HARPOCRATES
Harpocrates, son of Isis and Serapis, corresponds to the child Horus and is linked to the rising sun. In Egyptian art he is depicted as a naked boy with a shaved skull, a side braid and a finger to his mouth. The Greeks and Romans transformed him into an Eros-like child with wavy hair and a lotus flower on his head.
Associated with the initiatory silentium in Gnostic philosophy, Harpocrates was also likened to Dionysus and Apollo. He often wears a nebride and leans on a vine trunk, symbols of fertility and rebirth. In some representations he holds a cornucopia, a sign of abundance.
Several statuettes of Harpocrates have been found in Italy but few inscriptions, indicating a secondary cult.
His name appears next to that of Apollo and Horus, showing the union of Greek, Egyptian and Alexandrian elements.
In the Hellenistic triad he is depicted with Isis and Serapis, sitting on his mother's knees or at her side.
SOURCE: B. de Rachewiltz, A. M. Partini - ROMA EGIZIA: cults, temples and Egyptian divinities in Imperial Rome - Mediterranean Editions Rome
