SCARAB^ID^ — DUNG-BEETLES. 3t 



It has been remarked before that the Scarabaeus was con- 

 nected with astronomical subjects. Donovan tells us that 

 "when sculptured on astronomical tables, or on columns, it 

 expressed the divine wisdom which regulated the universe 

 and enlightened man. "^ 



From another point of view we will look now upon the 

 worship of the Scarabseus. When the hieroglyphics of the 

 ancient Egyptians, by reason of their antiquity, became un- 

 intelligible, and, in consequence, to the superstitious people, 

 sacred, they were formed into circles and borders, after the 

 manner of cordons, and engraved upon precious stones and 

 gems, by way of amulets and trinkets. It is thought this 

 fkshion was coeval with the introduction of the worship of 

 i Serapis by the Ptolemies.^ In the second century, that sect 

 of the Egyptians called the Basilidians, intermingling the 

 new-born Christianity with their heathenism, introduced 

 that particular kind of mysterious hieroglyphics and figures 

 called Abraxas, which were supposed to have the singular 

 property of curing diseases.^ These abraxas are generally 

 oval, and made of black Egyptian basalt. They are some- 

 times covered with letters and characters, fac-similes of the 

 ancient hieroglyphics, but more commonly with the inscrip- 

 tions in the more modern letters. Besides these inscriptions, 

 figures of animals and scenes were also frequently repre- 

 sented ; and among the animals, one of frequent occurrence 

 was the Scarabagus. For this insect the Basilidians had the 

 same great veneration as their forefathers ; and they paid 

 to it almost the same divine honors. This appears in many 

 abraxas, and particularly in one in the cabinet of Mont- 

 faucon, where two women are seen standing before a beetle, 

 with uplifted hands, as if supplicating it to grant them some 

 favor. Above is a large star, or, more probably, the sun, 

 of which the beetle was the well-known symbol.* On an- 

 other abraxas, figured by Montfaucon, there are two birds 

 with human heads, which stand before a Scarab. These 

 figures are surrounded by a snake the ends of which meet. 

 Upon the other side is written in Greek characters the word 

 (fpTj (Phre or Phri), which in the Coptic or Egyptian lan- 

 guage signifies the sun.^ Chifflet has figured an abraxas 



1 Donovan, Ins. of China, p. 3. 



2 Fosbroke, Encyclop. of Antiq., i. 208. 3 jn^^ 

 4 Montf. Antiq., ii. (Pt! II.) 339. 5 Ibid. 



