The sacred space for the ancient Egyptian was not limited only to temple territory and sacred groves. For him, every little thing in everyday life, all the surrounding nature could teach a lot of valuable lessons and appear in the halo of sacredness. Thanks to this outlook, a symbol has appeared which, along with the pyramids and ankh, is associated with Egypt with us - scarab. Egyptian mysticism endowed it with divinity and holiness, and myths made it popular and recognizable.
The origins of the symbolism of scarab
To understand why a scarab is a sacred symbol, you need to start by saying a few words about its nature. So, a scarab is a black beetle with a metallic tint that feeds on manure. But he does it so unusual that he is really able to impress. The fact is that at first the beetle collects manure and rolls out of it a geometrically ideal sphere. This ball rolls back to the hole, where it spends the next few days scarab.
The photo just shows the process of transporting such a sphere. Such a ball often weighs more than the beetle itself. When the stock is eaten, the sacred scarab comes to the surface for a new portion of supplies. And that's not all. The same balls serve for reproduction: the sacred scarab beetle, buried in a burrow, transforms the scarab into a kind of pear, in which a larva lays a narrow part. The latter, developing, feed on the inside of the ball, but do not eat through its walls. When the time comes, and this happens in the spring, a new bug leaves the ball.
In addition to everything else, the sacred scarab always rolls the sphere only from east to west and nothing else. And this insect always flies in the midst of the day.
Scarab and its connection with the sun
Of course, the Egyptians, who paid so much attention to solar deities, could not but see a certain similarity in all this. As the sun travels its daily path from east to west, and then disappears in the darkness and reappears in the east, so the scarab rolls the sphere underground, then to return back for a new ball.
In addition, the sun, according to the Egyptians, is a sacred deity that brings life to everything, and after death - resurrection. Similarly, the cycle of development of a new insect inside the dung sphere, and its appearance in the world, were correlated with the death and resurrection of the sun.
From here comes the connection of the scarab with one of the ancient deities of the Egyptian pantheon - Khepri. By itself, this god personifies the morning rising sun. In theological understanding, he is one of the three hypostases of the sun god, along with Ra - the god of the daylight, and Atum, who was in charge of solar affairs from dusk to dawn.
In hieroglyphic writing, Khepri was portrayed as a man with a scarab head. His connection with this insect is deep and even reflected in the name itself, which literally means "Arisen from himself." This clearly shows the allusion to the scarab hatching from the dung sphere in the spring.
Solar theology and scarab
Khepri in the mythology of Egypt had a certain role in the creation of the world. The myth said that the entire visible universe was born when the ascendant Khepri uttered his name. God shares this role of the creator of the Universe with all the solar deities of the Egyptian pantheon.
Traditions about Khepri often correlate it with Atum. It was believed that Atum - the god of the night sun, personifying secret divine knowledge, manifests his strength through the morning rising sun - Khepri. Atum-Khepri is sometimes also identified with Amon, the innermost spirit of the sun giving birth to Ra, the visible sun and daylight.
The scarab took upon itself all this mythological burden and symbolism. Egypt and its mysteries endowed the latter with the properties of a deity associated with it. So, it was believed that Osiris is reborn in the form of a scarab and in this way leaves the nostrils of its own head, which is buried in Abydos.
There were also sacred poetic texts that called the scarab a god who dwells in the heart and protects the inner light. From here this symbol acted as a connecting link between the individual human soul and God, proclaimed their unity.
The role of the sacred scarab in the life of the ancient Egyptians
The sacred scarab, this important religious symbol, accompanied the Egyptians throughout their lives. They buried with the same talisman. The Egyptian religion proclaimed the immortality of the soul, which after the death of the body passed into another world, where it continued its journey. During human life, the beetle amulet was intended to bring good luck, prosperity, long life, protect the home, protect from troubles and demons, bring a rich harvest, and also help to win the favor of God and his protection.
Scarab and burial traditions
After death, a beetle figurine as a symbol of resurrection in another world and soul transformation accompanied the soul and imparted to it a divine impulse for a new life. When an Egyptian of aristocratic origin, whose body was supposed to be mummified, died, instead of a heart, an image of a scarab was put in a mummy. The latter was called to resurrect the deceased beyond the threshold of death. The Egyptians believed that the center and focus of human consciousness, and hence the habitat of the higher part of the soul, is in the region of the heart. Therefore, the scarab, located there, was the seed of a new life, the germ of rebirth. This custom was not static and, as is typical of traditions, was modified in different eras. However, its semantic load did not change over time. For example, sometimes instead of the figure of a beetle itself, a ceramic heart was made, and the symbol of a scarab with the names of deities was depicted on its surface.
The role of a scarab in the afterlife
There is another role played by the scarab embedded in the heart of the mummy. The photo above depicts the scene of the posthumous court of the human soul, as it was represented by the ancient Egyptians. Their myths describe this process through the image of weighing on the scales of the heart of the deceased. To inherit the best part in another world, the heart of the deceased should not be heavier than the feather of the goddess Maat - the goddess of wisdom and justice. Such a heart can possess only a pure, immaculate person whose conscience is not aggravated by the atrocities and crimes of earthly life. Otherwise, the soul went to receive retribution. The scarab, therefore, called on God as a witness to the soul and a just judge of conscience and the human heart. Probably, he was also considered a symbol of hope in divine mercy and hopes of condescension to the dead.
Scarab as a symbol of education
Among other things, the sacred scarab is also a symbol of learning and disciple. The beetle, which turns the viscous mass of manure into a perfect bowl, which subsequently gives life to both himself and his offspring, transforms a student who cultivates a good disposition and creates a perfect person, whose virtue, knowledge and wisdom will further equip his life and ensure the life of descendants .
Conclusion
The scarab is deeply rooted in the cultural space of Ancient Egypt, has become an important and ubiquitous symbol. Images of scarab are found throughout Egypt in a wide variety of versions. It was made of stones, clay, metal, ceramics, but items carved from a solar stone - heliotrope were especially valued. Such amulets were attributed a special magical power and strength.
Finished figures were covered with glaze and painted with paints. The scarab served as a cult object and decoration element on utensils and jewelry. Hieroglyphs, names of gods and sacred symbols were drawn and engraved on scarabs. Its significance was so great that so far, thousands of years after the extinction of ancient Egyptian culture, the scarab remains a recognizable and popular symbol of Egypt.