Harpocrates and findings in anatolia

Child Harpocrates is a god of Egyptian origin. In ancient texts, he is generally referred to as the son of Isis and Osiris or Serapis. For the Egyptian god Horus, the rising sun is called Harpocrates (i.e. child Horus) in the Osiris myths and is usually represented by the left hand gestures that he puts to his lips as if commanding silence. While his hand reaching to his mouth represents that he is only a child of 3-4 years old, this understanding has been interpreted in different ways in later periods. In ancient Egyptian texts, he is referred to as "child Horus with his finger in his mouth". According to Plutarch ; He not only represents the "first born sun", but is also generally referred to as "appearing in the sunlight: illuminating everything and purifying all with his own power". Since he wears a uraeus or lotus bud headdress, he is distinguished from some other child gods in ancient Egypt. The son of Amun and Ramses III, he was introduced into Theban mythology early in the period when a temple was built for Harpocrates at Karnak, west of Pylon X. Harpocrates began to be mentioned as a healer at the beginning of the reign of Ramses II, when he is said to have exorcised a spirit that had possessed a Bakhaan princess, one of the king's greetings. Harpocrates' influence is first felt in 332 BC. Around 300 BC he is depicted as a standing naked child with a long braid on one side (the Horus Lock). This braiding of the hair was an identifying feature of the child in ancient Egypt. This braid symbolically indicated that he was the rightful heir of Osiris. Harpocrates' terracotta figurines, statues and high reliefs, shaped in molds and probably used as votive offerings, were abundant in Alexandria during the Roman period, and there are also similar examples and stylistically different examples in Anatolia. However, in the later periods, his origins were so forgotten that he came to be known as the "god of silence". The rose was associated with him instead of the lotus and became a symbol of "secrecy and silence". In the later periods, Harpocrates was sometimes confused with other child gods and sometimes depicted as Eros, for this reason, Harpocrates' findings are often interpreted as Eros.