Hiram (Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤌 Ḥirōm; Hebrew: חירם Ḥīrām; also called Hirom or Huram[1])[2][3] is presented as the chief architect of King Solomon's Temple. He is murdered inside this Temple by three ruffians, after they failed to obtain from him the Master Masons' secrets.
The themes of the allegory are the importance of fidelity, and the certainty of death.
The Hiramic Legend
Hiram Abiff, the widow's son and master architect from Tyre, who oversees the Temple's construction. Three "ruffians" (symbolizing ignorance, fanaticism, and ambition) demand the "Master's Word" (a secret divine name granting power). Hiram refuses, is slain, and buried under an acacia sprig (evergreen symbol of immortality). His body is raised by King Solomon and Hiram of Tyre using the "Lion's Grip," representing resurrection and the recovery of lost wisdom.
The legend of Hiram Abiff as related in Anglo-American Masonic jurisdictions underpins the Third Degree and first appeared in the early 1720s. It generally starts with his arrival in Jerusalem, and his appointment by Solomon as chief architect and master of works at the construction of his temple. As the temple is nearing completion, three fellowcraft masons from the workforce ambush him as he leaves the building, demanding the secrets of a master mason. Hiram is challenged by each in turn and, at each refusal to divulge the information, his assailant strikes him with a mason's tool (differing between jurisdictions). He is injured by the first two assailants, and struck dead by the last. His murderers hide his body under a pile of rubble, returning at night to move the body outside the city, where they bury it in a shallow grave marked with a sprig of acacia. As the Master is missed the next day, Solomon sends out a group of fellowcraft masons to search for him. The loose acacia is accidentally discovered, and the body exhumed to be given a decent burial. The hiding place of the "three ruffians" is also discovered, and they are brought to justice. Solomon informs his workforce that the secret word of a master mason is now lost. He replaces it with a substitute word which is considered a secret by Masons. In Continental Freemasonry, the tale is slightly different: a large number of master masons, and not just Hiram, are working on the Temple, and the three ruffians are seeking the passwords and signs that will give them a higher wage. The result is the same, but this time, it is Master Masons who find the body. The secrets are not lost, but Solomon orders them buried under the Temple, inscribed on Hiram's grave, and the same substitution is made as a mark of respect. The secrets "lost" in the other tradition are here given to new Master Masons as part of their ritual. In this version, Hiram is often renamed Adoniram. - Wikipedia