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Since its first release in 1997, the Harry Potter series has gained immense popularity throughout the world.

One of the main reasons for its huge success is the appearance of many fantastic imaginary creatures.

Yet, did you know that most of the fantastic creatures featured in the Harry Potter series are not J. K. Rowling's own imaginary inventions?

To create a fantasy world filled with fascinating creatures, Rowling did a lot of research into world mythologies and legends.

Most of the creatures appearing in Harry Potter are, in fact, partly based on legends and mythologies from all around the world.

Here are some of these creatures.

Fluffy, the Three-Heeded Dog Fluffy, a three-headed dog is a pet of the keeper of the Magic School.

The headmaster of the school employs it to guard the Philosopher's Stone from the evil force.

The Philosopher's Stone itself is a legendary object that is believed to have the power to restore youth.

The Dark Lord Voldemort desperately desires to possess the stone to restore his power.

The headmaster hides it in the basement of a school room, and Fluffy guards the gate to the basement.

Fluffy is such a ferocious dog that it is virtually impossible to imagine anyone passing him alive.

However, Fluffy is not completely flawless.

He has one critical weakness.

He is unable to resist falling asleep to the sound of music.

Voldemort takes advantage of it and gains access to the basement.

Fluffy is modeled after Cerberus in Greek mythology.

Cerberus is a three-headed dog that guards the gate to the Underworld.

He is so ferocious that even the gods are afraid of him.

The three heads are the symbol of life, representing the past, the present, and the future.

Cerberus eats only live meat.

Thus, it does not allow a living person to pass through the gate to the land of the dead.

However, Orpheus, a musician and poet in Greek mythology, once did enter the Underworld to bring his dead wife back.

How did he do it?

With music, of course!

Basilisk, the King of Serpents Could a person be killed by a single glance?

One could if he or she saw a basilisk.

A direct glance from a basilisk causes immediate death.

When a person sees a basilisk through a mirror, the person freezes hard like a stone statue.

In this respect, a basilisk bears similarity to Medusa in Greek mythology.

They both turn their victims into stones.

Moreover, both of them are closely related to serpents.

In Harry Potter, Basilisk is an enormous serpent-like creature living inside the Chamber of Secrets in the Magic School.

When the door of the Chamber of Secret is opened up by black magic, it begins to attack students.

Harry's friend, Hermione, also gets attacked and frozen.

There are so many different depictions of basilisks in the arts.

In fact, their physical appearance has always been a matter of dispute since there is no way to see them directly and survive.

They range from the standard serpent to a creature with the feet and the head of a rooster, or even with the face of a man.

Some even have wings.

The size of basilisks varies, too.

Not every basilisk is huge.

One legendary basilisk is a small snake of no more than 50 inches in length.

Buckbeak, the Hippogriff Buckbeak in Harry Potter is a hippogriff, a legendary part-eagle and part-horse creature.

He has the head and feet of an eagle with a feathered horse's body.

Although difficult to tame, hippogriffs can be loyal and protective of those who have earned their trust.

Harry first meets Buckbeak in the Magical Creatures class.

He helps Harry by attacking Voldemort's giants.

The hippogriff originates from the myths of the Middle East and Asia but also appears frequently in European legends.

The hippogriff is depicted as a giant horse-like creature for knights and wizards.

It is able to fly as fast as lightning with enormous wings.

It likes to fly long distances over mountains, across oceans, and even through dreams and into paradise.

The hippogriff is an offspring of a horse and a gryphon, a legendary creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Although the horse and the gryphon are traditionally described as deadly enemies to each other, they are merged into this mythical creature.

The hippogriff, therefore, is a rare creature.

The horse symbolizes courage and strength whereas the gryphon symbolizes freedom.

By mixing majestic animals like the eagle, the lion, and the horse, the hippogriff becomes a ruler of the sky and the earth.

It represents the power to achieve the impossible.

The hippogriff thus inspires hope in hopeless situations.

Treasures in Myths and Legends Myths and legends have been shaped by people's imagination and have fascinate many artists through the centuries.

They have been subjects of paintings and sculptures from the ancient to the modern.

They have also been the basis of many classic fantasy novels and movies, including The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Myths and legends are treasure boxes not only for artists but also for readers and viewers.

Knowing them can deepen your appreciation of many art works.