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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. 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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