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SCARAB (Lat. scarabaeus, connected wi...

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 301 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SCARAB (Lat. scarabaeus, connected with Gr. K6.pa(3or)

SCARAB (See also:
LAT
Lat. scarabaeus, connected with Gr. K6.pa(3or) , literally a See also:

BEETLE (O. Eng. bityl; connected with " bite ")

beetle, and derivatively an See also:

EGYPTIAN

Egyptian See also:

SYMBOL (Gr. o-uµ(3oXov, a sign)

symbol in the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of a beetle. The Egyptian hieroglyph g pictures a dung beetle (scarabaeus sacer) , which See also:

LAYS

lays its See also:

egg in a See also:

ball of dung, and may be seen on sandy slopes in hot See also:

SUNSHINE

sunshine compacting the pellet by pushing it backward uphill with its See also:

HIND

hind legs and allowing it to See also:

roll down again, eventually reaching a See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of See also:

DEPOSIT (Lat. depositurn, from deponere, to lay down, to put in the care of)

deposit. Whatever the Egyptians may have understood by its actions, they compared its pellet to the globe of the See also:

sun. The beetle is See also:

COMMON

common on both shores of the Mediterranean; the Egyptian name was kheperer, kheperi, and the sign spelt the verb khopi(r) meaning " become " and perhaps " create," also the substantive " phenomenon " or " marvel." The See also:

INSECT

insect was sacred to the sun-See also:

god in his form kiteperi at See also:

HELIOPOLIS

Heliopolis, and has been found mummified. A See also:

COLOSSAL

colossal scarabaeus of See also:

GRANITE (adapted from the Ital. granite, grained; Lat. granum, grain)

granite in the See also:

BRITISH

British Museum probably came from the See also:

temple of Heliopolis. The scarabaeus was much used in Egyptian religions, appearing sometimes with outstretched wings or with a See also:

ram's See also:

head and horns as the vivifying soul. It is often seen in this See also:

guise on coffins of the New See also:

KINGDOM

Kingdom and later, when it also became the See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom to place in the bandages of the See also:

MUMMY (from the Persian mumiai, pitch or asphalt)

mummy a large See also:

stone scarab engraved with a See also:

CHAPTER (a shortened form of chapiter, a word still used in architecture for a capital; derived from O. Fr. chapitre, Lat. capitellum, diminutive of caput, head)

chapter of the See also:

BOOK

Book of the Dead. This chapter, the 64th, identified the See also:

OBJECT

object with the See also:

heart of the deceased and conjured it not to betray him in the See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment before See also:

OSIRIS

Osiris. A winged scarab might also be laid on the See also:

BREAST (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. the Ger. Brust, possibly connected with an O. Sax. brustian, to bud)

breast; and later a number of scarabs were placed about the See also:

BODY

body. These are often of hard stone and of See also:

FINE

fine workmanship. Another and even more important class of Egyptian antiquities is in the form of scarabs, pierced longitudinally for a swivel or for threading, and having the bases See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat and engraved with designs.

These were intended principally for See also:

SEALS

seals, but might also be used as beads or ornaments. They are thus found, engraved or See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, strung on necklaces, and See also:

AMETHYST

amethyst scarabs with plain bases are common articles of See also:

MIDDLE

Middle Kingdom See also:

JEWELRY (O. Fr. jouel, Fr. joyau, perhaps from joie, joy; Lat. gaudium; retranslated into Low Lat. jocale, a toy, from jocus, by misapprehension of the origin of the word)

jewelry. But the employment of scarabs as seals is proved by the impressions found on sealed documents of the Middle and New Kingdom; on several occasions the impressed See also:

clay seals alone have been found hardened and preserved by the See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire which had destroyed the archives themselves. The See also:

seal type of scarabaei is extremely abundant, and the designs engraved beneath them show endless variety. Some have See also:

INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions carefully executed, but frequently corrupted by illiterate copying until they became meaningless. The inscriptions are sometimes " mottoes " having reference to places, deities, &c., or containing words of See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

OMEN (a Latin word, either connected with os, mouth, or more probably with auris (Gr. ois, ear; apparently, meaning " a thing heard " or " spoken ")

omen or friendly wishes, e.g. " See also:

MEMPHIS

Memphis is mighty for ever," " See also:

Ammon protecteth," " See also:

MAT (O. Eng. meatt, from late Lat. mattes, whence Ital. mallet, Ger. and Dan. matte, Du. mat, &c.)

Mat give thee See also:

long See also:

LIFE

life," " See also:

BUBASTIS

Bubastis See also:

grant a good New See also:

YEAR

Year," " May thy name endure and a son be See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born thee." Such are of the New Kingdom or later. Names and titles of officials appear, most commonly in the Middle Kingdom. Historically the most valuable class is of those which See also:

bear royal arms, ranging from See also:

CHEOPS

Cheops of the IVth See also:

DYNASTY (Gr. &vvaareta, sovereignty, the position of a hevnori7r, lord, ruler, from SuvaaBay to be able, Suvaµas, power)

dynasty to the end of the XXVIth dynasty. Certain See also:

GREAT

great See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings are commemorated on scarabs of periods long subsequent to them. Thus Cheops (Khufu) may appear on an example of the latest Pharaonic See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, and Tethmosis III. is found at all times after the XVIIIth dynasty. But as a See also:

RULE

rule the royal names are of contemporary workmanship, and the See also:

DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences of See also:

style and See also:

PATTERN

pattern make it possible to See also:

GROUP

group unknown kings with those who are known historically; the names of the See also:

HYKSOS

Hyksos kings have been principally recovered from collections of scarab-seals.

Scarab-shaped seals are traceable as far back as about the VIth dynasty. They became abundant under the XIIth and continued until almost the end of the native rule. As seals they took the place of the earlier cylinders. Considering the life-See also:

HISTORY

history of the scarabaeus and its meaning as a hieroglyph, it may well be that the scarab impressing the clay had a symbolic significance; however that may be, the See also:

OVAL (Lat. ovum, egg)

oval form was well adapted for seal-stones and for the bezels of See also:

FINGER

finger rings. In this situation the scarabs were often mounted with a rim of See also:

gold or See also:

SILVER

silver See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round the edge. Rings of stone, See also:

glass or See also:

metal, with engraved bezels of the same material, and eventually See also:

Greek See also:

gem rings, gradually displaced them. A See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of exceptionally large scarabs was engraved in the reign of Amenophis I I I., c. 1450 B.C., all being inscribed with his name together with that of See also:

Queen Taia and her parentage. At See also:

PRESENT

present five varieties are known. The simplest commemorates his queen and the See also:

north and See also:

south limits of his See also:

EMPIRE

empire; another dated in the first year, a great See also:

BATTUE (from Fr. battre, to beat)

battue of See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle; the third, the arrival of the princess Gilukhipa of Mitanni in the tenth year; the See also:

FOURTH

fourth (many specimens), the number of lions slain by the See also:

king down to his tenth year; the last, the cutting of the See also:

lake of Zarukhe in the See also:

ELEVENTH

eleventh year. Egyptian scarabs were carried by See also:

trade to most of the islands and shores of the eastern Mediterranean and to See also:

MESOPOTAMIA (Mevoaora)

Mesopotamia. The Greeks, especially in their Egyptian See also:

COLONY (Lat. colonia, from colonus, a cultivator)

colony of See also:

NAUCRATIS

Naucratis (q.v.), imitated them in soft See also:

PASTE (O. Fr. paste, modern pate, Late Lat. pasta, whence also in Span., Port. and Ital., from Gr. 1r&vrrl or 1raara, barley porridge, or salted pottage, ir&ao'ety, to sprinkle with salt)

paste.

The finest See also:

ETRUSCAN

Etruscan gems of the 6th and 5th centuries B.c. are in the form of scarabs, perhaps suggested by the Egyptian. The forgers of antiquities have carried on a brisk trade in scarabs for more than a See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. See P. E. See also:

NEWBERRY, JOHN STRONG (1822-1892)

Newberry, Scarabs (See also:

LONDON

London, 1906); also See also:

art. GEM, especially for later scarabaeoid gems. (F. LL.

End of Article: SCARAB (Lat. scarabaeus, connected with Gr. K6.pa(3or)

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