psychopomp

[ sahy-koh-pomp ]

/ ˈsaɪ koʊˌpɒmp /

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a person who conducts spirits or souls to the other world, as Hermes or Charon.

QUIZZES

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 12

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

First recorded in 1860–65, psychopomp is from the Greek word psȳchopompós conductor of souls. See psycho-, pomp

The rle of general conductor of souls to the realms of the underworld, however, came to be given to Hermes, the psychopomp.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Hermes himself, the Psychopomp, shall lead, and Malahide shall welcome us.
Day and Night Stories|Algernon Blackwood
The winds were now the maruts, or spirits of the breeze, serving Indra, the sky-god; again they were the great psychopomp himself.
British Goblins|Wirt Sikes
Hermes is the god whose mission it is to lead souls down to the realm of Hadesthe psychopomp, as in this office he is called.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879|Various

As the souls of the departed are symbolized as rats, so is the psychopomp himself often figured as a dog.
Myths and Myth-Makers|John Fiske