Harpocrates (Ancient Greek: Ἁρποκράτης) was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria (and also an embodiment of hope, according to Plutarch).
Harpokrates was the Greek interpretation of the Egyptian god Harpa-Khruti (Horus the Child) who was usually depicted as a small boy with a finger held to his lips–an Egyptian gesture, symbolizing childhood ,which the Greeks mistook for a hush for silence, taking their cue from the Marcus Terentius Varro, who asserted in De lingua Latina of Caelum (Sky) and Terra(Earth).
- Marcus Terentius Varro
During Rome’s civil war he commanded one of Pompey’s armies in the Ilerda campaign.
He escaped the penalties of being on the losing side in the civil war through two pardons granted by Julius Caesar, before and after the Battle of Pharsalus.
Caesar later appointed him to oversee the public library of Rome in 47 BC, but following Caesar’s death Mark Antony proscribed (basically claim him as an enemy of the state, therefore his murder would be sanctioned) him, resulting in the loss of much of his property, including his library.
Ancient Roman Library
As the Republic gave way to Empire, Varro gained the favour of Augustus, under whose protection he found the security and quiet to devote himself to study and writing.
Which is how we know about Harpocrates, .
To the ancient Egyptians, Harpocrates (Horus) represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn.
In the Alexandrian and Roman renewed vogue for the Greco-Roman mysteries at the turn of the millennium— mystery cults had already existed for almost a millennium — the worship of Harpocrates (Horus) became widely extended, linked with his mother Isis and his father Serapis.
- Fresco from Pompeii depicting Harpócrates and Isis
One other tale relates the story about the Greek gods.
Harpocrates stumbled upon Venus while she was making love with a handsome youth,
and Cupid bribed the god of silence to keep quiet about the affair by giving him the first rose ever created.
This story made the rose the emblem of silence.
Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros,
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 to the modern era.
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 by Ra he became a symbol of hope in the gods looking after suffering humanity.
Which, I don’t know, I was thinking of this as some Anti Serum person , but never the less, it remains unmentioned.
Another solar cult, not directly connected with Harpocrates, was that of Sol Invictus “the Unconquered Sun”.
Roses, a symbol strongly 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.
This is where it gets weird, and severely stretched, several ancient amulets which contain repersentations of Harpocrates and contain a mysterious formula:
