HISTORY
The dung rolling Scarab was sacred to the ancient Egyptians as it seemed to emerge from nowhere. The apparent "self creation" of the scarab resembled that of the Egyptian Sun God Ra, who created himself out of nothing. Therefore, the scarab served as a symbol of regeneration, renewal and resurrection.
The Egyptian Sun God Ra took several different forms, depending on the time of day. In the morning he took the form of Khepri, which becomes the God associated with the Dung Beetle. This mythology came from observing the dung beetles laying eggs in a ball of dung, which was round, radiated head and gave new life to the beetle. Therefore, this resembled the sun rising in the morning.
In midday the God was simply himself in the form of Ra, which is depiction as a man with a falcon head. As seen in the picture to the left.
In the afternoon Ra took the form of the God Atum, who the Ancient Egyptians believed to be the original creator of the universe.
This picture is of an Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic depicting the Sun God Ra.
The Egyptian Sun God Ra took several different forms, depending on the time of day. In the morning he took the form of Khepri, which becomes the God associated with the Dung Beetle. This mythology came from observing the dung beetles laying eggs in a ball of dung, which was round, radiated head and gave new life to the beetle. Therefore, this resembled the sun rising in the morning.
In midday the God was simply himself in the form of Ra, which is depiction as a man with a falcon head. As seen in the picture to the left.
In the afternoon Ra took the form of the God Atum, who the Ancient Egyptians believed to be the original creator of the universe.
This picture is of an Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic depicting the Sun God Ra.
Meaning: Because it seemed that young beetles appeared out of nowhere from their nests, the Ancient Egyptians associated the Scarab with the god Atum. Therefore they were worshiped as "Khepera", which means "he was came forth." Because the scarab represented immortality, it was very important for Pharaohs to be buried with amulets, jewelry and hieroglyphics that depicted the scarab in order to successfully make it into the afterlife.