A secret society is an organization that conceals its activities and membership from outsiders. The term "secret society" is also often used by the general public to describe a wide range of organizations that do not fit this definition, such as collegiate fraternities and fraternal organizations that may have non-public ceremonies. It also includes organizations described in conspiracy theories. Europe is a Swedish hard rock band originally assembled as a progressive rock group; they later added keyboards to their sound in order to soften it. ... Secret Society is the seventh studio album by the Swedish hard rock band Europe. ... An organisation (or organization — see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its own performance, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment. ... While the term fraternity can be used to describe any number of social organizations, including the Lions Club and the Shriners, fraternities and sororities are most commonly known as social organizations of higher education students in the United States and Canada but there are fraternities in the whole world (for... A fraternal organization, sometimes also known as a fraternity, is an organization that represents the relationship between its members as akin to brotherhood. ... A conspiracy theory is a theory that defies common historical or current understanding of events, under the claim that those events are the result of manipulations by two or more individuals or various secretive powers or conspiracies. ...

Overview

Historically, secret societies have been the subject of suspicion and speculation from non-members since the time of the ancient Greeks, when meetings were held "sub rosa" (Latin, "under the rose"). This phrase arrises from the fact that the rose was the emblem of the god Horus in ancient Egypt^{[citation needed]}. Later the Greeks and Romans regarded Horus as god of silence. This originates from a Greek/Roman misinterpretation of an Egyptian hieroglyphic adopting Horus along with Isis and Osiris as a god. The Greeks translated his Egyptian name Har-pa-khered to Harpocrates. The rose's connotation for secrecy also dates back to Greek mythology. Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure that his mother's indiscretions (or those of the gods in general, in other accounts) were kept under wraps. In the Middle Ages a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber pledged all present (those under the rose) to secrecy.^[1] Today the phrases "Sub Rosa" and "under the rose" are commonly used to indicate secrecy. Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek_speaking world in ancient times. ... This page lists direct English translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. ... For other uses, see Rose (disambiguation). ... An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation). ... Khafres Pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza, built about 2550 BC during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom,[1] are enduring symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeastern Africa concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Silence is a relative or total lack of sound. ... A section of the Papyrus of Ani showing cursive hieroglyphs. ... This article discusses the ancient goddess. ... For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ... The child Horus represented to the ancient Egyptians the new-born Sun, rising each day at dawn. ... Secrecy is the practice of sharing information among a group of people, which can be as small as one person, while hiding it from others. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 For other uses, see Aphrodite (disambiguation). ... Look up eros, Eros, EROS in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Since some secret societies have political aims, they are illegal in several countries. Poland has made the ban of secret political parties and political organizations a part of its constitution.

Many student societies established on university campuses have been considered secret societies. These such collegiate secret societies are like the Flat Hat Club (1750) and Phi Beta Kappa (1776), both founded at William & Mary. The most famous member of the FHC was Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. In correspondence, Jefferson noted that the Flat Hat Club served "no useful object." The nation's prestigious universities and liberal arts colleges are home to secret societies today. See List of collegiate secret societies. Perhaps one of the most famous secret college societies is the Skull and Bones club, of which president George W. Bush was a member of during his college years. The Skull and Bones Club is rumored to be a secret white supremist organization. However, if this once was true, it clearly no longer is, as there have been minority and homosexual members in recent years. It is rumored that some members of the Skull and Bones Club receive membership because of family connections. Many former members of it have gone on to have wealthy and powerful careers. The Flat Hat Club (as it was known outside its membership) or F.H.C. Society was the first of the collegiate secret societies or fraternities founded in the present United States. ... The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an honor society which considers its mission to be fostering and recognizing excellence in undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. ... The College of William and Mary (also known as William & Mary, W&M or The College) is a small, selective, coeducational public university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. ... Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... There are numerous collegiate secret societies at American and Canadian colleges and universities. ... For the pirate flag, see Jolly Roger. ... For the pirate flag, see Jolly Roger. ... For the pirate flag, see Jolly Roger. ...

See also

• Secret societies in popular culture
• Secret Societies at the University of Virginia

Secret societies appear in many works of fiction. ... The following is a list of some of the more well known of the secret societies at the University of Virginia. ...

References

• Heckethorn, Charles William (1997). The secret societies of all ages and countries, embracing the mysteries of ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, early Christians, heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, nihilists, and other sects. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-56459-296-0. 
• Whalen, William Joseph (1966). Handbook of secret organizations. Milwaukee: Bruce Pub. Co.. LCCN 66-026658. 
• Axelrod, Alan (1997). The international encyclopedia of secret societies and fraternal orders. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-2307-7. 
• Roberts, J. M. (John Morris) (1972). The mythology of the secret societies. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-684-12904-3. 
• Robbins, Alexandra (2004). Pledged: the secret life of sororities. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-8859-8. 

The Library of Congress Control Number or LCCN is a serially based system of numbering books in the Library of Congress in the United States. ...

Notes

External links

• Major media articles on secret societies — Collection of one-paragraph excerpts with links to original articles