Editing Hermes (section)

===As a chthonic and fertility god===
{{One source section|date=May 2021}}

Beginning with the earliest records of his worship, Hermes has been understood as a [[chthonic]] deity (heavily associated with the earth or underworld).<ref name=transformer/> As a chthonic deity, the worship of Hermes also included an aspect relating to [[Fertility rite|fertility]], with the [[phallus]] being included among his major symbols. The inclusion of phallic imagery associated with Hermes and placed, in the form of ''[[herma]]'', at the entrances to households may reflect a belief in ancient times that Hermes was a symbol of the household's fertility, specifically the potency of the male head of the household in producing children.<ref name=transformer/>
[[File:Thanatos Painter ARV 1228 11 Charon receiving Hermes and a deceased woman (07).jpg|thumb|[[Charon]] with punt pole standing in his boat, receiving Hermes psychopompos who leads a deceased woman.  [[Thanatos Painter]], ca. 430 BC]]

The association between Hermes and the underworld is related to his function as a god of boundaries (the boundary between life and death), but he is considered a [[psychopomp]], a deity who helps guide souls of the deceased to the afterlife, and his image was commonly depicted on gravestones in classical Greece.<ref name=transformer/>