A dung beetle, especially the sacred beetle revered in ancient Egypt; also a decorative carving shaped like this beetle.
From Latin 'scarabaeus,' possibly from Egyptian origin. Sacred in ancient Egypt because the beetle rolls balls of dung, symbolizing the sun's movement across the sky.
Ancient Egyptians saw dung beetles rolling dung balls and literally thought they were tiny gods pushing the sun across the sky—so they made scarab amulets for protection and buried them with pharaohs, turning an insect into eternal magic.
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