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

Key facts

Deity.type
Egyptian
Deity.name
Shai
Deity.hiero
M8-A-M17-M17-A40
Deity.spouse
Meskhenet (some accounts) Renenutet (some accounts)
Deity.image
Shai (god).svg
Deity.caption
Modern depiction of Shai based on an image from the papyrus of Ani
Deity.Greek_equivalent
Agathodaemon

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Shai
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Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of fate 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 Egyptians believed that Shai determined the length of each person’s life and was born with each person at their birth and remained at their side until they faced their final judgement before Osiris in the underworld Duat. In consequence, he was sometimes identified as the husband of Meskhenet, 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").

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