Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Ancient Greek Edition) [Hardcover]

J. K. Rowling (Author), J.K. Rowling (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Harry Potter

The Greek translation of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in which Harry Potter, a normal eleven-year-old boy, discovers that he is a wizard. Long ago, Harry's parents were killed in a battle with the evil Lord Voldemort. When we first meet Harry, he is living miserably with his repulsive and nonmagical (or Muggle) Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley, and their even more revolting son, Dudley. Following a bizarre but hilarious chain of events, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with an outrageous cast of characters, including super smart Hermione Granger, vile Draco Malfoy, sinister Professor Snape, and wise Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Adventures galore ensue.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. K. Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury in the UK in 1965. Such a funny-sounding name for a birthplace may have contributed to her talent for collecting odd names. Jo always loved writing more than anything, and in 1996, Bloomsbury bought her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The rest, as they say, is Hogwarts history.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books; First Edition edition (October 7, 2004)
• Language: Ancient Greek
• ISBN-10: 158234826X
• ISBN-13: 978-1582348261
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London to work at Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Ston"e was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter."Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997 and was published as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in America by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998.The second title in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was published in July 1998 (June 2, 1999 in America) and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was published on 8th July 1999 (September 8, 1999 in America) to worldwide acclaim and massive press attention. The book spent four weeks at No.1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts, while "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" simultaneously topped the paperback charts. In the US the first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots on numerous adult bestseller lists.The fourth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK and 3.8 million for the US. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first weekend of publication. The fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. Published in paperback on 10th July 2004, it is the longest in the series - 766 pages - and broke the records set by "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" as the fastest selling book in history. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales.The seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries on 21st July 2007. The book is the fastest selling book in the UK and USA and sales have contributed to breaking the 375 million copies mark worldwide.J K Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through The Ages" were published by Bloomsbury Children's Books and Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. The Harry Potter books have sold 400 million copies worldwide. They are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 67 languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Life to Ancient Greek, October 30, 2004

By 

Katey "kateyvic" (McLean, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Ancient Greek Edition) (Hardcover)

The writing of the second century AD author Lucian was the model for this translation of Harry Potter in to ancient Greek. A more appropriate author could not be found. Lucian is where we get the story "The Sorceror's Apprentice" (for his tale "The Lover of Lies"), so he provides vocabulary very relevant to JK Rowling's story.

While I don't see any universities adding this Greek translation into their classics curriculum or graduate reading lists, and nor do I see anyone really sitting down to read it cover-to-cover, it is a nice little novelty to have on one's bookshelf (next Harrius Potter, of course).

34 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful idea!, October 12, 2004

By 

Alianne (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Ancient Greek Edition) (Hardcover)

I think it is a wonderful idea to translate such a popular children's book into Ancient Greek and Latin. I'm currently reading the Latin translation and am enjoying it. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the Greek translation as I'm only beginning to learn the language. I am, however, looking forward to one day being able to read it.

What I can do is provide wonderful website that contains an article by the translator telling how he came to be the translator, how he chose a style and how he chose the Greek names for the characters as well as Hogwarts, Quidditch, etc. It is a very interesting read. Do a search for Greek Harry Potter on Google and go to the Classics Page.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, if nothing else, October 9, 2009

By 

Kelly Jackson "Shakespeare = love" (Taylor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Ancient Greek Edition) (Hardcover)

I got this book as a birthday gift and I've got to say it's at least really interesting. If you're a student of Koine or late Attic, go for it. This reads very much like the New Testament in that it's easier to see the grammatical constructions of sentences and translate at an intermediate level (depending on your already-established vocabulary). That isn't to say that the book is easy, by any means, but it does provide an extra exercise for those who want (or need) to practice their translations.

Interesting note: Don't translate this side-by-side with the English version. Translating from English to Greek and back to English will absolutely NOT yield the same results. And read it with a Scott-Liddell nearby for piece of mind.