Scarab

The Scarab in Ancient Egypt


 * Egyptian Name:**

//Kheper//


 * Hieroglyphics:**



Scarabs were accorded religious significance from very early times in Egypt, and scarabs have been found in jars buried with the dead in graves from the First Dynasty. To the ancient Egyptians, the sacred scarab beetle was a symbol of rebirth, regeneration, and transformation, and this image was often placed in tombs for this reason.

Since the scarab beetle lays its eggs in the bodies of dead animals and in dung, from which they emerge having been born, the ancient Egyptians believed that scarab beetles were created from dead matter. It has been suggested that the underground tunnels of the scarab insect take the same form as the vertical shafts and horizontal passages found in Old Kingdom tombs. Parallels were also drawn between the pupae of the insect and the bandaged mummy of the deceased.

The fact that scarabs fly during the hottest part of the day identified the insect with the sun, and thus a sun-god. Scarabs were associated with the god Khepri, who was typically represented as a scarab pushing the sun up into the sky each morning, an image derived from how a scarab beetle rolls a ball of dung. Being sacred to Khepri, scarab beetles were occasionally mummified and placed in tiny stone and bronze sarcophagi.

Painted and inlaid scarabs often color the insect blue or utilize blue stones to emphasize the beetle's association with the heavens. Sometimes scarabs were pictured with falcon or vulture wings, or with the head of a falcon, human, bull, or ram.

As an amulet, the scarab representation was very popular, the most common Egyptian amulet found. Scarabs were made to commemorate marriages, lion and bull hunts, the birth of a child, and other important events. Several such amulets were found in Tutankhamen’s tomb. Special scarab amulets, known as heart amulets, were believed to help restore the heart in the next life.

Scarabs have been found made of emerald, marble, quartz, soapstone, faience, gold, silver, basalt, jasper, bronze, glass, serpentine, amethyst, carnelian, feldspar, limestone, onyx, lapis lazuli, slitstone, ivory, granite, tin, and ebony.

The back designs on scarabs were usually geometric or religious symbols, or inscriptions such as "Amun is behind you, have no fear," "May your name endure," "Happy New Year," "Ptah rewards every good deed," "A mother is truly a good thing," "Good luck," "May Mut grant a long life," and even "Have a nice day." For heart scarabs, the name of the deceased was carved on the back. Scarabs were often without legs, eyes, or mouths, to render them harmless to the deceased. Sometimes a picture of a favorite deity was on the back of the scarab, such as Amun, Ra, Hathor, Ptah, Horus, Astarte, Set, Isis, Osiris, Bes, Taweret, or Hapi.


 * Modern Influen****ce:**

Giant stone scarabs were set up in some temple complexes - a surviving stone scarab at Karnak has generated its own mythology. Local women touch it when they hope to conceive, and tourists are told that the statue has the power to make wishes come true if you walk round it three times.

The Egyptian scarab motif was so popular that it spread throughout the ancient world. Many cultures adopted the scarab symbol and produced their own versions, including the Canaanites, Ammonites, Edomites, Moabites, Israelites, Phoenicians, Minoans, Etruscans, Persians, and Greeks.

In the present day certain inhabitants of the Sudan pound dried scarabs and drink it in water, believing that it will ensure many children.

The Insects of Ancient Egypt