How many of you think harry potter is childish?

I'm not disputing he is based on cereberus, just wondering if he may have more than one origin. Hagrid always strikes me as a hairy highland man - the name MacChuchter would have suited him.

If I was the type to look for symbolism you could find some wonderful stuff in Hagrid and apply it to the Picts/Scots thing.

 

Could very well be. I thought the Celtic god Bran was supposed to have had some mystical hounds, though whether they had more than one head, I don't know.

I got the same impression of Hagrid. Makes me think of a highland type, though I've thought of him at times as more of a Norseman as well - Jotun, perhaps.

 

Lord of the Isles/Shetlanders/Morayshire coast have huge scandinavian connections. There is a lot of old Norse in some of the Scots dialects. Thats why my brain is trying desperatly trying to remember. Harry Potter is incredibly Scots in places - even down to the Greek references a good classical education was valued by the Scots a lot longer than in England.

 

I just remember another point about Cerbus/Fluffy- both were put to sleep by one of the Greek heroes (I don't call Orpheus being a hero) or the hero (Harry) with music.

well it does have a lot of Greek references-about Hagrid-one of his names-The first name comes from Greek mythology-in kid's version he was the Groundskeepers of Mount Olympus or in the adult version he was someone Zeus framed for murder. Than there's Mr Filch-Mr. Flich's first name is Argus-and if you read Greek mythology you would remember the guy with a hundred eyes.

Hermione's name, comes from the daughter of Helen of Troy and her husband Menelaus-sp? but Rowling got the name from Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale.

Than there's the only business of the Philosopher's Stone, people been looking for it for centuries-why do you think alchemy was so popular before, in and after Nicholas Flamel's time (besides the little legend-saying he's not in his suppose grave)?

Not to mention the whole orphan-raised by someone else-is a pretty old reference itself.

I have a lot more Greek/Roman and literature references to Harry Potter

 

even though i have not read any of the book...but i have seen and heard people recommending it for kids or more appropriate teens....So, i think it is majorly written for keeping the teenagers in mind.