Scarab

scarab

Scarab commemorating the marriage of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy, 18th dynasty; in the Oriental …

(credit: Courtesy of the Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago)

In Egyptian religion, a symbol of immortality much used in funerary art. It was inspired by the life cycle of the scarab beetle; the dung balls that the beetles consume, lay their eggs in, and use to feed their young represented a cycle of rebirth and were associated with immortality and with the passage of the sun across the heavens. Many scarabs were made of precious metals and were worn as amulets or used as seals. First appearing c. 2575–c. 2130 BC, they were fashioned in great numbers during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom.

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scarab

1. any scarabaeid beetle, esp Scarabaeus sacer (sacred scarab), regarded by the ancient Egyptians as divine

2. the scarab as represented on amulets, etc., of ancient Egypt, or in hieroglyphics as a symbol of the solar deity

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scarab

dung-beetle; said to carry secret of eternal life. [Egyptian Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 967]

See : Immortality

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scarab

symbol for Ra, sun-god; reborn each day. [Animal Symbolism: Mercatante, 180]

See : Resurrection

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Scarab

a representation of a scarabaeus (a type of beetle) carved from stone. In ancient Egypt scarabs served as talismans, amulets, and ornaments.