Other forms: scarabs
A scarab was a sacred beetle in ancient Egypt. For many Egyptians, the scarab represented rebirth and resurrection.
The scarab is a type of large black dung beetle known for its habit of rolling little balls of dung across the ground. This is part of the reason scarabs were revered by ancient Egyptians, who saw a parallel between this dung-rolling and their own sun god's daily rolling of the sun across the sky. Jewels cut and shaped to resemble these beetles are also called scarabs. The Greek root word is karabos, "horned beetle" or "crayfish."