Harpocrates was the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian name Horus-pa-khered, meaning “Horus the Child.” Harpocrates was the child form of Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis.
The chubby child god wears a chiton that drapes around his body. He steps to the right and turns his head slightly to the left as he raises his finger toward his mouth. In Ptolemaic-Roman Alexandria, this gesture pleaded silence so that the secrets of the Isis mystery cult would not be disclosed.1 In his left hand, he holds a cornucopia (horn of plenty) entwined by a cobra wearing a sun disk. Harpocrates wears the sidelock of youth, a rayed headdress, and the hemhem-crown.
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Meeks, Dimitri. 1977. “Harpocrates.” LÄ II (1977): 1003-1011.. Cf. MMA, 18.145.20; Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum, inv. no. 7998; Archaeological Museum of Bologna, Italy, Rom 1031. ↩︎
Bibliography
- Meeks 1977
- Meeks, Dimitri. 1977. “Harpocrates.” LÄ II (1977): 1003-1011.