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| Many sets of religious beliefs have a particular [[spiritual being|spirit]], deity, [[demon]] or [[angel]] whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as [[Heaven]] or [[Hell]]. These creatures are called '''psychopomps''', from the Greek word ''ψυχοπομπóς'' (''psuchopompos''), literally meaning the "guide of souls".
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| They were often associated with horses, whippoorwills, ravens, dogs, crows, owls, sparrows, harts, and dolphins.
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| In some cultures, acting as a psychopompos was also one of the functions of a [[shaman]]. This could include not only acompanying the soul of the dead, but also vice versa: to help at birth, to introduce the newborn's soul to the word.
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| ==List by mythology==
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| ===[[Aztec mythology]]===
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| :[[Xolotl]]
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| ===[[Cahuilla mythology]]===
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| :[[Muut]]
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| ===[[Celtic mythology]]===
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| :[[Belatu-Cadros]] (especially Wales)
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| :[[Epona]]
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| :[[Ogmios]]
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| :[[Ankou]]
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| ===[[Christian mythology]]===
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| :[[Michael]]
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| :[[Saint Peter]]
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| ===[[Egyptian mythology]]===
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| :[[Anubis]]
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| :[[Neith]]
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| :[[Horus]]
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| :[[Set]]
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| :[[Thoth]]
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| ===[[English mythology]]===
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| :[[Waetla]]
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| ===[[Etruscan mythology]]===
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| :[[Turms]]
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| [[Image:Luca Giordano 009.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Barque of [[Charon]], Sleep, Night and [[Morpheus]], by Luca Giordano]]
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| ===[[Greek mythology]]===
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| :[[Artemis]]
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| :[[Charon]]
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| :[[Hermes]]
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| :[[Thanatos]]
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| :[[Hypnos]]
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| :[[Morpheus]]
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| :[[The Keres]]
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| ===[[Hindu mythology]]===
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| :[[Agni]]
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| :[[Pushan]]
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| :[[Yama]]
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| ===[[Inuit mythology]]===
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| :[[Anguta]]
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| :[[Pinga]]
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| ===[[Islamic mythology]]===
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| :[[Azrael]]
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| :[[Nakir and Munkar]]
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| ===[[Japanese mythology]]===
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| :[[Shinigami]]
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| ===[[Jewish mythology]]===
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| :[[Gabriel]]
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| :[[Sandalphon]]
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| ===[[Maya mythology]]===
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| :[[Ixtab]]
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| [[Image:Arbo-Valkyrien.jpg|thumb|right|[[Valkyrie]]s of [[Norse mythology]], as depicted by Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1869]]
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| ===[[Norse mythology]]===
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| :[[Baldur]]
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| :[[Odin]]
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| :[[Valkyrie]]s
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| ===[[Persian mythology]]===
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| :[[Mithra]]
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| ===[[Polynesian mythology]]===
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| :[[Aumakua]]
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| ===[[Roman mythology]]===
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| :[[Mercury]]
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| ===[[Slavic mythology]]===
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| :[[Volos]]
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| ===[[Vodun]]===
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| :[[Guédé]]
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| ===[[Zoroastrianism]]===
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| :[[Vohu Mano]]
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| ==Literature==
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| Compare Virgil's role in [[Dante]]’s ''Inferno''.
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| In modern literature, the title character of J. M. Barrie’s ''[[Peter Pan]]'' is said to act as a guide for children:
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| “At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him; as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened.”
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| Sparrows as psychopomps play a notable role in [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[The Dark Half]]''.
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| ==See also==
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| ===References and further reading===
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| *[http://chaosonata.com/psychopomp.html Dictionary of the Psychopomp]
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| [[Category:Mythology, folklore and legend]]
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