Surry, to be taught privately under William T Kirkpatrick, (his father’s old headmaster) where two days after his arrival he found himself studying Homer in Greek, and in his spare time read works by Horace and Aristotle and poured over “Prometheus Bound,” also in its original Greek form. At last Lewis made it to Oxford where his interest in the classical world continued, and after returning from a stint in France during World War I, “embarked at once on the “Honour Mods” course in Greek and Latin literature,” (Green, Roger Lancelyn and Hooper, Walter) and by 1923 had a Double First In Classics and a First in English, and was giving private tuition as a means of income.

Born in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol, England in 1965, one of J.K. Rowling’s first introductions to the classical world of mythology came when she read C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” while enrolled at Tutshill Church of England Primary School. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” would be one of Rowling’s first encounters with the centaurs, dryads, satyrs and giants of classical mythology, and “had an influence on “Harry Potter and the Philosopher”s Stone.’” (Smith, Sean) After attending secondary school at Wydean Comprehensive, Rowling then made the step up to Exeter University where she studied French and Classics.

Rowling “liked the Classics side of things. She liked those mythological stories,” (Smith, Sean) and although she dropped Classics in her last two years at university, her time with the department obviously made an impression that carried over into her writing, even basing the character of Professor Binns “entirely on a lecturer in the Classics department at the university.” (Smith, Sean)

In breaking down their use of classical mythology into three sections; their use of mythological beasts, their use of mythological people, gods and their names, and their use of themes and tales from classical mythology in their fantasies, it soon becomes apparent that although many of their characters and stories share similar traits relating to those portrayed in the world of classical mythology, Lewis’ has a deeper understanding of this world based on his education and early life than Rowling, who did study classics but not to as an advanced level as Lewis.

In comparing Lewis and Rowling’s use of classical mythological beasts in their fantasies, it is noticeable that both authors use many mythological beasts and both capture the physical aspects of the creatures they write about according to how they were described in the classical worlds. In the case of the centaur, the character traits are also the same for both authors, but in the treatment of Giants, Rowling depicts only one side of their character according to the classical myths, whereas Lewis shows us both.

Lewis and Rowling both include the classical figure of centaurs in their fantasies, and both writers depict the figures similarly and in keeping with the classical mythological description. In classical mythology centaurs have the legs and body of a horse but a human torso, arms and head, and Lewis and Rowling describe their centaurs as thus.

In J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ Harry comes across three centaurs in the forbidden forest and in an argument between two of them, Bane and Firenze, Bane admonishes Firenze saying, “Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?” (Rowling J.K.) This is a clever link to the mythical tale of the centaur Chiron, who Zeus placed in the constellation of the stars as Sagittarius, and “these heavenly connections may explain why the centaurs who live in the Forbidden Forest … look to the stars to read the future.” (Colbert, David) However, C.S. Lewis also makes the same connection in his fantasy writing.

In Lewis’ ‘The Last Battle,’ Roonwit the centaur warns King Tirian that, “Never in all my days have I seen such terrible things written in the skies.” (Lewis C.S.) As stated both writers use the classical mythological figure of the centaur in the same vein, including using the same link to the centaur Chiron.

Lewis and Rowling also use the classical figure of giants in their fantasies, but here we see the two writers differ in their depictions with Rowling portraying the giants as friendly, whereas Lewis depicts them as being both friend and foe. For example, in Rowling’s, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,’ the characters of Hagrid and Madame Olympe Maxime (the half giant headmistress of Beauxbatons school for wizards) are seen as friendly giants who are a force for good. In Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ the first giant we meet is one that is freed by Aslan after being turned to stone by the white witch, and who subsequently joins the battle on the side of good.

However, near the end of the book we learn of the giants from the north, who Peter has to go into battle against. This time the giants are seen to be opposing the forces of good. C.S. Lewis’ depiction of giants fighting on the side of good and evil is much more in keeping with the classical mythological model. In classical mythology the giants fought a battle against Zeus and the gods. Here they are depicted as being a force for evil and were defeated, however another classical myth tells of how the giants helped Zeus to overthrow Cronos and the Titans, where afterwards they “remained Zeus’ faithful allies.” (Grant, Michael and Hazel, John) This other myth puts the giants on the side of good, and Lewis has recognized their duality in his fantasy.

As well as the centaurs and giants Lewis also uses fauns, satyrs, and naiads, which are all present at the birth of Narnia in ‘The Magician’s Nephew.’ In the same book, Strawberry the horse is also transformed into a flying horse, akin to Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology. Dryads, the mythological nymphs of the trees also appear in ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.’ In the Harry Potter series, Rowling also uses the classical mythological beasts of the sphinx, the phoenix and a three-headed dog akin to Cerberus, the mythological watchdog of the underworld. The phoenix, a mythical bird that upon its fiery death is born again from the ashes, is not only Dumbledore’s pet, but is also the name given to a secret society of witches and wizards who fought against Voldemort in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.’

In comparing Lewis and Rowling’s use of classical mythological people, gods and their names, it is apparent that Rowling borrows a lot from the classical world and incorporates either their names, characteristics or both in moulding her own characters. Lewis however is less subtle than Rowling, lifting the gods straight out of the classical myths and planting them firmly in his own writing without much tampering or subtlety.

One example of Rowling’s subtlety is in the naming of Percy Weasley’s owl, Hermes. In the Harry Potter world, owls are used to deliver mail and messages to their charges, and in the classical world, Hermes was the messenger of the Greek gods. However Hermes is not the only owl to feature in Harry Potter with links to the classical world. It is also put forward in the critical essay, ‘Cinderfella: J.K. Rowling’s Wily Web of Gender,’ that Harry’s white female owl Hedwig is also in “the classical tradition of Bubo, the owl of the warrior goddess Athena.” (Gallardo, Ximena and Smith, Jason)

In J.K. Rowling’s, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,’ the reader first meets Sibyll Trelawny a teacher of divination. In classical mythology Sibylla or Sibyl was the name of a woman who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo. In the same book, Harry, Ron and Hermione, use a divination textbook written by Cassandra Vablatsky. In the classical world Cassandra could foresee the future but was cursed by Apollo in that whomever she told it to would never believe her. In the Trojan War she warned King Priam not to lead the wooden horse into the city, but as he did not believe her warning he did so anyway, and after nightfall, Greek soldiers hidden inside the horse that he had brought inside the city walls, overran Troy.

Other examples of characters from the Harry Potter books who’s names are influenced by classical mythology include Professor Minerva McGonagall, who’s first name refers to the Roman goddess of wisdom, Remus Lupin who’s first name comes from the story of Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome “after being suckled as infants by a she-wolf,” (Kern, Edmund K.) and Hermione Granger, who’s first name belonged to the daughter of Menelaus and Helen and who’s name was the same as a character in Shakespeare’s ‘A Winter’s Tale,’ a play seen by the young Rowling as a school girl at Wyedean.

C.S. Lewis however employs no such subtleties in his use of classical mythological people or gods as featured in his writings. When in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ Tumnus the faun describes the land of Narnia before the Witch caused it to become a constant winter, but never reaching Christmas, he tells Lucy of how Bacchus would visit them and “the streams would run with wine instead of water and the whole forest would give itself up to jollification for weeks on end.” (Lewis, C.S.) In the classical world Bacchus was “the god of wine and ecstatic liberation,” (Grant, Michael and Hazel, John) and rather than portraying mere aspects of Bacchus in a character of his own creation, as often seen in Rowling’s fantasies, Lewis lifts him straight out of mythology and into his own story, not differing much from the classical version. The god Bacchus also reappears in a similar description later in Lewis’ tale of ‘Prince Caspian.’

In Lewis’ ‘That Hideous Strength,’ the classical gods of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jove congregate at the house at St. Anne’s and effect the human inhabitants in accordance to the attributes each god was thought to possess and be the god of in mythology. Also in Lewis’ ‘Till We Have Faces,’ the author retells Apuleius’ story of Cupid and Psyche which includes a whole pantheon of gods and characters from the classical world and from which Lewis “transformed a good tale into a profound one.” (Van Der Weele, Steve J.)

One reason for the different approaches in the use of classical figures and gods could once again be attributed to the backgrounds of the two authors. C.S. Lewis had a much deeper knowledge of the classical world and maybe felt more comfortable and confident writing about its characters, without changing or disguising them from their classical context too much. Lewis also read many classical texts in their original Greek and Latin, where the stories lay in their original forms. Rowling on the other hand, while still having a knowledge of the classical world, may have felt more comfortable in only incorporating bits and pieces of classical figures into her own characters. Her reading also would have differed from that of Lewis, as Rowling never studied classical mythical stories in their original text.

In examining and comparing the two writers use of themes and stories from classical mythology, one can see that Rowling borrows a considerable amount from these stories and incorporates them into her own writing. Sometimes there may even be more than one classical story or theme appearing in just one Harry Potter book, and critical writers have compared different sections of the Harry Potter series as anything from mimicking Oedipus to mining “into the quirks of sexual desire,” (Gupta, Suman) present in Ulysses. C.S. Lewis however, tends to borrow more from Christianity, especially in his chronicles of Narnia, and although these books are not totally devoid of classical references, it is Lewis’ ‘Till We Have Faces,’ thatshines through as a major example of his use of a theme or story from classical mythology.

There are many similarities between the classical mythological tale of Oedipus, and that of Rowling’s Harry Potter. In ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ Harry is unaware that his parents were a wizard and a witch, much in the same way that Oedipus was unaware that his real biological parents were the King and Queen of Thebes. The Oedipus link is reinforced once again in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,’ where in the maze of the final task of the tri-wizard tournament Harry must answer correctly a riddle posed by a sphinx in order to continue, which he does so.

In Greek mythology a sphinx was sent by the goddess Hera as a punishment against Laius the King of Thebes. The sphinx asked travelers who crossed her path a riddle, whereby if they answered incorrectly the sphinx promptly killed them. When Oedipus came across the Sphinx, he guessed the answer to the riddle and the sphinx killed herself, thus freeing the land of her menace.

Even putting aside Suman Gupta’s view in ‘Re-Reading Harry Potter,’ there are also similarities between the stories of Ulysses and the character of Harry. Harry Potter’s adventures as seen in J.K. Rowling’s writings follow the pattern of Ulysses own adventures in classical mythology, and is common in many heroic characters throughout the world. “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder. Fabulous forces are there encountered and decisive victory is won. The hero comes back … with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” (Campbell, Joseph) If we take ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ as an example, we can see parallels with Joseph Campbell’s words.

Harry leaves the ordinary world of muggles and the Dursleys for the world of Hogwarts, he encounters the dangers of Tom Riddle and the Basilisk, (a snake similar to that of the classical creature of the Medusa who could turn people to stone by looking at them) where he is victorious, and by the end of the book saves Ginny Weasley and frees Dobby from a lifetime of servitude as Lucius Malfroy’s slave.

Another storyline from the classical world used by J.K. Rowling, is that of Orpheus and the underworld, which can be seen in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.’ In the classical tale, Orpheus must get past a three-headed dog named Cerberus to enter the underworld and attempt to rescue Eurydice. Orpheus gets past Cerberus by charming him with music.

In ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ Harry must get past a three-headed dog named Fluffy to get through a trapdoor to the philosopher’s stone, which he does by playing music on a flute and soothing the beast. As an aside, Rowling puts in a sly mention of where she borrows this tale from, when Hagrid mentions that he bought Fluffy from a “Greek chappie I met in the pub.” (Rowling J.K.)

As stated earlier, although much of C.S. Lewis’ writing contains references to Christianity, themes and stories from classical mythology also find their place. ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,’ carries many traits inherited from the classical tale of the Odyssey, where the figure of Odysseus was forced to travel on a great sea voyage, encountering many adventures and strange lands, as he made his way home from Troy. This is similar to the book, ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,’ in which the story follows King Caspian and his companions on a voyage beyond their known lands in search of seven friends of Caspian’s father, who were sent off to explore the eastern seas.

It is an interesting point that in one of Lewis’ notes on the plot of the book he wrote “islands (of Odyssey and St Brendan) can be thrown in.” (Hooper Walter) This shows that he was thinking of the Odyssey in the story’s planning and as further evidence he even makes direct reference to the classical tale in ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.’ When Reepicheep threatens to bind Caspian to the ship Edmund remarks, “Like they did with Ulysses when he wanted to go near the sirens.” In the mythological tale, Odysseus (known as Ulysses in the Greek form) ordered his men to tie him to the mast so he could hear the magical voices of the Sirens but not be able to join them, and thus go to his death.

However, for the ultimate example of a mythological story or theme used by C.S. Lewis in his own fantasy writing, one need look no further than his work ‘Till We Have Faces.’ In ‘Till We Have Faces,’ Lewis retells Apuleius’ (a Latin writer from the second century) tale of Cupid and Psyche, a tale he “had been fascinated with … since his undergraduate days.” (Donaldson, Mara E.) According to the romantic myth, a king had three daughters, the youngest being Psyche. Psyche was so beautiful that people stopped worshiping Venus, and as a punishment for this, Venus ordered Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest person he could find. However, Cupid ends up falling in love with Psyche himself, and after several trials and tribulations marries her with Jupiter’s consent.

Lewis “says that his version is the way that the Cupid and Psyche myth “must have been,”” (Gibson, Evan K.) and even though Lewis ‘retains many of the ingredients of Apuleius’ account,’ (Van Der Weele, Steve J.) to even attempt a retelling or dislocation of an established myth requires a detailed knowledge of classical mythology and indeed the mythological tale itself. This knowledge is something that C.S. Lewis had in abundance, whereas Rowling lacks Lewis’ depth.

So in summation, we can see that in their use of mythological beasts both writers described the beasts as they were portrayed in the classical world, but Lewis uses a more accurate account of the mythological giants. In their use of classical characters and gods, Rowling only incorporates aspects of the characters in her fantasies, whereas Lewis has the confidence to supplant the figures straight into his own writing without straying much from their classical descriptions. Lastly both writers use mythological stories and themes in their writing and although Lewis borrows more from Christianity, his retelling of Apuleius’ story of Cupid and Psyche remains more detailed than the themes and stories picked up by Rowling in the Harry Potter series of books.

So as stated, both C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling made many uses of classical mythology and mythological figures in their fantasies, and although “Greek and Roman myths are an indelible, indispensable, inescapable part of our cultural background and heritage,” (Grant, Michael and Hazel, John) which both writers would have inherited, Lewis’ use goes deeper than that of Rowling’s due to his superior classical education and earlier influences from the classical world.