Scaraboid Intaglio with a Sphinx and Palmette Tree of Life

Classical Phoenician scarabs were made in the Levant during the period of the Achaemenid Empire, from the late 6th Century to the mid 4th Century BC. They are often made of green jasper, the color having amuletic function. These stone seals have been found in the Punic cemeteries of Carthage, Sardinia, and Ibiza (Spain), but many are also from the east Mediterranean, and they were probably made in the Phoenician coastal cities. They functioned both as jewelry and as offerings in tombs and sanctuaries. They were valued as amulets, adornments, and sealing. Some were given precious metal mounts to be worn as rings.

The subjects of the intaglios carved on the scarabs and scaraboids (oval shapes that are not beetles) are eclectic, reflecting the cosmopolitan tastes of the Phoenician traders. There is a preponderance of Egyptianizing elements used, along with Levantine, Mesopotamian, and Hellenistic motifs. This example combines the central, stylized Assyrian Tree of Life with flanking, Egyptian style figures and a Mesopotamian eagle and a winged sphinx.