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Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally
Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the
deification of the concept of fate.
As a concept, with no particular
reason for associating with one
gender over another, Shai was sometimes
considered female, rather than the
more usual understanding of being
male, in which circumstance Shai
was referred to as Shait (simply
the feminine form of the name).
His name reflects his function,
as it means (that which is) ordained.
As the god of fate, it was said
that he determined the span of each
man's life, and was present at the
judgement of the soul of the deceased
in Duat.
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In consequence, he was sometimes identified
as the husband of Mesenet,
goddess of birth, or, in later years, of
Renenutet, who
assigned the Ren, and had become considered
goddess of fortune. Because of the power
associated in the concept, Akhenaten, in
introducing monotheism, said that Shai was
an attribute of Aten,
whereas Ramses II claimed to be lord of
Shai (i.e. lord of fate).
During the hellenic period, Shai, as god of fate, was identified
with the Greek god Agathodaemon, who was the god of fortune
telling. Thus, since Agathodaemon was considered to be a serpent,
and the word Shai was also the Egyptian word for pig, in the
hellenic period, Shai was sometimes depicted as a serpent-headed
pig, known to Egyptologists as the Shai animal.
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