Werethekau 334

Werethekau
Werethekau, alts. Urthekau and Weret Hekau, was the ancient
Egyptian personification of supernatural powers, weret hekau
meaning "great of magic" or "great enchantress".[1]

In myth
As a deity dedicated to protection, she often appeared on funerary
objects, particularly weapons, to allow the deceased to protect him
or herself against the dangers of the underworld. She also was
placed on ivory knives as a charm to protect pregnant and nursing
mothers.[citation needed]
Her power was one of the inherent qualities of the Crowns of
Egypt. As goddess of the crowns she was a snake or a lion-headed
woman and dwelt in the state sanctuary.[2] As the wife of
Ra-Horakhty she is depicted with his solar disk on her head.
Werethekau was an epithet frequently conferred on
Isis,[3]Sekhmet,[4] Mut,[5] and others. A relief representing Weret-hekau. From the reign of
Ramesses II

References
[1] Barbara S. Lesko, The great goddesses of Egypt, University of Oklahoma Press, 1999, p 74
[2] Manfred Lurker, The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons, Routledge 2004, ISBN 0-415-34018-7, p.192
[3] Lurker, op.cit., p.192
[4] Erik Hornung, Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many, Cornell University Press 1996, ISBN 0-8014-8384-0, p.284
[5] Carol A. R. Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, University of Texas Press 1994, ISBN 0-292-70464-X, p.37
Wosret 335

Wosret
WosretWikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Pronunciation,
Wasret, or Wosyet meaning the powerful was an
Egyptian goddess with a cult centre at Thebes. She was
initially a localised guardian deity, whose cult rose
widely to prominence during the stable twelfth dynasty
when three pharaohs were named as her sons, for
example, Senwosret (also spelled as Senusret) - the
man (son) of Wosret.

She was rarely depicted, and no temples to her have

been identified. One example of a depiction of Wosret
is on the stela shown to the right where she is the figure
farthest to the right.
When she was depicted, it was wearing a tall crown
with the Was sceptre, which was related to her name,
upon her head and carrying other weapons such as
spears as well as a bow and arrows.
Wosret was later superseded by Mut and became an
aspect of Hathor. She was also identified with the
protection of the deity Horus, Isis' son, when he was
young.
Rare image of Wosret, the figure to the right on a dual stela of
She was Amun's first wife (John Ray calls her "the pharaoh Hatshepsut (centre left) in the blue Khepresh crown offering
theological equivalent of the girl next door"), and was oil to the deity Amun and her nephew who would become Thutmose
III behind her in the hedjet white crown - Vatican Museum
replaced by Mut, although it is possible that Mut is
simply a later name for Wosret.[1] On the stela above
Amun is depicted to the left.

Footnotes
[1] Ray, John Reflections of Osiris: lives from ancient Egypt p.28 (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=ussoYlKONPIC& pg=PA28&
dq=wosret+ goddess+ Mut& num=100& as_brr=3& ei=BG99S8nOBpWwNpTavdEE& client=firefox-a& cd=1#v=onepage& q=wosret
goddess Mut& f=false)
 336

Helenic era

Harpocrates
In late Greek mythology as developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria,
Harpocrates (Ancient Greek: Ἁρποκράτης) is the god of silence.
Harpocrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god
Horus. To the ancient Egyptians, Horus represented the newborn Sun,
rising each day at dawn. When the Greeks conquered Egypt under
Alexander the Great, they transformed the Egyptian Horus into their
Hellenistic god known as Harpocrates, a rendering from Egyptian
Har-pa-khered or Heru-pa-khered (meaning "Horus the Child").

Horus
In Egyptian mythology, Horus was conceived by Isis, the mother
goddess, from Osiris, the original god-king of Egypt, who had been
murdered by his brother Set,[1] and thus became the god of the
underworld. The Greeks melded Osiris with their underworld god, Hades,
to produce the essentially Alexandrian syncretism, Serapis.
Among the Egyptians the full-grown Horus was considered the victorious
god of the Sun who each day overcomes darkness. He is often
represented with the head of a sparrowhawk, which was sacred to him, as
the hawk flies high above the Earth. Horus fought battles against Set, Ptolemaic bronze Harpocrates as the child
until he finally achieved victory and became the ruler of Egypt. All the Horus (Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon)

Pharaohs of Egypt were seen as reincarnations of the victorious Horus.

Stelae depicting Heru-pa-Khered standing on the back of a crocodile, holding snakes in his outstretched hands were
erected in Egyptian temple courtyards, where they would be immersed or lustrated in water; the water was then used
for blessing and healing purposes as the name of Heru-pa-Khered was itself attributed with many protective and
healing powers.
Harpocrates 337

In the Alexandrian and Roman renewed vogue for mystery cults at the turn of the
millennium — mystery cults had already existed for almost a millennium — the
worship of Horus became widely extended, linked with Isis (his mother) and
Serapis (Osiris, his father).

Isis, Serapis and their child

Harpocrates (Louvre Museum)

Harpocrates
In this way Harpocrates, the child Horus, personifies the newborn sun each
day, the first strength of the winter sun, and also the image of early
vegetation. Egyptian statues represent the child Horus, pictured as a naked
boy with his finger on his mouth, a realization of the hieroglyph for "child"
that is unrelated to the Greco-Roman and modern gesture for "silence".
Misunderstanding this sign, the later Greeks and Roman poets made
Harpocrates the god of Silence and Secrecy, taking their cue from Marcus
Terentius Varro, who asserted in De lingua Latina of Caelum (Sky) and Terra
(Earth)

"These gods are the same as those who in Egypt are called
Serapis and Isis,[2] though Harpocrates with his finger makes a
sign to me to be quiet. The same first gods were in Latium called
Saturn and Ops."
Ovid described Isis: Bronze statuette of Harpocrates, Begram,
"Upon her Isis' brow stood the crescent moon-horns, garlanded Afghanistan, 2nd century.

with glittering heads of golden grain, and grace of royal dignity;

and at her side the baying dog Anubis, dappled Apis, sacred Bubastis and the god who holds his finger
to his lips for silence sake."[3]
Harpocrates 338

Inexpensive cast terracotta images of Harpocrates, suitable for house shrines, are
found scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Thus Augustine of Hippo was
aware of the iconic gesture of Harpocrates:
"And since in practically all the temples where Serapis and Isis were
worshiped there was also a figure that seemed to enjoin silence by a
finger pressed against its lips, Varro thinks this had the same
meaning, that no mention should be made of their having been
human beings"[4]
Martianus Capella, author of an allegorizing textbook that remained a standard
through the Middle Ages recognized the image of the "boy with his finger
pressed to his lips" but neglected to mention Harpocrates' name: "...quidam
redimitus puer ad os compresso digito salutari silentium commonebat. The boy
was identified, however, as Cupid in glosses,[5] a syncresis that had already
resulted in the figure of Harpocratic Cupid (illustration, right). Harpocratic Eros, terracotta figurine
made in Myrina, ca. 100–50 BCE.
Plutarch wrote that Harpocrates was the second son of Isis and that he was born (Louvre Museum)
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 Re he became a symbol of hope in the
gods looking after suffering humanity.[6]
Another solar cult, not directly connected with Harpocrates, was that of the Unconquered Sun, Sol Invictus.

20th century reference

From the 1920s through the 1950s, Harpo Marx performed pantomime and wore either a curly red or curly blonde
wig in character. His brother Groucho jokingly said he named himself in honour of Harpocrates, as a god of both
silence and childhood, or childish joy. In truth he was named Harpo because he played the harp.[]

Modern occultist uses

Modern occultists display his image, loosely connected now with Hermetic gnosticism. Typically, "Harpocrates is
the Babe in the Egg of Blue that sits upon the lotus flower in the Nile". He may be termed the 'God of Silence' and
said to represent the Higher Self and be the 'Holy Guardian Angel' and more in similar vein, adapted from Aleister
Crowley's often-reprinted Magick.
Many Discordians consider Harpo Marx to have been a contemporary avatar of Harpocrates. Because of this,
Discordians often invoke Harpocrates as a Trickster god or God of Humor in addition to his classical attribution of
God of Silence.[]

References
[1] The Hellenes, by interpretatio graeca, identified Set with Typhon, or Chaos.
[2] Only by interpretatio romana; in actuality Serapis was a syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian creation disseminated by Roman imperium, and Isis
was linked in Egyptian culture with Osiris.
[3] Ovid, Metamorphoses 9:688 - 9:692.

aut stetit aut visa est. inerant lunaria fronti

cornua cum spicis nitido flaventibus auro
et regale decus; cum qua latrator Anubis,
sanctaque Bubastis, variusque coloribus Apis,
quique premit vocem digitoque silentia suadet;
Harpocrates 339

( Metamorphoses on-line) (http:/ / etext. lib. virginia. edu/ toc/ modeng/ public/ OviLMet. html)
[4] Augustine, City of God, XVIII.
[5] Dale Kinney, "Spolia from the Baths of Caracalla in Sta. Maria in Trastevere" The Art Bulletin 68.3 (September 1986:379-397, "Isis and
Serapis in medieval mythography" p. 391 note 73.
[6] "Egyptian Mythology", Geraldine Pinch, p. 147, Oxford University Press US, 2004, ISBN 0-19-517024-5

• Franz Cumont, The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, Dover Publications, 1956.
• Harry Thurston Peck, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1898: "Harpocrates."
• David Sacks, Language Visible: Unraveling the Mystery of the Alphabet, Random House 2003.

External links
• A brief definition (http://www.kemet.org/glossary/heru-pa-khered.html)
• Iconography of Harpocrates (PDF-article) (http://www.religionswissenschaft.unizh.ch/idd/prepublications/
e_idd_harpocrates.pdf)
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Harpocrates". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Hermanubis
In classical mythology, Hermanubis (Greek: Ἑρμανοῦβις) was a god
who combined Hermes (Greek mythology) with Anubis (Egyptian
mythology). He is the son of Set and Nephthys.
Hermes and Anubis's similar responsibilities (they were both
conductors of souls) led to the god Hermanubis. He was popular during
the period of Roman domination over Egypt. Depicted as having a
human body and jackal head, with the sacred caduceus that belonged to
the Greek god Hermes, he represented the Egyptian priesthood,
engaged in the investigation of truth.[2][3]

The divine name Ἑρμανοῦβις is known from a handful of epigraphic

and literary sources, mostly of the Roman period. Plutarch cites the
name as a designation of Anubis in his underworldly aspect, while
Porphyry refers to Hermanubis as σύνθετος "composite" and μιξέλλην
"half-Greek".[4]
Although it was not common in traditional Greek religion to combine
the names of two gods in this manner, the double determination of
Hermanubis has some formal parallels in the earlier period. The most Statue of Hermanubis, white marble, 1st-2nd
[1]
century AD (Vatican Museums)
obvious is the god Hermaphroditus, attested from the fourth century
BC onwards, but his name implies the paradoxical union of two
different gods (Hermes and Aphrodite) rather than an assimilation in the manner of Hermanubis.