A psychopomp is a god, spirit, or demon tasked with escorting souls to the underworld. The term comes from the Greek “psuchopompos,” meaning “guide of souls.” In the realm of psychopomps ancient mythology, these figures don’t judge the dead—they merely shepherd them to their final judgment.
Psychopomps Ancient: The Role of Soul Guides
10 Xolotl
Xolotl, the Aztec deity of lightning and death, isn’t a classic psychopomp, but on occasion he does guide the dead to Mictlan, the Aztec underworld. He also fetched fire from the underworld for humanity, echoing the Greek Prometheus myth. Iconographically, Xolotl appears as a man with a dog’s head, though he can also be depicted as a skeletal figure. His most celebrated passenger was the sun itself, which he protected during its nightly descent into the underworld.
9 Charon
Charon, a staple of Greek mythology, ferries souls across the rivers Styx (hate) and Acheron (pain). Unlike many psychopomps, he doesn’t guide souls from Earth to Hades; he merely transports them across the watery boundary. The service isn’t free—ancient Greeks placed a coin in the mouth of the deceased to pay Charon’s toll. Without payment, a wandering soul could be condemned to roam the riverbanks for a hundred years.
8 Valkyries
In Norse lore, the Valkyries—those soaring female figures—act as battlefield selectors, choosing which warriors live and which die. Those deemed worthy are escorted to Valhalla, where they become einherjar (single fighters) and await Ragnarök, the apocalyptic twilight of the gods. When battles cease, the Valkyries are known to serve mead to the einherjar on the plains of Midgard.
7 Azrael
Azrael, the Angel of Death, appears across Jewish and Christian traditions, but his psychopomp duties emerge prominently in Islamic mythology. He transports every soul directly to Allah. Since only Allah knows the precise moment of death, Azrael wields no independent power—he merely follows divine command. A curious cultural note: Berber men once shaved their heads, leaving a single tuft of hair for Azrael to grip.
6 Mercury
Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, trickery, and communication, inherited much of his mythic portfolio from the Greek Hermes and borrowed aspects from the Etruscan deity Turms. As a psychopomp, Mercury guided souls to Avernus, a crater in Italy regarded as the gateway to the Roman underworld. One of his famed passengers was the nymph Larunda, with whom he fell in love during a journey to the underworld, later siring two children.
5 Charun
Charun, the Etruscan “Demon of Death,” should not be confused with the Greek Charon. Frequently paired with the underworld goddess Vanth, Charun’s method of death is rather hands‑on: he hammers the dying on the head until they expire, then escorts the soul to the underworld alongside Vanth. He also metes out eternal punishment, striking the souls of the wicked repeatedly.
4 Hermes
Hermes, Greece’s messenger god of commerce, thieves, and athletes, also served as a psychopomp. His ability to traverse heaven, earth, and Hades made him uniquely qualified to lead souls to the entrance of Hades, where Charon would await. Hermes boasts the bragging right of being the only Olympian to visit all three realms. Notable transportees include the suitors of Penelope, slain when Odysseus finally returned from Troy.
3 Anubis
Anubis, the jackal‑headed Egyptian deity, originally fulfilled the psychopomp role before being supplanted by Osiris. He escorted souls to Duat, the Egyptian underworld, where their hearts were weighed against the feather of truth. A lighter heart granted passage; a heavier, sin‑laden heart was handed to Ammit, the Devourer of the Dead, for consumption.
2 Thanatos
Thanatos personifies death itself. Universally feared, he is merciless and indiscriminate, and his presence has been both tricked—most famously by Sisyphus—and physically beaten, as by Heracles. Artistic depictions show him as a winged youth bearing a sword, often alongside his twin brother Hypnos, the god of sleep.
1 Grim Reaper
The Grim Reaper, a skeletal figure cloaked in black and wielding a scythe, has dominated the psychopomp image since the 15th century. While some argue he kills by touching the living, others contend he merely collects souls as bodies die by other means. Mortals have even bargained with him—most famously in Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal,” where the Reaper engages in a chess match with a knight for a soul.