ABSTRACT
This chapter explores iconography from two different angles. Firstly, it will locate the possible iconographic meaning of the motif of Mercury holding the second rod; secondly, it will, through the use of cognitive theory, try to answer the question of what may have been understood from this motif in Roman Dalmatia. The only scholarly mention of the strange iconography of the Dalmatian group comes in the form of the attribution of the type to Hermes Psychopomp, without closer analysis. The theme of Mercury Psychopompus is a part of an elaborate conceptualization of the journey to the afterlife, one that is often recognized as Orphic, and the images of Mercury holding a second rod all belong to that rich symbolic background. The idea of religion as a network in constant negotiation and dialectical change stemming from its inner conflicts can take us beyond identities as a primary focus for the study of religious change.
