Potterversity Episode 62: Harry Potter and Revenge

About this episode

The episode explores themes of revenge and justice in Harry Potter and the Oresteia, featuring insights from classicist Dr. Mitchell Parks.

Vengeance is sweet - sometimes. Explore revenge in Harry Potter and the ancient Greek Oresteia by Aeschylus. We welcome back to the show classicist Dr. Mitchell Parks (Knox College), who presented on "Dumbledore, Agamemnon, and the Imperfect Legacy" at the 2024 Harry Potter Academic Conference. He was struck by the epigraph from The Libation Bearers , one of the plays that makes up the Oresteia , at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . We discuss the parallels between the play trilogy and the book series, particularly the intertwined themes of justice and revenge. Although there are some similarities between Harry and Orestes, the former spends much more time wrestling with his options and emotions than the latter. The two texts have very different gender politics, which have been reinterpreted in different ways over the years based on current contexts. Although authorial intent is not Mitchell's main interest, the author made a very deliberate choice to include the epigraph, which is formatted similarly to the lightning bolt-shaped dedication. Still, if a reader can notice parallels and convince other readers of their significance, whether or not the author…

People in this episode

Host: Potterversity

Guest: Dr. Mitchell Parks

Topics covered

• revenge
• justice
• gender politics
• literary parallels
• Greek tragedy
• Harry Potter

Keywords

• revenge
• Harry Potter
• Oresteia
• Aeschylus
• justice
• gender politics
• literary analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Knox College

Books & works: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Oresteia, The Libation Bearers

More episodes of Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast

• Potterversity Episode 72: Harry Potter and Identity · May 11, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Potterversity Episode 71: Potter Meets Molesworth · April 13, 2026 · 60 min
• Potterversity Episode 70: Harry Potter and the Call for Papers · March 30, 2026 · 47 min
• Potterversity Episode 69: Potter Gets Stranger · March 9, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Potterversity Episode 68: When in Doubt, Go to the Library · February 9, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Potterversity Episode 67: The Best Hope We Have · January 12, 2026 · 58 min