Aslan

For other uses, see Aslan (disambiguation)}}}.

Aslan in promotional artwork from the film The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the main character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He appears in all seven books of the series. The word aslan is Turkish for "lion" and is used as a title for Ottoman/Seljukid and Persian Empire (Turkish) rulers. The figure of Aslan may have been inspired by a mysterious lion which appears and disappears suddenly at key moments in the novel The Place of the Lion, written by Lewis' close friend Charles Williams. However, this theory was specifically denied by Lewis in a paper published later in his life.

Throughout the series, it is often repeated that Aslan is "not a tame lion", since, despite his gentle and loving nature, he is powerful and can be dangerous. He takes the role of a Christ-like figure, though according to Lewis he is not an allegorical portrayal of Christ, but rather a different, hypothetical, incarnation of Christ himself: 'If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all. This interpretation is related to J. R. R. Tolkien's concept of "secondary creation" expounded in his 1947 essay On Fairy-Stories, reflecting discussions Lewis and Tolkien had in the Inklings group.

Portrayals

In the animated adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe distributed by the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), Aslan is voiced by Stephen Thorne.

Thorne also makes appearances as the Great Lion in the adaptations made in the mid-1990s by BBC Radio.

In all three of the BBC television serial adaptations of the late 1980s and early 1990s (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair) , Aslan is voiced by Ronald Pickup and the costume is operated by William Todd Jones.

In the Focus on the Family radio adaptations, he is portrayed by David Suchet.

In the 2005 film, , Aslan is voiced by Liam Neeson.

References

[SparkNotes reference to the meaning of Aslan's death]
["Aslan is still on the move"] Christianity Today editorial, 6 August 2001.
[Following Aslan] children's explanation of Aslan's parallels with Jesus

*The Chronicles of Narnia* by C. S. Lewis The World of Narnia
Peter \| Susan \| Edmund \| Lucy \| Eustace \| Jill \| Digory Kirke \| Polly \| Caspian \| Aslan \| Reepicheep \| Shasta \| Aravis \| Bree \| Shift \| Tash \| Tisroc \| Tumnus \| White Witch \| Puddleglum
Books	List of characters in The Chronicles of Narnia>Characters	Creatures	Places

Aslan

Portrayals

References

See also