Scarab Inscribed with the Name Pedubaste (Pa-di-Bastet)

Egyptian personal names beginning with Padi combined with the name of a deity are known from the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1070-664 B.C.) and later. Such a name would ensure you had the protection of that god or goddess.

The hieroglyphs on this scarab form the personal name Pedubaste (Pa-di-Bastet). Numerous Pedubaste scarabs dating to the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period (ca. 1070-525 B.C.) have been found in Egypt, throughout the Levant and the Mediterranean region, as far away as Carthage and Portugal. Pedubaste is a name associated with several local rulers in the Delta during the Third Intermediate Period and into Dynasty 26. Given the large number of scarabs bearing this name – compared to scarabs with the names of the contemporary pharaohs of Dynasties 22 to 26 (ca. 945-525 B.C.) – it is more likely that such scarabs record a popular non-royal personal name of that period. Not surprisingly given our knowledge of this period, some were manufactured outside Egypt.