Literary Lineage

The lineage of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

33 works across 28 centuries, back to Iliad and Odyssey.

  1. c. 750 BCE

    Iliad

    Homer

    Archaic Greece. Archaic Greece. written in Ancient Greek.

    Epic of Achilles' wrath during the Trojan War, ending with the burial of Hector.

    What it handed down

    To Aeneid (19 BCE)

    Structural model, well documented.

    The second half of the Aeneid restages the Iliad in Italy, with Turnus as a new Achilles and battle scenes, catalogues and funeral games modelled on Homer's.

    Where it came from

    This is one of the oldest surviving works in its tradition; the line ends here.

    Find “Iliad” on Amazon

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Preview card: the tree of influence behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone