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On observing Scarab beetles rolling their
balls of dung in which they lay their
eggs, and burying them underground ancient
Egyptians believed the sun moved around
the sky in the same way, and like the
ball of dung, descended into the under
world at night. As the ball of dung gave
birth to another generation of beetles
so was the sun reborn every morning bringing
warmth and life to the earth.
The
Egyptians called Scarab beetles Khepera,
who was the god representing regeneration,
new life, virility and resurrection. He
was sometimes shown with outstretched
wings but the most common forms were the
little amulets worn as ornaments or buried
with the dead. The reverse of the Scarab
is often inscribed with name of kings,
and these were made and worn as much as
a thousand years after the death of the
kings whose names they bear.
Many
of the kings themselves took the name
of Kheper as part of their own name. For
example Tutankhamun's throne-name was
Neb Kheperu Ra. This means 'The Lord of
forms is Ra' this is the name the people
of his time would have known him by. The
name Tutankhamun is more personal and
less important.
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