Harry Potter character names
By olisaur
@olisaur (1922)
United States
July 5, 2010 4:15pm CST
Last night I was reading my Art History textbook, the chapter we are studying now is about Ancient Roman art. In the description for one of the famous pieces called "She-wolf" (a statue of a wolf with two human boys drinking her milk), it said one of the two boys was named Remus. I couldn't help but thinkto my self, "Is that where Remus Lupin's name came from?" I mean since Lupin's a werewolf, and the artwork had to do with a wolf. There was also some other Roman guy named Lucious. I also wondered whether Lucious Malfoy came from it.
I've noticed a lot in Harry Potter, that the spells and names of many characters(e.g. Sirius) are derived from Latin or ancient mythology. Have you noticed this, too?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
5 Jul 10
Of course. The author is well read in Roman mythology and many of the names derive from the Latin. 'Lupin' itself suggests a relationship with the Latin for 'wolf' - 'lupus'.
Much of Harry Potter has a relationship with many mythologies, particularly Roman and Greek (just as The Lord of the Rings trilogy relates to Saxon and Norse mythology).
1 person likes this
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
6 Jul 10
Yes, I'd noticed. She also takes a lot of figures from Greek and Roman Mythology. Loads of the names come from Latin, or have other origins in other languages. It's not really all that surprising since most authors don't completely make everything, (including names and mythology) up.
@Bionicman (3958)
• Czech Republic
5 Jul 10
Haven't you heard a story about Romulus and Remus before?
Also "lupus" means wolf in Latin.
