Khepera was a form of the rising sun, and was both a type of matter
which is on the point of passing from inertness into life, and also of
the dead body which is about to burst forth into a new life in a glorified
form. He is depicted in the form of a man having a beetle for a head and
this insect was his type and emblem among ancient nations, because it was
believed to be self-begotten and self-produced; to this notion we owe the
myriads of beetles or scarabs which are found in tombs of all ages in Egypt
and also in the Greek islands and settlements of the Mediterranean, and
in Phoenicia, Syria and elsewhere. The seat of the god Khepera was in the
boat of the sun and the pictures which present us with this fact only illustrate
an idea which is as old, at least, as the pyramid of Unas, for in this
monument it is said of the king:
He flieth like a bird, he alighteth like a beetle upon the empty
throne in thy boat O Ra.
Ap-f em apt Xenem-f em Xeper em nest sut amt uaa-k Ra
In the XVIII dynasty queen Hatshepset declared herself to be "
the creator of things which came into being like Khepera "and in later
times the scribes were exceedingly fond of playing upon the word used as
a noun, adjective, verb and proper name.
E. Wallis Budge " The Egyptian Book of the Dead" The
Papyrus of Anni.