The strange life cycle of the scarab beetle seems to embody the sun's daily journey. Like the rising sun, the scarab beetle appears to be born from the ground. It then seeks out the material to complete its life cycle. Fortunately that material is plentiful around the village. The beetle laboriously sculpts the dung into a perfect sphere, this is where it will lay its eggs. It's such hard work, piracy is rife. The best way to avoid being robbed is to get the ball away from the dung pile as fast as possible. The beetle takes a direct route to safety by following a bearing taken from the sun. It uses polarised patterns detected in the sky to keep it on track. In the beetle's journey the Egyptians see a tiny parallel with the journey of the sun across the sky. The scarab's life-cycle also presents a hopeful image of continuity. As the beetle buries the dung ball it returns to the earth. The dung will become a subterranean larder for its young. In three months' time they will emerge.


圣甲虫奇特的生命循环周期具体而微地呈现着太阳的日常之旅。犹如升起的太阳，圣甲虫从大地之中爬出来，开始寻找完成生命周期的材料。幸好这样的材料满山遍野都是。圣甲虫辛勤地将粪便雕塑成完美的球状，它将会将卵产在粪球中。艰难困苦的工程使得强盗横行。预防遭抢的最佳方法，就是在最短的时间之内将粪球推离粪堆。圣甲虫跟随太阳行进的轨迹，直接将粪球推到安全。它利用从空中侦测到的两极化模式来判定方向。在圣甲虫的旅途中，埃及人看到了太阳穿越天际之旅的迷你缩影。圣甲虫的生命周期也成了生生不息的希望象征。当圣甲虫埋好粪球之后，它会返回大地。粪球将成为下一代圣甲虫的食物贮藏室。三个月后，它们会破土而出。