Scarab of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Amenemhat III MET 16

Scarabs are

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s and

impression seal __NOTOC__ The stamp seal (also impression seal) is a common seal die, frequently carved from stone, known at least since the 6th millennium BC (Halaf culture) and probably earlier. The dies were used to impress their picture or inscription int ...

s shaped according to the eponymous beetles, which were widely popular throughout

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. They survive in large numbers today, and through their inscriptions and

typology A typology is a system of classification used to organize things according to similar or dissimilar characteristics. Groups of things within a typology are known as "types". Typologies are distinct from taxonomies in that they primarily address t ...

, these artifacts prove to be an important source of information for

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and historians of ancient Egypt, representing a significant body of its art. Though primarily worn as amulets and sometimes rings, scarabs were also inscribed for use as personal or administrative seals or were incorporated into other kinds of jewelry. Some scarabs were created for political or diplomatic purposes to commemorate or advertise royal achievements. Additionally, scarabs held religious significance and played a role in Egyptian funerary practices.

Dating and evolution

Likely due to their connections to the Egyptian god

Khepri Khepri (Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''ḫprj,'' also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced Egyptian pantheon, god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also repres ...

, amulets in the form of scarab beetles became enormously popular in Ancient Egypt by the early Middle Kingdom (approx. 2000 BC) and remained popular for the rest of the pharaonic period and beyond. Starting in the

middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, other ancient peoples of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

imported scarabs from Egypt and also produced scarabs in Egyptian or local styles, especially in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

. By the end of the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...

(about 2055 BC) scarabs had become extremely common. They largely replaced

cylinder seals A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in width, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

and circular "button seals" with simple geometric designs. Throughout the period in which they were made, scarabs were often engraved with the names of pharaohs and other royal figures. In the Middle Kingdom, scarabs were also engraved with the names and titles of officials, to be used as official seals. During the

New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

and Third Intermediate Period, scarabs with short prayers or mottos became popular, though these scarabs are somewhat difficult to translate. There are also scarabs that depict hunting scenes.

Description and materials

Scarabs were typically carved or molded in the form of a scarab beetle (usually identified as ''

Scarabaeus sacer ''Scarabaeus sacer'', common name sacred scarab, is the type species of the genus ''Scarabaeus'' and the family Scarabaeidae. This dung beetle is native of southern Europe, northern Africa and western Asia, and it was venerated in ancient Egypt. ...

'') with varying degrees of naturalism but usually at least indicating the head, wing case and legs but with a flat base. The base was usually inscribed with designs or

hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters.I ...

to form an

. They were usually drilled from end to end to allow them to be strung on a thread or incorporated into a swivel ring. The common length for standard scarabs is between 6 mm and 40 mm and most are between 10 mm and 20 mm. Larger scarabs were made from time to time for particular purposes, such as the

commemorative scarabs of Amenhotep III The commemorative scarabs of Amenhotep III were issued to commemorate the deeds of the pharaoh during his reign. Such scarabs were found in several archaeological sites of the Near East, from Syria to Sudan. Over two hundred of them are known to ...

. Scarabs were generally either carved from stone, or molded from

Egyptian faience Egyptian faience is a sintered-quartz ceramic material from Ancient Egypt. The sintering process "covered he materialwith a true vitreous coating" as the quartz underwent vitrification, creating a bright lustre of various colours "usually in ...

, a type of Ancient Egyptian sintered-quartz ceramic. Once carved, they would typically be glazed blue or green and then fired. The most common stone used for scarabs was a form of

steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in subdu ...

, a soft stone that becomes hard when fired (forming

enstatite Enstatite is a mineral; the magnesium endmember of the pyroxene silicate mineral series enstatite (MgSiO3) – ferrosilite (FeSiO3). The magnesium rich members of the solid solution series are common rock-forming minerals found in igneous and m ...

), or porcelain. In contrast, hardstone scarabs most commonly were composed of green

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

and

carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...

From the late

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

onwards, scarab rings developed from simple scarabs tied to fingers with threads into rings with scarab bezels in the Middle Kingdom, and further into rings with cast scarabs in the

, typically strung on gold wire rather than string. Bezels emerged during the Old Kingdom period, often as amulets which were meant to represent Ra, the Egyptian solar god. Scarabs used for jewelry and rings were often composed of glazed steatite, which was a popular medium in ancient Egypt, though the glaze on many of these rings has been eroded over time due to weathering. While the majority of scarabs would originally have been green or blue, much of the colored glazes have become discolored or erased by the elements over time, leaving most steatite scarabs appearing white or brown.

Religious and historical significance

In ancient Egypt, the Scarab Beetle was a highly significant symbolic representation of the divine manifestation of the morning sun. The Egyptian god

was believed to roll the sun across the sky each day at daybreak. In a similar fashion, some beetles of the family

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly tre ...

use their legs to roll dung into balls. Ancient Egyptians believed this action was symbolic of the sun's east to west journey across the sky. Thus, the scarab was seen as a reflection of the eternal cycle of life and was characterized as representing the idea of rebirth and regeneration. The scarab has ties to themes of manifestation and growth, and scarabs have been found all across Egypt which originate from many different periods in Egyptian history. Scarabs have also been found inside of sunken ships, like one discovered in Uluburun, Turkey, which was inscribed with the name of the Egyptian queen

Nefertiti Nefertiti () () was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Great Royal Wife, great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious poli ...

. This scarab was among many luxury items excavated from the wreckage. Its unique inscription provides a framework of time for when the sinking took place. This discovery gives ancient historians insight into the nature of Bronze Age trading goods and commercial networks of exchange within the Mediterranean.

Types of scarabs

Funerary

Scarab amulets were sometimes placed in tombs as part of the deceased's personal effects or jewelry, though not all scarabs had an association with ancient Egyptian funerary practices. There are, however, three types of scarabs that seem to be specifically related to ancient funerary practices: ''heart scarabs'', ''pectoral scarabs'' and ''naturalistic scarabs''. Heart Scarab of Hatnefer MET 36

Heart scarabs became popular in the early

and remained in use until the

Third Intermediate Period The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...

. They are typically 4 cm-12 cm long, and are often made from dark green or black stone not pierced for suspension. The heart was the most significant internal organ to ancient Egyptians, as they believed it to be the center of intellect and the mind. Therefore, the heart was left inside the deceased's body during the mummification process, while the other viscera were removed for separate preservation. To determine safe passage into the underworld, ancient Egyptians performed the "weighing of the heart" rite, which utilized heart scarabs. Heart scarabs were often hung around the mummy's neck with a gold wire and the scarab itself was held in a gold frame. The base of a heart scarab was usually carved, either directly or on a gold plate fixed to the base, with

which name the deceased and repeat some or all of spell 30B from the

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...

. The spell commands the deceased's heart not to give evidence against the deceased when he/she is being judged by the gods of the underworld. From the Twenty-fifth Dynasty onwards, large (typically 3–8 cm long), relatively flat uninscribed pectoral scarabs were sewn together with a pair of separately made outstretched wings, onto the chests of mummies via holes formed at the edge of the scarab. Pectoral scarabs appear to be associated with the god

, who is often depicted in the same form. Egyptian - Naturalistic Scarab - Walters 42366 - Right

Naturalistic scarabs are relatively small (typically 2 cm to 3 cm long), made from a wide variety of hardstones and Egyptian Faience, and are distinguished from other scarabs by their naturalistic carved three dimensional bases, which often also include an integral suspension loop running widthways. Groups of these funerary scarabs, often made from different materials, formed part of the battery of amulets which were believed by ancient Egyptians to protect mummies throughout the Late Period. Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died and underwent their final judgement, the gods of the underworld would ask many detailed and intricate questions which had to be answered precisely and ritually, according to the

. Since many ancient Egyptians were illiterate, even placing a copy of this scroll in their coffin would not be enough to protect them from judgment for giving a wrong answer. As a result, the priests would read the questions and their appropriate answers to the beetle, which would then be killed, mummified, and placed in the ear of the deceased. It was believed that when the gods then asked their questions, the ghostly scarab would whisper the correct answer into the ear of the supplicant, who could then answer the gods wisely and correctly.

Commemorative

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

(the immediate predecessor of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

) is famed for having commemorative scarabs manufactured. These were large (mostly between 3.5 cm and 10 cm long) and made of steatite, a grayish-green or brown colored talc. These scarabs were intricately crafted, created under royal supervision, and carried lengthy inscriptions describing one of five important events in his reign (all of which mention his queen,

Tiye Tiye (c. 1398 BC – 1338 BC, also spelled Tye, Taia, Tiy and Tiyi) was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III, mother of pharaoh Akhenaten and grandmother of pharaoh Tutankhamun; her parents were Yuya and Thuya. In 2010 ...

). More than 200 of these have survived, and the locations in which they have been discovered suggest they were sent out as royal gifts and propaganda in support of Egyptian diplomatic activities. The crafting of these large scarabs was a continuation of an earlier

Eighteenth Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

tradition of making scarabs to celebrate specific royal achievements, such as the erection of

obelisks An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' rotisserie, spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called Obelisk (hieroglyph), ...

at major temples during the reign of Thuthmosis III. This tradition was revived centuries later during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, when the

Kushite The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; ''Ecōš''; ''Kūš''), also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered a ...

pharaoh

Shabaka Neferkare Shabaka, or Shabako ( Meroitic: 𐦰𐦲𐦡𐦐𐦲 (sha-ba-ka), Egyptian: 𓆷𓃞𓂓 ''šꜣ bꜣ kꜣ'', Assyrian: ''Ša-ba-ku-u'', Šabakû ) was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned fr ...

(721–707 BC) had large scarabs made to commemorate his victories in imitation of those previously produced for Amenhotep III.

Royal name

Scarabs are often found inscribed with the names of pharaohs and more rarely with the names of their queens and other members of the royal family. Generally, there is a correlation between how long a king or queen ruled and how many scarabs have been found bearing one or more of their names. Famously, a golden scarab of

was discovered in the Uluburun ship wreck. Most scarabs bearing a royal name can reasonably be dated to the period in which the person named lived. However, there are a number of important exceptions. Scarabs have been found bearing the names of pharaohs of the

(particularly of well-known kings such as

Khufu Khufu or Cheops (died 2566 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his ...

, Khafre and

Unas Unas or Wenis, also spelled Unis (, Hellenization, hellenized form Oenas or Onnos; died 2345), was a pharaoh, king, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Unas reigned for 15 to 3 ...

). It is now believed these were produced in later periods, most probably during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty or

Twenty-sixth Dynasty The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...

, when there was considerable interest in and imitation of the works of well-established kings of the past. Scarab with the Throne Names of Thutmoses III and Hatshepsut MET eg27

Scarab with the Throne Names of Thutmoses III and Hatshepsut MET eg27

Scarabs have also been found in vast numbers bearing the throne name of the

King

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

(1504–1450 BC) ''Men Kheper Re.'' Many of these scarabs date from the long and successful reign of this warrior pharaoh or shortly thereafter, but the majority do not. Like all pharaohs, Thuthmosis was regarded as a god after his death. Unlike most pharaohs, his cult, centered on his mortuary temple, seems to have continued for years, if not centuries. As a result, many scarabs bearing the inscription ''Men Kheper Re'' are likely to commemorate Thuthmosis III but may have been produced hundreds of years later. Later pharaohs adopted the same throne name (including Piye of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, 747–716 BC) leading to some confusion. The hieroglyphs making ''Men Kheper Re'' seem to have become regarded as a protective charm in themselves and were inscribed on scarabs without any specific reference to Thuthmosis III. It can be doubted that in many cases the carver understood the meaning of the inscription but reproduced it blindly. On a lesser scale the same may be true of the throne name of

Rameses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, he is often re ...

(1279–1212 BC) ''User Maat Re'' ("the justice of Ra is powerful"), which is commonly found on scarabs which otherwise do not appear to date from his reign. The birth names of pharaohs were also popular names among private individuals and so, for example, a scarab simply bearing the name " Amenhotep" need not be associated with any particular king who also bore that name. The significance of a scarab bearing a royal name is unclear and probably changed over time and from scarab to scarab. Many may simply have been made privately in honor of a ruler during or after his lifetime. Some may also have been royal gifts. In some cases, scarabs with royal names may have been official seals or badges of office, perhaps connected with the royal estates or household. Others, although relatively few, may have been personal seals owned by the royal individual named on them. As the king fulfilled many different roles in ancient Egyptian society, so scarabs naming a pharaoh may have had a direct or indirect connection with a wide range of private and public activities.

Name and title

During the late Middle Kingdom, changes in the administration led to scarabs being inscribed with the names and titles of non-royal individuals, usually officials. These scarabs exhibit precision unmatched in other periods, including early Middle Kingdom,

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

, and start of the

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

. Although the scarab ceased its utilitarian use as a personal seal soon after the collapse of the Middle Kingdom, it retained its religious and magical importance throughout the dynastic period.

Canaanite

Canaanite scarabs imitate contemporary Egyptian late Middle Kingdom designs, while also introducing new decorative elements and symbols. Scarabs made by Canaanite artisans show extensive use of linear and cross hatching on the bodies of the various figures, representations of native animals, and the use of the

palm branch The palm branch, or palm frond, is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm ''(Phoenix (plant), Phoenix)'' was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and in ancient E ...

. Anra scarabs are scarab seals dating to the

. As anra scarabs have overwhelmingly been found in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

(~80%), it has been suggested it was marketed by the contemporaneous

15th Dynasty The Fifteenth Dynasty was a foreign dynasty of ancient Egypt. It was founded by Salitis, a Hyksos from West Asia whose people had invaded the country and conquered Lower Egypt. The 15th, Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 16th, and Seventeenth Dynasty o ...

for the

Canaanites {{Cat main, Canaan See also: * :Ancient Israel and Judah Ancient Levant Hebrew Bible nations Ancient Lebanon 0050 Ancient Syria Wikipedia categories named after regions 0050 0050 Phoenicia Amarna Age civilizations ...

Phoenician

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n seal engravers adopted the scarab from the Egyptians in the period of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

empire, from the later sixth century BC to the mid-fourth century BC. The majority of these scarabs have been unearthed in the western Phoenician (

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

) burial grounds of

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, and

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

, with numerous others originating in the

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

. The city of

Tharros Tharros (also spelled Tharras, , , ''Tárrai/Tárras''; ) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy. It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeological site near the village of San Giovanni d ...

on Sardinia was a major center of production and distribution, and scarabs were transported to the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

in the 5th century by Greek and Phoenician merchants. The Etruscan scarab was most popular in

Vulci Vulci or Volci ( Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis wrote, "Vulci is a city whose very name... was scarcely remembered, ...

and

Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscans, Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropolis, necropoleis, or cemeteries. Tarquinia was designated as a ...

from the last decades of the 6th century BC. Phoenician scarabs were carved with not only Egyptian themes, but also Etruscan and western Greek imagery. The innovations include Egyptianizing (the standard of Phoenicia), native Levantine (more

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

in style and subject matter), and Hellenizing (mainly following late Archaic Greek subject matter and styles, also called Graeco-Phoenician).

Gallery

File:Scarab of king Tut-E 22807-Egypte louvre 148.jpg, alt=Signet ring, with cartouche of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun :'Perfect God, Lord of the Two Lands' – ('Neter-Nefer, Neb-taui'),

Signet ring A seal is a device for making an impression in Sealing wax, wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an Paper embossing, embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or ...

, with cartouche of the Pharaoh

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

File:Mold for a Scarab MET LC-11 215 684 EGDP026608.jpg, Mould for a scarab, MET File:Scarab550bc.jpg, A modern scarab produced for the tourist trade. File:Tutankhamun pendant with Wadjet.jpg, A pendant in the shape of a winged scarab carrying the

Eye of Horus The Eye of Horus, also known as left ''wedjat'' eye or ''udjat'' eye, specular to the Eye of Ra (right ''wedjat'' eye), is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from th ...

, from the treasury of Tut's tomb File:Carnelian scarab MET DP111342.jpg, Carnelian Etruscan scarab 500–450 BC File:Sheshi scarabs locations.png, Sheshi royal scarab locations in the Levant, Egypt and Nubia. Scarabs are the only evidence for his reign File:Scarabgenera.png, Scarab genera, Petrie "Scarabs" File:Scarabsymmetry.png, Introduction of symmetry, scarabs, Petrie "A History of Egypt"

Literary and popular culture reference

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

's first Blandings novel – ''

Something Fresh ''Something Fresh'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as ''Something New'' in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on 3 September 1915.McIlvaine, E., Sherby, L.S. and Heineman, J.H. (1990) ''P. G. Wodehouse: A comprehensive ...

'' (1915) – involves the pilfering of a rare Egyptian scarab (a " Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty") as a key plot device. * In British crime novelist

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

's novel '' Murder Must Advertise'' a catapulted scarab is the murder weapon. * The rock band Journey uses various types of scarabs as their main logo and in the cover art of the albums '' Departure'', '' Captured'', '' Escape'', ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'', '' Arrival'', '' Generations'', ''

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

'', and '' The Essential Journey.'' * The Dutch print-maker

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; ; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were Mathematics and art, inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular int ...

(1898–1972) created a wood engraving in 1935 depicting two scarabs or

dung beetle Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. All species of dung beetle belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scara ...

s. * In Stephen Sommers' '' The Mummy'' (1999), the scarab is used as a deadly, ancient beetle that eats the internal and external organs, killing whom ever it comes into contact with. * In ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' episode Queen of the Nile, the main character Pamela Morris has an ancient scarab beetle amulet that can drain the youth of anyone she places it on, enabling her to remain young forever. Morris tells her final victim that she got it from "the pharaohs, who understood its power." * In Disney's animated movie ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'', the location of the Cave of Wonders is revealed when two halves of a scarab beetle are joined. * Scarabs are used as the monetary unit of planet Sauria (originally known as Dinosaur Planet) in the 2002 video game '' Star Fox Adventures''. * Scarabs appear in droves in '' Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation''. They deal damage to Lara Croft throughout the game. * In '' Dungeons and Dragons'', there is a magic item called the ''Scarab of Protection''. It protects its wearer against deathly curses and similar effects, usually caused by undead monsters and necromancy. However, each scarab can only stop so many of these attacks before it is destroyed, crumbling to dust.

References

Sources

* Andrews, Carol, 1994. ''Amulets of Ancient Egypt,'' chapter 4: ''Scarabs for the living and funerary Scarabs,'' pp. 50–59, Andrews, Carol, 1993, University of Texas Press; (softcover, ) * * * Blankenberg-van Delden, C., 1969.
The large commemorative Scarabs of Amenhotep III
'. Documenta et Monumenta Orientis Antiqui, Vol. 15. Leiden: E.J. Brill. . * Budge, 1977, (1926). ''The Dwellers on the Nile,''

E. A. Wallis Budge Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (27 July 185723 November 1934) was an English Egyptology, Egyptologist, Orientalism, Orientalist, and Philology, philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient ...

, (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 265–268: ''"account of the hunting of wild cattle by Amenhetep III"'', "taken from a great Scarab"; (there are 16

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), ...

s-(lines) of hieroglyphs); (softcover, ) * * Kerrigan, Michael. "Tiy's Wedding Scarab." The Ancients in Their Own Words. N.p.: Fall River, 2009. 54–55. Print. * With forty-four plates and one hundred and sixteen illustrations. * * Schulz, R., Seidel, M. ''Egypt, The World of the Pharaohs,'' Eds. Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel, (w/ 34 contributing Authors), (Konemann, Germany), c 1998. ''( 2 ) Scarab seals,'' (as

s), (Top/Bottom, 1.5 cm), and ''"Commemorative Scarab"'' of

, (Top/Bottom hieroglyphs), p. 353. (hardcover, ) * * * Ward, John, and F. L. Griffith. The Sacred Beetle: A Popular Treatise on Egyptian Scarabs in Art and History. Five hundred examples of Scarabs and cylinders, the translations by F. Llewellyn Griffith. London: John Murray, 1902.

External links

1.1 cm Scaraboid impression seal.
Hapi, Nile god holding Water-vessel, and kneeling on

hieroglyph Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

for ''"Lord"'', "Lord of the Nile". (Click on picture. Top, and bottom views.)
'Positive-impression' cowrie-Scaraboid.
''Collection of Ten'' Scaraboid seals. (Click on picture. Top, and bottom views.)
Hatshepsut: from Queen to Pharaoh
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains a significant amount of material on Scarabs (see index)
Scarab Beetles and the people of Ancient Egypt
Great video on Scarab Beetles.
Heart Scarab Amulet
Picture of a Heart Scarab Amulet from the British Museum
Scarab-Meaning
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarab (Artifact) Egyptian amulets Egyptian artefact types Ancient Egyptian symbols Egyptian hieroglyphs: invertebrates and lesser animals Seals (insignia) Insects in culture Insects in religion Beetles and humans