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The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend, the various groups who became the Aztecs arrived from the North into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco .
- Aztec Mythology in Context. The mythology of the Aztec civilization, which dominated central Mexico from the 1300s through the early 1500s ce, described a universe that was both grand and dreadful.
- Core Deities and Characters. In the Aztec view of the universe, human life was small and insignificant. An individual's fate was shaped by forces beyond his or her control.
- Major Myths. Many Aztec myths tell all or part of the story of the five suns. The Aztecs believed that four suns, or worlds, had existed before theirs. In each case, catastrophic events had destroyed everything, bringing the world to an end.
- Key Themes and Symbols. The idea that people were servants of the gods was a theme that ran through Aztec mythology. Humans had the responsibility of keeping the gods fed, otherwise, disaster could strike at any time.
In Aztec religion, the water goddess was the wife of the rain god Tlaloc, an ancient deity that had long been worshipped throughout Mesoamerica. Chalchiuhtlicue symbolized the purity and preciousness of spring, river, and lake water that was used to irrigate the fields.
- Mexican Mythology in Context. Mexico's mythology, like its population, reflects a blend of Native American and Spanish influences. Most people in modern Mexico trace their ancestry to American Indians, to the Spanish who controlled Mexico for three centuries, or to both, in a mixed-ethnic heritage called mestizo (pronounced mes-TEE-zoh).
- The Black Legend. The term “Black Legend” refers to a centuries-old view of Spain and its people as particularly cruel, prejudiced, and greedy. Some of the literature that promoted the Black Legend came from European Protestants hostile to Catholic Spain.
- Core Deities and Characters. Perhaps the most widely recognized and honored figure of Mexican religious mythology is the Virgin of Guadalupe (pronounced gwah-duh-LOO-pay).
- Major Myths. Myths and tales told in modern Mexico not only amuse and entertain but also preserve old traditions and offer lessons in good or wise behavior.
- Huitzilopochtli – ‘The Hummingbird of the South’ Huitzilopochtli was the father of the Aztecs and the supreme god for the Méxica. His nagual or animal spirit was the eagle.
- Tezcatlipoca – ‘The Smoking Mirror’ Huitzilopochtli’s rival as the most important Aztec god was Tezcatlipoca: god of the nocturnal sky, of ancestral memory, and of time.
- Quetzalcoatl – ‘The Feathered Serpent’ Tezcatlipoca’s brother Quetzalcoatl was the god of winds and rain, intelligence and self-reflection. He plays a key role in other Mesoamerican cultures such as Teotihuacan and the Maya.
- Coatlicue – ‘The Serpent Skirt’ Venerated as the “mother of gods and mortals”, Coatlicue was the feminine god who gave birth to the stars and moon. Her face was made up of two fanged serpents, her skirt of interwoven snakes and she wore a necklace of hands, hearts and a skull.
Jul 1, 2015 · Water in its various forms–as salty ocean water, as sweet river water, or as rain–has played a major role in human tales since our earliest myths were recorded in Egypt and Mesopotamia some five thousand years ago.
Jun 12, 2024 · We present genome-wide data from 64 subadults interred in Chichén Itzá around ad 500–900 that gives insight into burial rituals, and shows that their genomic legacy is still present and has ...
