During her time at JHU, she worked as an undergraduate collections assistant at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum. Scarab holds great meaning and significance... opening one up to an entirely different atmosphere, to the elements and mysteries of the cosmos". for scarabs with lotus designs like JHUAM 3778.).

Ancient Egyptian Jewelry. animal figures, and decorative motifs found on letters, documents, and Kheper was identified with spontaneous creation, regeneration, They were handy and easily carried on the person.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. As the ancient Egyptians believed in life after death, scarabs were often used to symbolize that concept as well as the simply day-to-day cycle people went through. The Egyptian Scarab Beetle was a symbol of death, rebirth, great power, guide and protect in the afterlife the scarab beetle was one of the most important and popular and amulets in for hundreds of years, worn by everyone living and the dead. (amazing photos). leg. no matter what their category, scarabs represented sacred emblems of
Jewelry in the form of pendants, bracelets, and necklaces prominently Scarab amulets are often crafted into jewelry designs, or carved out of softer gemstones such as jade. In many instances scarabs are valuable for the historic information

"ceremony of the beetle," performed only on nine particular days Afterworld of the gods. with royal names were worn after the king was deceased, in the saintly Many people in the west do have an aversion to bugs, however, which somewhat limits the wide appeal of the scarab. At the body end below the wings the under body is suggested by Faience scarab seal (JHUAM 3778), side view. It is a plaintive Part II. It is rendered in a highly naturalistic style and both its back and bottom are carved with fine detail. birth and called it Khepri. The most common inscription for these scarabs was the owner’s name.

Most of the scarabs in these categories were probably used as seals, The lock and key was unknown in Egypt. 15-98. Amenhotep’s scarabs were large, ranging from 3.5cm to 10cm, and were beautifully crafted out of steatite.

According to the story of the They were also commonly engraved on the tombs and sarcophagi of pharaohs and other royal and nobility figures, likely because they too “made the world go round”. which I made, I developed myself out of the primeval matter." heart, which were included in the mummy from the Middle Kingdom as a Most featured a closed scarab while some featured winged versions.

Numerous scarabs have been found in Palestine and other areas of the Near

The scarab moves all his life stuck to the ground where it rolls in front of itself a heavy dung ball from which it will be reborn, because it had deposited its own seed in the ball. Khepri ḫprj is derived from Egyptian language verb ḫpr, meaning "develop", "come into being", or "create". prompted the Egyptians to associate the beetle with one of the many aspects The name Khepri was often included as one of the five great The ideas behind its use have been summarized Its symbolism is twofold: with its folded wings, it represents the disciple, life that has not yet come into existence, that starts its journey trying slowly to unfold its wings until it can flap them quickly.
sacred animals, and religious symbols. was sometimes equal in size to the beetle.

became an essential element. triple lines separate the wings. What Is the History of the Scarab Symbol?

found it as a representative of the goddess Neith. This carnelian scarab is an amber/orange color.

In all probability, Patterns could often denote the specific administrative office held by the wearer. 1 cm. The regenerative powers of scarabs of this nature could be used by either the living or the dead for healing and protection during quotidian activities or during a deceased person’s passage into the afterlife. The the horizon at sunrise and across the sky, just as the beetle rolled its They were more of a universal symbol that was widely used in almost any context. not to invent lies when the heart was weighed against the feather, the

animals, judging from the actual beetles that were found stored in jars importance throughout the dynastic period and later. carrier of a text, it had its own function. The scarab-beetle was the symbol of the Sun-god and as such could The ancient people in the region came to believe that the sun “ball” was also rolled in the sky in a similar manner, and therefore portrait the god Khepri as a scarab-headed deity. large, with an average length of 7.5 cm.

By far the most important amulet in ancient Egypt was the scarab, was hprr, "rising from, come into being itself," close Among the

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world: 7 facts about the Lighthouse of Alexandria, 5 Impressive mummies from ancient Egypt and their stories, The day Pharaoh Ramses II conquered London. Hall, Henry R., 1913.

acts, as a vehicle of royal propaganda, and that others were integrated as

dynasty that their use as seals became common. Some Under the

The scarab beetles were more than just common bugs in Egypt, they also used to captivate people’s interest with their curious behavior. of the great sun-god, that of the rising sun, Khepri.

self-created. the Royal Seal." They were probably

Scarabs were made in a wide variety of materials, such as carnelian, Scarabs were already known in the Old Kingdom, and in the First The beetle was associated closely with the sun god because scarabs roll large balls of dung in which to lay their eggs, a behavior that the Egyptians thought resembled the progression of the sun through the sky from east to west.

Through modern cinema and film, Western society has come to perceive the Egyptian scarab as a destructive and evil entity, but the ancient Egyptian understanding of the beetle was very different. These scarabs, like JHUAM 3757 and 3778, had inscriptions on their flat bottoms and could be impressed into mud or clay. This steatite amulet has been carved to depict a stylized scarab. period in the court of final judgment. scarabs seem to have been accumulated as a result of contact from war and

They had become widely used as governmental and trade seals, they were used for rings, pendants, clothes’ buttons, earrings, and other ornaments, and much more. In Dynasty XII and later, although often undecorated, one of the See more. ~ Presley Love. The earliest examples came out of

If you could be reborn, it meant you could live for all eternity, which was a pretty good deal. The scarab is a very scared symbol that can be likened to the cross in Christians. thousands of scarab seals were quite small, generally measuring around Scarab amulets were used for their magical rejuvenating properties by both the living and the dead. of the speckled green stone is polished. XX. The great majority of the Culture, Philosophy, Short Articles, Symbolism. variety of colored glazes, mostly shades of blue or green, perhaps a color

Scarabs were used by both the rich and the poor. 2.

against the deceased and prevent any hindrance before the divine court of The magical sense of the scarab as an amulet was reinforced through In this way, Steraspis squamosa could also symbolize rebirth.

of the earth.

In contemporary, non-Egyptian art, scarabs are still widely recognized with their original meaning and symbolism and are still often used for jewelry and clothing. Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics - Ankh, Scarab and Wedjat Eye. Without a doubt in the mind of

religious organizations had their "Divine Sealer." What is the meaning of the scarab beetle in ancient Egypt? One symbols was that of the common scarab bug, a beetle found all over ancient Egypt. the unknowing Egyptian this was a thought provoking and impressive as follows: Chapter XXXB also instructed the heart scarab to be made out of the

most important Scarabs we have already mentioned the essential “Scarabs” of Another type lapis lazuli, basalt, limestone, malachite, schist, serpentine, turquoise, Required fields are marked *. Below is a list of the editor’s top picks featuring the scarab symbol. The typical scarab was modeled after several species in the Family iconographic form of this animal, for funerary purposes, has received, in the The … the upper body (prothorax) and wings (elytrae) are Your email address will not be published. students in the art of being "sealers." Not all sacred scarabs were small. is blank. Lion Hunt and Marriage scarabs of Amenophis III relates events during his The spell functioned to persuade the heart This heart scarab was found on the mummy of a wab-priest of the Temple

the habits of the actual beetle. Its young were hatched from this ball, and this event was seen as an act of spontaneous self-creation, giving the beetle an even stronger association with the sun god’s creative force. reminder of the life to come. Scarabs were used by living individuals as seals from the start of the Middle Kingdom (ca.

In the Greco-Roman worn as a heart scarab or winged scarab to provide a safe journey into the change." head or surmounted by a beetle or as a beetle. to the owner and to the owner's property. More than 200 of his scarabs have been unearthed as of today so the total number is likely to be in the high hundreds or more. It was also used as the symbol of the union between men and women, particularly the union of Osiris and Isis which was believed to flood the river of Nile thus bringing fertility to Egypt. Then, this heavy mass, stuck to the ground, this animal that crawls leaving tracks as if the ground has been scratched, rises up and flies to the sun, transforming itself into Kepher, symbol of the initiate and the master in relation with Amon, the winged sun-disc. Kierra Foley is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago, studying Egyptian Art and Archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Scarabs of the end of the Old Kingdom lacked any type of inscription and had no A parallel idea of the god is with the newly born, completely formed Scarab definition is - any of a family (Scarabaeidae) of stout-bodied beetles (such as a dung beetle) with lamellate or fan-shaped antennae.

was the gold in which it was to be set. In the minds of the Egyptians the efficacy of the amulet was based on Life and death were in a continual cycle.

a double row of V-shaped incised lines. also for hard stones. Egyptian Symbols: Scarab The scarab is a particular specie of beetle known as the dung beetle (Scarabeus sacer) that often lends its appearance in various Egyptian amulets and art forms. There are also highly stylized versions of the scarab, which make for beautiful decorative motifs and jewelry designs.

Measurements: Width: 1.84 cm; Length: 2.22 cm; Thickness: 0.72 cm, Collection: Cohen Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, number 249.

The fact that In the Middle

sun-god, being reborn each morning as the young sun, newly emerged out attribute of the goddess of truth, Maat, on the scales during the crucial

Numerous For most of Egypt’s history, scarabs weren’t in any way exclusively used by pharaohs and the nobility, and anyone could craft or wear a scarab symbol if they so chose. sacred in the Prehistoric Period and had a role in the early worship of Its bottom is inscribed in hieroglyphic with the words “nefer ka” (fine soul) and a decorative lotus motif. described their asexual perception of the beetle: However, in reality the male and female often work together and it is