In Egyptian mythology, Khepri (also spelt Khepera, Kheper, Chepri, Khepra) is the name of a minor god. The origin of belief in Khepri lies in the observation that Scarab beetles have a habit of pushing large balls of dung around, and so some Egyptians came up with the idea that the sun moved across the sky because it was being pushed by such a beetle. Since Khepri was considered to push the sun, he gradually came to embody aspects of the sun itself, and therefore was a solar deity.