The scarab beetle was an exceedingly popular symbol in the art of Ancient Egypt, thought to represent the sun god, Ra. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab beetle rolling its ball of dung across the desert 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. These scarab beetle amulets were made in various forms, such as heart scarabs, commemorative scarabs, and scarab amulets, thus catering to different functions. Scarab amulets were believed to have magical rejuvenating properties, used by both the living and the dead.
The falcon headed figure represented is most likely the god Horus. Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities as the god of the sky, of the sun, of kingship, healing, and protection. Horus was depicted as two deities; Horus the Elder and Horus the Younger. Horus the Elder was considered god of the sky and the son of Geb, Earth and Nut, Sky. As a god, he was associated with both the sun and the moon, with the former being his right eye and the latter his left. Horus the Younger was the son of Osiris and Isis; he too was associated with the sky, sun and the moon, as well as being the protector of Egypt’s royalty. Over time, both Horus deities were merged with Ra, the sun god, and represented as a falcon headed man bearing the sun disk and the crown of upper and lower Egypt.