! Egyptian The Egyptians called the scarabæus Che. name for the beetle. perà, and the god whom this insect represented was called beetle on his head, and sometimes he has a beetle, with or without outstretched wings, in the place of a head.' The god The Chepers was the “father of the gods,” and the creator of all an emblem of things in heaven and earth. He made himself out of the Chepera. matter which he himself produced. He was identified with the rising sun, and thus typified resurrection and new birth generally. The word de f which is usually translated "to exist, to become, to make,” also means "to roll," and the "roller," or "revolver," was a fitting name for the sun, according to the Egyptian ideas of that luminary. The abstract noun 01 | cheperu, may very well be rendered by "evolutions." Classes of Scarabs may, for convenience of consideration, be divided scarab. into three classes :- 1. Funereal scarabs; 2. Scarabs worn for ornament; 3. Historical scarabs. Of the first class the greater number found measure from half to two inches in length, and they are made generally of faïence or steatite, glazed blue or green; granite, basalt, jasper, amethyst, lapis. lazuli, ruby, carnelian, and in the Roman period glass also, are often used. Upon the flat base of the scarab the Egyptians engraved the names of gods, kings, priests, officials, private persons, monograms, and floral and other devices. Sometimes the base of the scarab takes the form of a heart, and sometimes the scarab is united with the u'tat , or eye of Horus ; it is also found united with a frog, the emblem of “myriads” and of “revivification.” Rarely the back of the scarab is ornamented with a pattern made up of a number of small scarabs. Such small scarabs were set in rings, and placed upon the fingers of the dead, or were wrapped up in the linen bandages with which the mummy was swathed over the heart. They represented the belief of the Egyptians in the revivification of the body, and " See Lanzone, Dizionario, pl. cccxxix. tion of in the renewed life after death, which was typified by the the) Sun, who renewed his life daily. Among funereal scarabs must be mentioned those of Descripgreen basalt, which were specially made to be laid upon funereal the breasts of mummies. Of this class there are many scarab. varieties, but the form most approved by the Egyptians seems to have consisted of a scarab of fine, hard basalt, let into a gold border, to which was attached a fine gold wire for hanging round the neck. The folds of the wings of the beetles were indicated either by lines of gold painted on the back, or by pieces of gold inlaid therein. Occasionally, the scarab itself is let into a mount of solid gold (B.M. No. 7876), and sometimes the scarab is joined to a heart, and pierced for suspension, the heart being ornamented with hieroglyphics meaning “life, stability, and protection” fi$ (B.M. No. 7925). On the back of the scarab we at times have a figure of a bennu bird and the inscription 10 “the mighty heart of Rā” (B.M. No. 7878), at others the boat of the Sun Lee, utats RR, the bennu or phạenix S, and Ra (B.M. No. 7883); and sometimes the scarab is human-headed (B.M. Nos. 15,516 and 7999). One instance is known where the back of the scarab is ornamented with incised figures of Greek deities (B.M. No. 7966). In late times this class of scarab was made of blue and green faïence, and inserted in pectorals of the same material, upon which were painted the boat of the sun, and figures of Isis and Nephthys, one at each end of the boat; the scarab occupied the middle of the boat (B.M. Nos. 7864 and 7865). The bases of large funereal scarabs were usually inscribed with the text of the 30th chapter of the Book of the Dead, but this was not always the case. Some scarabs have only scenes of the deceased adoring Osiris (B.M. No. 7931), and others figures of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys (B.M. Nos. 7930, 15,500 and 15,507). At times Descripthe inscriptions are merely written with gold or ink (B.M. funereal Nos. 7915 and 15,518). As such scarabs formed part of scarabs. the stock-in-trade of the Egyptian undertaker, the names of the persons with whom they were buried are not found inscribed upon them, although blank spaces are left (B.M. No. 7877); frequently scarabs have neither figures nor inscriptions upon their bases. A remarkable example of funereal scarab is B.M. No. 18,190, which was taken from the mummy of Thothmes III., found at Dêr el-Bahari. This object is made of steatite, glazed a greenish (purple in some places) colour. A frame of gold runs round the base, the two sides of which are joined by a band of the same metal across the back; a thin layer of gold covered the back, but parts of this are hidden by the remains of the mummy cloth which adhere to it. The base is inscribed with a figures of Thothmes III., kneeling ; on his head is the crown , in the right hand he holds the whip A, and with the left he is making an offering. Before him is a dog (?) seated, and behind him a hawk. Above is the sign 1 nefer, and the legend“ Rā-men-cheper, triumphant before the gods for ever." ocus on 28 The surface of the base was covered with a layer of gold, parts of which still remain. This scarab is 3 inches long. On the upper end of the gold frame was a loop by which the scarab, by means of a chain, was attached to a bronze collar round the neck of the mummy. The chapter from the Book of the Dead called 30B by M. Naville (Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch, pl. xliii.), engraved upon scarabs, is one of a series of seven chapters, relating to the heart, which are entitled : Chap. 26. Chapter of giving a heart to N.' in the underworld. Chaps, 27, 28 and 29. Chapter of not allowing his heart to be carried off from him in the underworld. Chap. 29B. Another chapter of a heart of carnelian. Chaps. 30A and 30 B. Chapter of not allowing to be repulsed the heart of N. in the underworld. According to a papyrus in Berlin, Bain Naville's edition, chap. 26 is entitled “Chapter of a heart of lapis-lazuli (0) The chapters of the heart. 1 N. = name of the person for whom the scarab or papyrus was made. chesbet)”; chap. 27, “Chapter of a heart of opal (?), MAAL? neshem)”; chap. 29 B, “ Chapter of a heart of carnelian (?) (9 sehert)”; and chap. 30 B, “Chapter of a heart of green jasper (oad meht).” The most important of these chapters is the 30th, which exists in two different versions, called 30A and 30B, but it appears that the former was never inscribed upon scarabs. According to the rubric found in a papyrus at Parma (see Naville, Todtenbuch, ' Bd. ii. bl. 99), this chapter was found during the reign of Mycerinus in Hermopolis, under the feet of the majesty of this god, by Heru-țā-țā-f his son. This interesting text reads :in ! finding met her xeper meḥ - f mesesbeb em chapter To be said a scarab of green jasper bound round with heart. S het ertău The of a en of the over 16 o III smu em en @ qementu Was found xu a blessed one over em xex f throat his. pen chapter this in Hermopolis under the feet of the majesty of god this, {[inscribed } 342017 MOD 91 t'esef em ha en suten net the time 원 lo hen } Heru - tā - tā - f the royal son Heru - tātā - f. RM 090 såp inspection Rā-men-kau ån suten se su em ua f er qein Found årit make pau temples. Chapter 30 B belongs to the Psychostasia, in which the { Here deceased me } in the underworld. Says he, “ O Heart mine of i Goodwin, On a text of the Book of the Dead belonging to the Old Kingdom, in Aeg. Zeitschrift, 1866, p. 55; Lepsius, Das Todtenbuch, p. 12. · Naville, Das Todtenbuch, bl. xliii. |