Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of

fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

in Egyptian mythology. As a concept, with no particular reason for associating 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''.The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology: Origins and Influence
By Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum
/ref> 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 the

Duat The Duat ( egy, dwꜣt, Egyptological pronunciation "do-aht", cop, ⲧⲏ, also appearing as ''Tuat'', ''Tuaut'' or ''Akert'', ''Amenthes'', ''Amenti'', or ''Neter-khertet'') is the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology. It has been ...

. In consequence, he was sometimes identified as the husband of

Meskhenet In ancient Egyptian mythology, Meskhenet, (also spelt Mesenet, Meskhent, and Meshkent) was the goddess of childbirth, and the creator of each child's Ka, a part of their soul, which she breathed into them at the moment of birth. She was worship ...

, goddess of birth, or, in later years, of Renenutet, who assigned the

Ren Ren or REN may refer to: Abbreviations * Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia * Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company * Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus * Ringer equivalence number ( ...

, 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 Ptolemaic Egypt, 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 Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

, 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''.

References

{{Authority control Egyptian gods Time and fate gods Hebrew-language given names ca:Shait