Harpocrates was the Ptolemaic god of silence and secrets, captured and used by @Triumvirate Holdings to cause the communication trouble for the demigods. He willingly leaves the world to help @Apollo save @Camp Jupiter.

History

Life in Mythology

Harpocrates was created during the time of the Greek rule of Egypt. Originally, he was an incarnation of Horus, Harpa-Khruti or "Horus the Child". He was usually depicted with his finger to his lips, it symbolized the hieroglyph for child. When Alexander the Great invaded Egypt, the Greeks saw all the statues of Harpocrates and didn't know what to make of them. They thought his gesture meant be quiet or shh, so they decided that he must be the god of silence and secrets. They changed his name to Harpocrates as a hellenization, built some shrines, started worshiping him, and he became a very minor Greek-Egyptian hybrid god just like that.

Harpocrates was in charge of secrets and his symbol was a rose. According to one myth, @Aphrodite gave her son, @Cupid, a rose who gave it to Harpocrates to ensure that his mother's indiscretions were kept under wraps. This tale led leaders to hang a rose from the ceiling of conference rooms in the old days. It meant that everybody in the conversation was sworn to secrecy. They called it sub rosa, or "under the rose". This continued through the Middle Ages and the modern era.

Apollo bullied Harpocrates because he was a very minor god and rather silly-looking. He made some jokes at his expense in front of the @Olympians, he zapped glowing letters on the back of his toga, and he tied up and locked him in the stalls with his fiery horses overnight. Harpocrates swore to Apollo that someday he'd vaporize him.

Quest to Secure the Oracles

Harpocrates was imprisoned by Triumvirate Holdings using their fasces in a large box on top of Sutro Tower and forced to silence communications for the demigods. Eventually, a @Eurynomos under the control of @Tarquin hands him the jar containing the sibyl of Cumae as a cruel joke by the Triumvirate. The two end up forming a sort of wistful relationship. When Apollo, @Margaret "Meg" McCaffrey, and @Reyna Ramírez-Arellano find Harpocrates and open the door to his holding container, he bombarded them with negative memories of Apollo bullying him and the emperors mocking him. The three then show him good and bad memories of their own. After Reyna and Meg destroy the fasces binding him to his prison, they stop him from vaporizing Apollo by showing him memories of how he changed. He agrees to be used as the sacrifice and tells Apollo to release his dying breath at a shrine or temple and wills himself out of existence along with the Sibyl of Cumae. Harpocrates' death restores demigod communications, although the effect spreads slowly.

His breath is used for the Ceremony to Call for Divine Help that summons Diana to help win the Battle of San Francisco Bay.

Legacy

It's mentioned that magical means of communication have slowly been coming back online ever since Harpocrates' death, but they are still spotty. As a result, the news of @Jason Grace's death doesn't reach @Percy Jackson and @Annabeth Chase before they leave on a road trip and, although @Nico di Angelo sensed it, @Camp Half-Blood doesn't have confirmation until the arrival of Meg and Apollo.

Months after Harpocrates' death, demigod communications appears to have been fully restored as Nico di Angelo is able to Iris Message Percy Jackson and @Piper McLean without any trouble.