Fabulous Creatures 神話奇獸

Harry Potter and the Fabulous Creatures

from Greek Mythology

哈利波特裡的西臘神話奇獸
by Vinia

1. Centaurs: a creature with a man’s torso and a horse’s body


In Greek mythology, the most famous of the centaurs was Chiron. He was an excellent teacher to many heroes, including Achilles and Jason, and was raised to become the constellation of Sagittarius after he died.


In Harrt Potter I, the centaur Firenze saved Harry in the Forbidden Forest by fighting off Voldemort, who was then there to feed on unicorns’ blood, and in Book 7 this friendly centaur became a professor at Hogwarts.






2. Cerberus: the dog with three heads


In Greek mythology, Cerberus guarded the entrance to the Underworld and it was once put to sleep by the music of the great musician—Orpheus, who went to the Underworld trying to bring back his wife.


In Harry Potter I, the three-headed dog “Fluffy” guarded the entrance leading to the place where the sorcerer’s stone was hidden, and it had been lulled to sleep by Prof. Quirrell‘s flute when Harry, Ron and Hermione came to this spot.






3. The Gorgons: These three monstrous sisters had snakes for hair and were equipped with terrifying eyesight that turned those who looked at them into stones.

In Greek mythology, no one was able to look at them without being turned into solid statues. Of the three, only Medusa could be killed. The hero Perseus was instructed by the gods to look at her reflection on his shield and to strike off her head.


In the chamber of secrets in Harry Potter II, the giant serpent uncoiling itself from the mouth of Slytherin’s statue to attack Harry was the cause of many cases of petrification, i.e., turning something into stones, and one death. In Moaning Myrtle’s case, she was instantly killed upon looking into the eyes of the serpent in the toilet many years ago, while Hermione was petrified because she only saw the serpent’s eyes in the reflection of the mirror.






4. Pegasus: This winged horse sprang from the blood of Medusa when her head was cut off. This creature was born from Medusa’s death.

In Harry Potter V, the bat-winged horses, the “thestrals,” pulling the carriages heading for Hogwarts are only visible to those who have seen death, including Harry and Luna Lovegood. The thestrals carried Harry and other members of Dumbledore’s Army across the sky to the Ministry of Magic, where Harry witnessed the death of his beloved godfather, Sirius.






5. Sirens: female sea-creatures with enchanting voices

In Greek myths, they were sea-nymphs who could sing attractive songs that lured sailors in ships toward the rocks, resulting in shipwrecks and numerous deaths. Because of the destructive effects inherent in their beautiful voice, these female figures became the prototype for “fatal woman” (femme fatale): fascinating, irresistible and dangerous. In form, a siren was often depicted as a creature with a woman’s torso and a bird’s body (or a fish tail, like that in a mermaid).


In the first part of Harry Potter IV, the Quidditch World Cup was staged. Before the Quidditch match started, a hundred “veela” were gliding out onto the field and dancing to the music in front of the stadium audience. They were “the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen” and they weren’t really “human.” Watching them dance, Harry’s mind went “completely and blissfully blank,” and all he wanted to do was to keep on watching them . . . .


In fantasy, an idea suddenly occurred to Harry: He wanted to do something “very impressive” right away. When he was about to jump into the stadium field, Hermione’s voice awakened him—only to find that Ron was also trying to dive into the stadium field. Both of the boys had lost their mind and gone crazy over the enchanting veela!