Beetle Egyptian Jewelry Scarab

The Scarab artifacts of Ancient Egypt, based upon the Scarabaeidae family dung beetle , was the most popular amulet of ancient Egypt. In the ancient Egyption mythos, the sun (Ra) rolls across the sky each day and transforms bodies and souls. The dung beetle's rolling of dung into a ball for the purposes of laying eggs (which would be later transformed into larva) was seen as an earthly symbol of this heavenly cycle. This came to be iconographic, and ideological symbols were incorporated into Ancient Egyptian society.

Through different time periods, about 3000 years, the use of the scarab artifacts became many and varied. As amulets, and a flat surface on the bottom (as a similar artifact of a paper weight), it became a surface with other utilitarian purposes. Other nations and regions, especially in the Levant, even came to reproduce Egyptian styles, or to adapt their use to their own gods or personal uses. They were also found as grave goods, amulets, talismans, jewelry types, or gifts of affection.

The scarab as an artifact with Egyptian language details of its – presenter, recipient, or pharaonic timeframe, has become one of the instruments for piecing together information of a pharaonic reign, or dynastic relationships. Other items with a similar piece of a puzzle understanding in timelines are, graffitos, door jamb-(or other) minor inscriptions, labels from tomb offerings, ushabtis, etc.

Types of scarabs

Commemorative scarabs

Beginning in the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, memorializing scarabs became common. They were often incorporated into tombs, as grave goods, or given as 'gifts'.

Amenhotep III is famous for his commemorative scarabs that memorialized events of his day. A type of these relates to his lion hunts in the first 10 years of his reign–(with claims of extraordinary lion numbers); others of the series relates the building of 'the lake for his wife, Queen Tiye'.

Scarabs as amulets

Miniature scaraboid seals

Miniature scaraboid seals were carried, or kept in the later periods of Ancient Egypt. They often had "catch phrases"; for example: "Amun-my-Strength" . (Amun-my-Rock)

Scarab, "Kheper" as transformation

The scarab, Egyptian language (kh)pr is used in many pharaonic names, for example Thutmosis III as Mn-Kheper-Re . Because it is used so frequently in pharaonic names, for example:

its meaning needs to be presented. As the word "transform" , or "transformation" , the phrase Men-(Kh)eper-Re becomes: strong-transforming-Ra, and some renderings in common English are The Transforming Strength (of) Ra , or Ra's Steadfastness (of) Transformations . A much later word that replaced the kheper , 'transforming' was the Greek language "epiphanous" , the word for manifesting . A similar usage, but not with the implications of transformation, as an insect larva, transforming into an adult-form bug. The Ptolemaic era Ptolemy V of the Rosetta Stone, 196 BC is named Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Coins of Greece and other Greek influenced kingdoms had coins using the King's profile and the word epi(ph)anous , namely basileus epi(ph)anous , (King-Manifested).

Literary and popular culture references

• P.G. Wodehouse's first Blandings novel — Something Fresh (1915) — involves the pilfering of a rare Egyptian scarab (a "Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty") as a key plot device.
• A scarab is a titanic walking tank, based after the shape of a scarab, in the video game series Halo.

See also

• Scaraboid seal
• Dung beetle
• Khepri

Notes

References

• Budge. The Dwellers on the Nile, E.A.Wallace Budge, (Dover Publications), c 1977, (originally, c 1926, by Religious Tract Society, titled as: The Dwellers on the Nile: Chapter of the Life, History, Religion and Literature of the Ancient-Egyptians ); pp 265-68: "account of the hunting of wild cattle by Amenhetep III" , "taken from a great scarab"; (there are 16 registers-(lines) of hieroglyphs); (softcover, ISBN 0-486-23501-7)

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