| Harpocrates | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Name inhieroglyphs |
| ||||||
| Major cult center | Alexandria andMendes | ||||||
| Parents | Isis andOsiris,Serapis orBanebdjedet andHatmehit(atMendes) | ||||||
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Harpocrates (Ancient Greek:Ἁρποκράτης,Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤐𐤊𐤓𐤈,[1]romanized: ḥrpkrṭ,Coptic:ϩⲁⲣⲡⲟⲕⲣⲁⲧⲏⲥharpokratēs) is thegod ofsilence,secrets,confidentiality and aprotector ofreputations in theHellenistic religion developed inPtolemaic Alexandria (and also anembodiment of hope, according toPlutarch).Greeks adapted Harpocrates from theEgyptian child-godHorus, who represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn. The name "Harpocrates" originated as a Hellenization of theEgyptianHar-pa-khered orHeru-pa-khered, meaning "Horus the Child".
Horus the Child was portrayed as a naked boy with his finger to his mouth as if sucking on it, an Egyptian artistic convention for representing a child.[2] Greeks and Romans misunderstood thispose as a gesture of silence and interpreted Harpocrates as the god of secrecy.[3]
InEgyptian mythology,Horus was the child ofIsis andOsiris. Osiris was the original divinepharaoh of Egypt, who had been murdered by his brotherSet (byinterpretatio graeca, identified withTyphon orChaos), mummified, and thus became the god of the underworld. The Greeks melded Osiris with their underworldlyHades to produce the essentially Alexandriansyncretism known asSerapis.
Among the Egyptians, the full-grownHorus was considered the victorious god of the sun who each day overcomes darkness. He is often represented with the head of aEurasian sparrowhawk, which was sacred to him, as the hawk flies high above the Earth. Horus fought battles against Set, until he finally achieved victory and became the ruler of Egypt. Thereafter, the pharaohs of Egypt were seen asreincarnations of the victorious Horus.
"Horus on the Crocodiles" steles depicting Heru-pa-Khered standing on the back of a crocodile and holding snakes in his outstretched hands were erected inEgyptian temple courtyards, where they would be immersed or lustrated (purified) in water; the water was then used for blessing and healing purposes as the name of Heru-pa-Khered was itself attributed with many protective and healing powers.
In the Alexandrian and Roman renewed vogue for theGreco-Roman mysteries at the turn of the millennium into the common era — mystery cults had already existed for centuries — the worship of Horus became widely extended, linked with his mother Isis and his fatherSerapis.
In this way Harpocrates, the child Horus, personifies the newborn sun each day, the first strength of the winter sun, and also the image of early vegetation. Egyptian statues represent the child Horus, pictured as a naked boy with his finger on his chin with the fingertip just below the lips of his mouth, a realization of the hieroglyph for "child" that is unrelated to the Greco-Roman and modern gesture for "silence". Misunderstanding this sign, the later Greeks and Roman poets made Harpocrates the god of silence and secrecy, taking their cue fromMarcus Terentius Varro, who asserted inDe lingua Latina ofCaelum (Sky) andTerra (Earth).
These gods are the same as those who in Egypt are calledSerapis andIsis, though Harpocrates with his finger makes a sign to me to be quiet. The same first gods were in Latium calledSaturn andOps.[4]
Ovid described Isis:
Upon her Isis' brow stood the crescent moon-horns, garlanded with glittering heads of golden grain, and grace of royal dignity; and at her side the baying dogAnubis, dappledApis, sacredBubastis and the god who holds his finger to his lips for silence sake.[5]
One other tale relates the story about the Greek gods.Aphrodite gave a rose to her sonEros, the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates to ensure that his mother's indiscretions (or those of the gods in general, in other accounts) were kept under wraps. This gave roses the connotation of secrecy (a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber pledged all present –sub rosa "under the rose"), which continued through the Middle Ages and through the modern era.
Inexpensive castterracotta images of Harpocrates, suitable for house shrines, are found scattered throughout theRoman Empire. ThusAugustine of Hippo was aware of the iconic gesture of Harpocrates:
And since in practically all the temples where Serapis and Isis were worshiped there was also a figure that seemed to enjoin silence by a finger pressed against its lips, Varro thinks this had the same meaning, that no mention should be made of their having been human beings.[6]
Martianus Capella, author of an allegorizing textbook that remained a standard through the Middle Ages recognized the image of the "boy with his finger pressed to his lips" but neglected to mention Harpocrates' name: "[Q]uidam redimitus puer ad os compresso digito salutari silentium commonebat". The boy was identified, however, asCupid in glosses,[7] a syncresis that had already resulted in the figure of Harpocratic Cupid.
Plutarch wrote that Harpocrates was the second son of Isis and that he was born prematurely with lame legs. Horus the Child became the special protector of children and their mothers. As he was healed of a poisonous snake bite byRa he became asymbol of hope in the gods looking after suffering humanity.[8]
Another solar cult, not directly connected with Harpocrates, was that ofSol Invictus "the Unconquered Sun".
Modernoccultists display his image, loosely connected now withHermeticgnosticism. Typically, "Harpocrates is the Babe in the Egg of Blue that sits upon the lotus flower in the Nile". He may be termed the 'god of silence' and said to represent the higher self and be theHoly Guardian Angel and more in similar vein, adapted fromAleister Crowley's often-reprintedMagick (Book 4).
ManyDiscordians considerHarpo Marx to have been a contemporaryavatar of Harpocrates. Because of this, Discordians ofteninvoke Harpocrates as atrickster god or god of humor in addition to his classical attribution of god of silence.[9]
Roses, asymbolstrongly associated with Harpocrates, can sometimes be seen painted or else plastered upon borders around the ceilings of rooms intended for the receiving of guests (dining rooms, parlours, etc.), as a sign that topics discussed within the room are not to be discussed or else repeated outside of the room and other outside parties. Similarly, roses may be placed over confessionals to symbolize confidentiality.[10]
In 2018, archaeologists discovered a bone figurine depicting the god dating back to the1st century BC. In addition to the god, twosatyrs and a goose are depicted. It was discovered during excavations at the ancient Greek city of Tiritaka atCrimea. A statue of Harpocrates was also found in Saudi Arabia atQaryat al-Faw, the capital of theKingdom of Kinda inlate antiquity.[11]
