Scarabs had a number of uses in ancient Egypt, including a commemoration for special events. Amenhotep III commissioned scarabs to honor important events in his life, such as his marriage and heroic deeds. This scarab commemorates Amenhotep III's lion hunt, praising his strength and bravery. It says he killed 102 lions.

Scarab beetles were popular amulet forms because they symbolized the sun god Re. Seeing beetles push balls of dung along the ground on their backs, Egyptians associated this behavior with the apparent movement of the sun across the sky from east to west, setting at night and re-emerging at dawn to be reborn. Adding to the association with rebirth, scarab beetles lay their eggs inside balls of dung. To the ancient Egyptians who observed the young beetles emerging from the dung it seemed that they had magically come into being.

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Sources:

Curatorial file, translation of hieroglyphics

"Scarab." Global Egyptian Museum Glossary Entry.

"Scarab Amulets [Egyptian] (10.130.910_27.3.206)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. (October 2006)

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