Harry Potter Now In Ancient Greek

Spock · 08-09-2005, 10:19 AM

-----here's a news excerp that warms my intellectual heart ----not logical but often true.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2005.08.07
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Translated
into Ancient Greek by Andrew Wilson. London: Bloomsbury Publishing,
2004. Pp. 250. ISBN 0-7475-6897-9. $21.95.

Reviewed by Tad Brennan, Northwestern University

The book under review is surely one of the most important pieces of
Ancient Greek prose written in many centuries. It will be a delight to
all Classicists, a boon to all teachers of Greek, and a possession for
all time.

It is, of course, Andrew Wilson's translation, into Ancient Greek, of
J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book. It is also, in this reader's
opinion, a complete success. On nearly every page there is some
felicity of composition to be admired, some construction that shows
off the Greek language's power and versatility, some turn of phrase
that arouses admiration for the translator. In its entirety, it is an
extraordinary work -- a prose comp. exercise on an unprecedented
scale. But unlike most prose comp exercises, it is also a wonderfully
good read.

It will also be of great value to teachers of mid-level Greek who are
casting about for texts with which to encourage and entertain their
students. After the Xenophontic parasangs have lost their charm and
the Euripidean trimeters are limping, students can refresh themselves
with a bout of "ikarosphairikê" (Wilson's spot-on neologism for
quidditch), or enjoy the bantering of Fred and George. I don't suppose
courses will be designed around it, but this book will certainly be a
valuable auxiliary.

brownjenkins · 08-09-2005, 10:36 AM

wow... wonder when it will come out in klingon

sun-star · 08-09-2005, 11:28 AM

I've got the Latin one - Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis. Can't read it though

Spock · 08-09-2005, 01:11 PM

I'll bet Klingon won't be too much longer. It's the fastest growing language on the planet.

ItalianLegolas · 08-09-2005, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

wow... wonder when it will come out in klingon

Forget Klingon, I'm waiting for the one in Elvish. And the Dark Speech too.

inked · 08-18-2005, 10:09 PM

Hey, I saw it in a bookstore before I had heard of this! REALLY nifty looking in Greek. If I ever learn the language, I'll definitely want HP!

The Witch-King of Angmar · 08-19-2005, 01:30 AM

How many languages is it in?

08-09-2005, 10:19 AM	#1
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	Harry Potter Now In Ancient Greek -----here's a news excerp that warms my intellectual heart ----not logical but often true. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2005.08.07 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Translated into Ancient Greek by Andrew Wilson. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004. Pp. 250. ISBN 0-7475-6897-9. $21.95. Reviewed by Tad Brennan, Northwestern University The book under review is surely one of the most important pieces of Ancient Greek prose written in many centuries. It will be a delight to all Classicists, a boon to all teachers of Greek, and a possession for all time. It is, of course, Andrew Wilson's translation, into Ancient Greek, of J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book. It is also, in this reader's opinion, a complete success. On nearly every page there is some felicity of composition to be admired, some construction that shows off the Greek language's power and versatility, some turn of phrase that arouses admiration for the translator. In its entirety, it is an extraordinary work -- a prose comp. exercise on an unprecedented scale. But unlike most prose comp exercises, it is also a wonderfully good read. It will also be of great value to teachers of mid-level Greek who are casting about for texts with which to encourage and entertain their students. After the Xenophontic parasangs have lost their charm and the Euripidean trimeters are limping, students can refresh themselves with a bout of "ikarosphairikê" (Wilson's spot-on neologism for quidditch), or enjoy the bantering of Fred and George. I don't suppose courses will be designed around it, but this book will certainly be a valuable auxiliary. __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

08-09-2005, 10:36 AM	#2
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	wow... wonder when it will come out in klingon __________________ Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.

08-09-2005, 11:28 AM	#3
sun-star Lady of Letters Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England Posts: 2,476	I've got the Latin one - Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis. Can't read it though __________________ And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool.

08-18-2005, 10:09 PM	#6
inked Elf Lord Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: sikeston, MO, usa, earth, sol Posts: 3,114	Hey, I saw it in a bookstore before I had heard of this! REALLY nifty looking in Greek. If I ever learn the language, I'll definitely want HP! __________________ Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941

08-19-2005, 01:30 AM	#7
The Witch-King of Angmar Elven Warrior Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minas Morgul Posts: 143	How many languages is it in? __________________ *"Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey"* I'm an Xbox Guy! Xbox Guys

08-09-2005, 01:11 PM	#4
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	I'll bet Klingon won't be too much longer. It's the fastest growing language on the planet.

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