Stephen Fry Is a Self-Confessed Philhellene

Many Harry Potter fans know Stephen Fry as the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks in the United Kingdom. His soothing voice has also narrated three Harry Potter video games. But here is something about Stephen Fry that even hardcore fans may not know.

Fry was recently interviewed by fellow Philhellene, which means lover of Greece and Greek culture, David Hill. Hill is the Chair of the Australian Parthenon Association and interviewed Fry on an online call.

Fry, who didn’t visit Greece till he was in college, went on to explain that he used to study Latin when he was young and this spurred him to learn Greek, where he then fell in love with the European language. He has previously published three books on Greek culture and mythology: Mythos (2019), Heroes (2020), and Troy (2021).

He then spoke about how amazing it’d be if the UK could create a “Parthenon Experience” by sending the original pieces of the Elgin Marbles, currently housed in the British Museum, back to their home, in Greece. Fry thinks it is inevitable that this will eventually happen.

There are several different Greek gods, and Fry revealed that his favorite out of them all is Hermes, who is considered the messenger of the gods. But he also mentioned that he admires the goddess of war, Athena.

Fry expressed during the interview that we can never repay Greece for everything they gave to the world.

We will always owe the Greeks more than they owe us.

Did you know Stephen Fry was this much of a lover of Greek culture and mythology?