Greek Potter in store
September 9, 2003 at 9:12 PM ET
James
RupertGrint.net (via GreeceNow)
British publishing house Bloomsbury recently announced plans to translate
the entire Harry Potter series into ancient Greek and Latin, fueled by their interest in luring more to study these classic languages and encouraging existing students to assert their learned skills.
Bloomsbury realizes that the translation will not top any best-seller list, but hopes to create a fun avenue for students to improve their fluency.
Emma Matthewson, Rowling's editor at Bloomsbury, told the Daily Telegraph: "We aren't under any illusions that Latin and Greek will be best-sellers but we think that it will mean much more fun lessons for anyone studying Latin and Greek."
Rowling, a former classics student herself is enthusiastic about the project and admits the books are littered with references to Greek mythology.
Fluffy, the three-headed dog that guards the philosopher's stone and can only be wooed with music, is inspired by Cerberus, wooed by Orpheus with his lyre so that he can enter the underworld.
Ancient Greek and Latin will join the list of 40 languages into which the books have been translated.