Topic summary
Harpocrates
Harpocrates (Ancient Greek: Ἁρποκράτης, Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤐𐤊𐤓𐤈, romanized: ḥrpkrṭ, Coptic: ϩⲁⲣⲡⲟⲕⲣⲁⲧⲏⲥharpokratēs) is the god of silence, secrets, and confidentiality, and a protector of reputations in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria (and also an embodiment of hope, according to Plutarch). Greeks adapted Harpocrates from the Egyptian child-godHorus, who represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn. The name "Harpocrates" originated as a Hellenization of the EgyptianHar-pa-khered or Heru-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. Greeks and Romans misunderstood this pose as a gesture of silence and interpreted Harpocrates as the god of secrecy.