n.
In Egyptian religion , a symbol of immortality much used in funerary art.
It was inspired by the life cycle of the scarab beetle ; the dung balls that the beetles consume, lay their eggs in, and use to feed their young represented a cycle of rebirth and were associated with immortality and with the passage of the sun across the heavens. Many scarabs were made of precious metals and were worn as amulets or used as seals. First appearing 0441; 2575 0441; 2130 BC, they were fashioned in great numbers during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom.
Scarab commemorating the marriage of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy, 18th dynasty; in the Oriental ...
Courtesy of the Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago