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Winged scarab 16th-14th centuries B.C. Carved basalt inlaid with coloured glass Diameter: 13.5-14.5 cm Characteristic of Egyptian religion was its multitude of explanations for any phenomenon. The movement of the Sun across the sky, for example, was explained as its sailing in a boat, but at the same time other images also existed. Among them was the idea of a solar disk being rolled by a scarab beetle. This picture may seem odd, but it came naturally to the Egyptians. The ball of dung in which such beetles lay their larvae and which they then roll around was seen as an analogy of the Sun and the emergence of young scarabs from the ball was perceived as spontaneous generation like the daily reappearance of the Sun. Khepri, the god of the morning sun, whose name means "Appearing", "Self-born", was also pictured in the guise of a scarab. Like another god of the dawn, Ra-Harakhte, he could be identified with Ra as his morning form.
Copyright © 2011 State Hermitage Museum
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