Similarities between Percy Jackson and Harry Potter

Posted by David Speiser on November 30, 2008

On a scale of 1 to 10, there seem to be a LOT of similarities between these two series of books.

Let me be clear.  I do not mean to denigrate, descry or besmirch Rick Riordan’s books (the first of which came out after the first book in the HP series) in any way.  I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians stories; Greek mythology has been a fascination of mine since I was eleven years old.  I think he’s brilliant, and that it’s a wonderful anthology of original, wonderful books.

That being said, there are a very large number of corollaries between the books.  Let me elucidate:

 

  • Harry = Percy
  • Harry starts preteen = Percy starts preteen
  • Harry ages 1 year per book = Percy ages 1 year per book (more or less)
  • Hermione = Annabeth
  • Ron = Grover
  • Dumbledore = Chiron
  • Mr. D = Snape
  • Fudge = Zeus
  • Malfoy = Luke
  • Voldemort = Chronos
  • Voldemort gets a body in book 4 = Chronos gets a body in book 4
  • Harry’s hair won’t stay flat = Percy’s hair won’t stay flat*
  • Malfoy starts to look weak, wasted and used late in book 6 (being used by Voldemort) = Luke starts to look weak and used late in book 4 (being used by Chronos)
To be fair, there are plenty of differences too.  Harry never gets to know either of his parents, while Percy knows both of his progenitors.  Hermione was never in love with Malfoy, Fudge was never as precipitously violent as Zeus, so on and so forth.   As I said, Riordan is a brilliant and original novelist, and I am enjoying the books immensely.  

 

However, I am also enjoying the examination of the many parallels between the two storylines.  The most significant ones seem to occur between archetypal characters found in both (the best friend, the mentor, the former friend turned villain, etc.)  Maybe there’s a reason that parallels exist; maybe it’s because both authors understand what plots and themes their readers identify with.   

 

 

If I were forced to give the similarities between PJ and HP a numeric rating between 1 and 10, I’d call it a 7.  There’re a lot of related story lines and characters.  I’m going to keep looking for more.  If you see any that I’ve missed, please leave a comment and I will update accordingly.  

 

*Sea Of Monsters (Book 2) on Circe’s Island, Percy is frustrated that his hair never lies flat = Harry’s discomfiture that his own unruly hair will never lie flat (throughout the HP series)

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