What is the term for Hermes' role as a guide of souls to the underworld?

The term for Hermes’ role as a guide of souls to the underworld is psychopomp.

A psychopomp is a figure who escorts the souls of the dead from the world of the living to the afterlife. In Greek mythology, Hermes performs this role under the epithet Hermes Psychopompos. His work reflects his broader identity as a god of boundaries, roads, movement, and transitions between different realms.

Hermes does not rule the underworld; that role belongs primarily to Hades. Instead, he guides the dead on their journey and helps them cross the boundary between life and death. This is why Hermes could function as a messenger between gods, mortals, and the chthonic world. Ancient funerary imagery sometimes emphasized this guiding function.

The word combines Greek roots meaning “soul” and “guide” or “conductor.” It is broader than a herald, whose job is to announce messages, and unlike a hierophant, a religious official associated with revealing sacred rites. Other cultures have comparable psychopomp figures, including the Egyptian Anubis and later folkloric versions of the Grim Reaper.