psychopomps

A psychopomp is a figure in religion, myth, and folklore whose primary role is to escort the souls of the deceased to the afterlife or to the boundary between life and death. The term comes from the Greek psychopompos, literally “guide of souls” (psyche = soul, pompē = escort or procession). In scholarly usage, psychopomps are mediators who facilitate the transition between worlds rather than creators of order.

Psychopomps may operate at the moment of death or within funerary rites, guiding souls to the realm of the dead, ferrying them across rivers, or escorting them to judgment or to accompanying beings in afterlife spaces. They can function as intermediaries, linking the living with the dead, or as protectors who oversee the passage.

Cultural examples are diverse. In ancient Greek mythology, Hermes serves as a primary psychopomp, and Charon is the ferryman who conveys souls across the Styx. Egyptian belief centers on Anubis, who weighs hearts and guides the deceased. In Hindu tradition, Yama is the lord of death and judge of the dead, often treated as a psychopomp. In Norse mythology, Valkyries act as escorts of fallen warriors to Valhalla or other afterlife realms. Various cultures also employ animal or ritual figures as psychopomps, reflecting local conceptions of death and the afterlife.

The concept is widely used in anthropology and comparative religion to examine how societies understand death, transition, and the maintenance of social and cosmic order.