The scarab beetle was an exceedingly popular symbol in the art of Ancient Egypt, thought to represent the sun god, Ra. Ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab beetle rolling its ball of dung across the dessert mirrored the journey of the sun across the sky from day to night. As the beetle laid its eggs within the dung, it became a symbol of rebirth and regeneration.
The name “amethyst” comes from the Greek, ‘amethystos‘, meaning “not intoxicated” (‘ἀ- a-, “not” and μεθύσκω ‘methysko‘ / μεθύω ‘methyo’, “intoxicate”). The Egyptians seem to have held similar beliefs in the protective qualities of the beautiful stone. They believed the stone had talismanic properties against malign influences. The Egyptians would have sourced their amethyst from Nubia, which was a province of Egypt, and the stone was a firm favourite among the pharaohs. Amethyst scarabs were especially popular during the Middle Kingdom. As was typical with precious stones, the reverse was left free of hieroglyphs, the apotropaic qualities of the stone and shape offering enough protection to the wearer. It has also been suggested that an inscribed gold plate might have covered the base of such scarabs.
