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Scarab beetles |
The
ancient Egyptians observed Scarab beetles
rolling their balls of dung in which they lay
their eggs, and burying them underground. They
thought the sun was rolled around the sky in the
same way, and like the ball of dung, the sun
descended down into the under world each night.
As the ball of dung gave birth to another
generation of beetles
so the sun was reborn each morning bringing
warmth and life to the earth.
The Egyptians called Scarab beetles Khepera. He
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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