Psychopompos

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A figure in myth or religion who escorts the spirits of the dead into the realm of the afterlife
2. A being that conducts departed souls from the world of the living to the underworld or another life beyond
3. A guardian or spiritual guide tasked with leading the souls of the deceased across the threshold of death

Etymology: Psychopomp comes from the Ancient Greek "psūkhopompós," literally "soul-conductor," built from "psūkhḗ" (soul, breath, life) and "pompós" (a guide or escort, from "pémpein," to send or conduct). In Greek myth the psychopomp was a figure whose job was to lead the newly dead to the underworld, most famously Hermes, who was called "Psychopompos" and escorted souls across the boundary between life and death. The term has a striking afterlife in English as a scholarly and literary word rather than a folk one. It appears in English for the figures of many traditions that perform the same task: Charon ferrying souls across the river, Anubis weighing hearts in Egyptian belief, and the Valkyries gathering the slain in Norse myth. The word therefore names a role rather than a single god, which is why it can be applied across cultures.