Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Animals

Scarab

The scarab beetle of ancient Egypt: why a dung beetle stood for the rising sun and for rebirth, how scarab amulets and seals were used and where the symbol appears today.

Also called Khepri · Sacred beetle

In brief

  1. I.The scarab is the dung beetle, which rolls a ball of dung across the ground.
  2. II.Egyptians saw in it the god Khepri pushing the sun into the sky each morning.
  3. III.It became a sign of rebirth and was made into amulets, seals and “heart scarabs” for the dead.
  4. IV.Scarab amulets are among the commonest objects from ancient Egypt.

Chapter I

What it means

The scarab stands for the sun at dawn and for coming into being. The Egyptian word for the beetle, kheper, also meant “to come into being” or “to change form”, and the god of the morning sun was called Khepri.

As the beetle rolls its ball of dung, so, Egyptians said, Khepri rolls the sun up over the horizon each day. The young beetles that crawl out of the ball seemed to appear from nowhere, which made the scarab a sign of new life arising by itself, and so of rebirth after death.

Chapter II

Where it comes from

Scarab amulets appear in the late third millennium BCE and became very common in the Middle Kingdom (about 2000–1700 BCE). Small scarabs served as seals and charms. Amenhotep III issued large “commemorative scarabs” announcing events such as his marriage and his lion hunts.

For the dead, the heart scarab protected the person at the judgement before Osiris, and winged scarabs were placed on mummy wrappings.

Chapter III

Where you see it today

Scarabs are sold in huge numbers as souvenirs in Egypt and appear in jewellery around the world. Museums display them in the thousands, and the beetle is a familiar motif in films and books about ancient Egypt.

Questions people ask

What is a heart scarab?

A large stone scarab placed over the heart of a mummy, inscribed with a spell from the Book of the Dead that asked the heart not to speak against its owner when it was weighed in the judgement of the dead.

Were scarabs used as seals?

Yes. Many small scarabs have a flat underside carved with a name or design and were used to stamp clay seals, or worn as lucky charms.

Sources and further reading

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Scarab”
  2. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Khepri”
  3. Carol Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (British Museum Press, 1994)
  4. Richard H. Wilkinson, Reading Egyptian Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture (Thames & Hudson, 1992)
  5. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Religious symbolism and iconography”

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