kheper

...This was a mistake made by Fabre because he had an antipathy towards taxonomy, but fortunately there is not much difference in habits between the two species. [Daizaburo Okumoto]
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The scarab beetle was called kheperer in ancient Egyptian, and because of its ecology it was thought to grow naturally from a dung ball that was likened to the sun. Also, because the sound of the scarab beetle is similar to the word kheper, which means "generation," "creation," and "regeneration," the shape of the beetle came to represent the god Kheperi, who was considered to be "someone who is born by himself" and "the young sun rising in the sky," and the scarab beetle was considered sacred as a symbol of creation and resurrection.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "kheper" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…ファーブルが分類学に反感をもっていたことによる誤りなのであるが，幸いにして両種の間にそれほど大きな習性上の差異はない，ということである。【奥本 大三郎】
［シンボル］
　スカラベは古代エジプト語ではケペレルkhepererと呼ばれたが，その生態によって，日輪に見たてられた糞球から自生すると考えられた。また〈生成〉〈創造〉〈再生〉を意味する語のケペルkheperと音が類似しているため，この虫の形が〈みずから生まれ出るもの〉〈天に昇る若い太陽〉とされたケペリKheperi神をも表すようになり，スカラベは創造と復活のシンボルとして神聖視された。…

※「kheper」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報