Scarab Self Generation Resurrection Renewal

[Nubian Zuri*]

The Scarab represented - Self-Generation, Resurrection and Renewal.

The scarab was based on the image of the dung beetle, or Scarabeus Sacer, and it was used by the ancient Egyptians for many purposes such as recording historical events or inscribing prayers to be placed on mummies for protection against evil.

Scarabs were also used as seals by officials. The writing would be inscribed on the base (flat side) of the scarab, and sizes varied from several centimeters to several meters long. It was not really until Pharaoh Amenhotep III's reign that the scarabs were made extra large (up to 2.5 metres long in the Karnak Temple!).

Scarabs were made from a wide variety of materials such as carnelian, lapis lazuli, basalt, limestone, schist, turquoise, ivory, resin, steatite, and bronze. Most scarabs were made of steatite which was then covered with a turquoise coloured glaze. The stone was soft and easy to work, but when glazed, it became hard and durable.

In the 12th dynasty, amethyst was used for the first time (a very hard material). Gold and silver scarabs have also been found, but are much rarer, because of grave robbers. The Greeks used onyx, agate, and quartz in making their scarabs. These materials were not used in Egypt until the Ptolemaic period, when Greek influence on Egyptian life was at a peak. The Greeks also had more advanced technology (in some areas) and could therefore work hard materials with greater ease than the Egyptians could.

Heart scarabs were placed next to the heart after the body was mummified. The scarabs were usually made of green stone, and could range in size from 3 to 10 cm. On almost all of the scarabs, chapter 30B from the Book of the Dead was inscribed. In this chapter, the dead person asks his heart not to testify against him during the Weighing of The Heart Ceremony (whether he has commited a sin or not). In other cases, heart scarabs were used for just general protection from evil during the journey to the Afterlife.

Heart scarabs were always made of some green material, usually green jasper. This stone is actually quite rare and difficult to cut, so in many cases other types of rock were used as substitutes, for example green feldspar, basalt, and serpentine. The reason why green was used was that it symbolised resurrection and health.

The Phoenicians lived in the area which we now call Lebanon and the Egyptians had a very strong bond with these people both politically and comercially. After some time the Egyptians started to influence the Phoenician culture, bringing the scarab into their art.

The first scarab from Phoenicia was made in the 8th century BC (approximately the 23rd dynasty). As the Phoenicians themselves were clever traders and posessed several colonies, they spread the scarab throughout the Mediterranean, bringing it to all major ports along their trade routes. The Greeks started using the scarab as well, and as a result, the scarab made it onto mainland Europe, into areas where the dung beetle had never lived.

The Greeks settled in Etruria in the mid-sixth century BC. They soon started to influence the Etruscans (the native civilisation of Etruria). The Greeks taught them how to make scarabs, but the Etruscans did not use the scarab as a seal. Instead they used them for ornamentation in everyday life.

As the scarab traveled throughout Europe and Asia by trade, war and politics, its purpose changed. Originally used as a symbol for birth and rebirth, it quickly evolved to becoming an amulet for protective purposes (used in many completely different religions), a seal for officials and later only for decorative purposes.





Scarab - Dung Beetle

Dung Beetles can be found in many parts of the world, though we tend to identify them with ancient Egypt.

Dung beetles belong to the family Scarabaeidae and are also known as scarabs. They are scavengers, which feed on dung and other decaying organic matter, and play an invaluable role in keeping the veld clean. The ancient Egyptians revered them as a symbol of renewed life.

They are small to large, usually stout-bodied, and are easily recognized by the 3 to 7 segmented fan-like antennal club. Their legs are powerful, particularly the front legs, which are armed with teeth on the outer edge. In some species the legs are adapted to rolling balls of dung to a suitable soft spot, and for digging holes in which the dung is buried. The buried dung serves as a source of food for adult beetles, and also for the larvae when they hatch from eggs laid on the dung-balls.

The larvae, also called 'white grubs', are greyish-white to bluish-white in color, C-shaped, and also feed on decaying organic matter, such as tree stumps, and the roots of plants.

All dung beetles are scarabs, but not all scarabs are dung beeties. For instance, the protea beetle (Trichostetha fascicularis) gathers nectar from various species

[Nubian Zuri*]

Dung beetles - Scarabs - push by the light of the Moon

Nature Magazine - July 2003

An African beetle relies on moonlight's polarisation to roll its dungball in a straight line, researchers have discovered.

Several species, including some insects, spiders and even birds, orientate themselves by the plane of the sun's rays. But this is the first time that an animal has been shown to use moonlight - which is around a million times dimmer - as a compass.

Dacke and her colleagues discovered that beetles chart a straight course only on moonlit nights. Without the Moon, they meander randomly.

To test whether the beetles use light polarization, rather than the position of the Moon, to maintain a steady bearing, the researchers made sure the insects could not see the Moon. They then placed a polarizing filter over a ball-rolling beetle to turn its light through 90º.

The beetles made an abrupt turn either to the left or the right. This shows that the bugs use the sky's polarized moonlight to follow a straight course, but not to tell left from right.