The
aztecThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology, which contained the many deities (over 100) and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs. "
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History
Aztec culture is generally grouped with the cultural complex known as the
NahuatlNahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
because of the common language they shared. According to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the
Anahuac valleyThe Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
around
Lake TexcocoLake Texcoco was a natural lake formation within the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in the lake. The Spaniards built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan...
. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern
Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
– but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec.
There are different accounts of their origin. In the myth the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the north called
AztlanAztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...
, the last of seven
nahuatlacas (Nahuatl-speaking tribes, from
tlaca, "man") to make the journey southward, hence their name "Azteca." Other accounts cite their origin in Chicomostoc, "the place of the seven caves," or at Tamoanchan (the legendary origin of all civilizations).
The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their god
HuitzilopochtliIn Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
, meaning "Left-handed
HummingbirdHummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
" or "Hummingbird from the South." When they arrived at an island in the lake, they saw an
eagleEagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
which was perched on a
nopalNopales are a vegetable made from the young cladode segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. These fleshy pads are flat and about hand-sized. They can be purple or green...
cactus full of its fruits (
nochtli). (Due to a mistranslation of an account by Tesozomoc, it became popular to say the eagle was devouring a snake, but in the original Aztec accounts, the snake is not mentioned. One states that it was eating a bird, another indicates that it was only perched in the cactus, and a third just says it was eating something.) This vision fulfilled a prophecy telling them that they should found their new home on that spot. The Aztecs built their city of
Tenochtitlan on that site, building a great
artificial islandAn artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
, which today is in the center of
Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. This legendary vision is pictured on the
Coat of Arms of MexicoThe current coat of arms of Mexico has been an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture for centuries. The coat of arms depicts a Mexican Golden Eagle perched upon a prickly pear cactus devouring a snake. To the people of Tenochtitlan this would have strong religious connotations, but to...
.
According to legend, when the Mexicans arrived in the Anahuac valley around
Lake TexcocoLake Texcoco was a natural lake formation within the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in the lake. The Spaniards built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan...
, they were considered by the other groups as the least civilized of all, but the Mexican/Aztec decided to learn, and they took all they could from other people, especially from the ancient
ToltecThe Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
(whom they seem to have partially confused with the more ancient civilization of
TeotihuacanTeotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
). To the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of all culture; "Toltecayotl" was a synonym for culture. Aztec legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of
QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
with the legendary city of
TollanTollan, Tolan, or Tolán is a name used for the capital cities of two empires of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica; first for Teotihuacan, and later for the Toltec capital, Tula-Hidalgo, both in Mexico...
, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan.
Creation Stories
Because the Aztec adopted and combined several traditions with their own earlier traditions, they had several creation myths. One of these, the
Five SunsFive Suns is an album by progressive rock group Guapo released in 2003.- Track listing :#Five Suns, Pt. 1 #Five Suns, Pt. 2 #Five Suns, Pt. 3 #Five Suns, Pt. 4 #Five Suns, Pt...
describes four great ages preceding the present world, each of which ended in a catastrophe:
- Coatilcue was the mother of Centzon Huitznahua ("Four Hundred Southerners"), her sons, and Coyolxauhqui, her daughter. She found a ball filled with feathers and placed it in her waistband, becoming pregnant with Huitzilpochtli. Her other children became suspcious as to the identity of the father and vowed to kill their mother. She gave birth on Mount Coatepec, pursed by her children, but the newborn Huitzilpochtli defeat most of his brothers, who became the stars. He also killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui by tearing out her heart using a Xiuhcoatl (a blue snake) and throwing her body down the mountain. This was said to inspire the Aztecs to rip the hearts out of their victims and throw their bodies down the sides of the temple dedicated to Huitzilpochtli, who represents the sun chasing away the stars at dawn.
- Our age – Nahui-Ollin, the fifth age
The Fifth World is the physical world in several Native American beliefs that center around a cyclical understanding of time. According to Maya mythology, the current world we inhabit is the "Fourth World". In these belief systems, time is cyclical, and the end of one world is the beginning of the...
, or fifth creation – escaped destruction due to the sacrifice of a god (NanahuatlNanauatzin is a deity of both Aztec mythology and Pipil mythology .-Aztec tradition:In Aztec mythology, the god Nanahuatl , the most humble of the gods, sacrificed himself in fire so that he would continue to shine on Earth as the sun, thus becoming the sun god...
, "full of sores," the smallest and humblest of the gods) who transformed himself into the Sun by leaping into a fire. Another god known as Tecuciztecatl originally boasted that he would become the sun but was fearful of the pain. Humiliated by Nanahuatl's sacrifice he too leap into the fire and became the moon. This myth is associated with the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which was abandoned but still extant when the Aztec arrived.
- Another myth describes the earth as a creation of the twin gods Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. One of the four sons of Ometeotl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty,...
and QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
. Some sources say Tezcatlipoca lost his foot in the process of creating the world and some representations of these gods show him without a foot and with a bone exposed. Others say he had one foot which was the foot of a beast, a representation for his speed. Quetzalcoatl is also called "White Tezcatlipoca."
Gods
- Acolnahuacatl, or Acolmiztli - a god of the underworld, Mictlan
Mictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
- Acuecucyoicihuati (see Chalchiuhtlicue
Chalchiuhtlicue was an Aztec goddess of love, beauty, youth, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism. Reputedly universally revered at the time of the Spanish conquest, she was an important deity figure in the Postclassic Aztec realm of central Mexico...
)
- Amimitl
-References:...
- god of lakes and fishers
- Atlacamani
In Aztec mythology, Atlacamani was the goddess of oceanic storms such as hurricanes. She was probably an aspect of Chalchiuhtlicue....
- goddess of oceanic storms such as hurricanes
- Atlacoya
In Aztec mythology, Atlacoya was the goddess of drought and barren land....
- goddess of drought
- Atlatonan (also Atlatonin) - goddess of the coast
- Atlaua
In Aztec mythology, Atlaua was a water goddess, protector of fishermen and archers.There were said to be at least 4 ancient Aztec temples at which she was worshiped, the tallest supposedly being over 200 feet tall...
- water god
- Ayauhteotl
In Aztec mythology, Ayauhteotl was the goddess of crepuscular fog, vanity, and fame.The goddess briefly appears in human form as a character in the video game Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare....
- goddess of mist, fog, vanity and fame
- Camaxtli - god of hunting, war, fate and fire
- Centeotl (see Cinteotl)
- Chalchiuhtlatonal
In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlatonal was a god of water. He looks over the sea, and protects the animals living in it. It is said that he granted the gift of water to one human in 10,000 years to help look after the sea....
- god of water
- Chalchiuhtecolotl
Chalchiuhtecolotl was a night owl god from Aztec mythology. His name means "precious owl."...
- a night owl god
- Chalchiuhtlicue
Chalchiuhtlicue was an Aztec goddess of love, beauty, youth, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism. Reputedly universally revered at the time of the Spanish conquest, she was an important deity figure in the Postclassic Aztec realm of central Mexico...
(also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalchihuitlicue) (She of the Jade Skirt). (Sometimes Acuecucyoticihuati) - the goddess of lakes and streams, and also of birth; consort of TlalocTlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography he...
.
- Chalchiuhtotolin (Precious Night Turkey) - god of pestilence and mystery
- Chalmecatecuchtlz - a god of the underworld, Mictlan
Mictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
and sacrifices
- Chalmecatl
Chalmecatl is one of the lords of the Aztec realm of the dead, Mictlan....
the underworld, MictlanMictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
and the north
- Chantico
In Aztec mythology, Chantico was the goddess of fires in the family hearth and volcanoes. She broke a fast by eating paprika with roasted fish, and was turned into a dog by Tonacatecuhtli as punishment because paprika is a banned food in such fast breaking customs...
- the goddess of hearth fires, personal treasure, and volcanoes
- Chicomecoatl
In Aztec mythology, Chicomecoatl "Seven snakes", was the Aztec goddess of maize during the Middle Culture period. She is sometimes called "goddess of nourishment", a goddess of plenty and the female aspect of corn. Every September a young girl representing Chicomecoatl was sacrificed. The priests...
(also Chalchiuhcihuatl, Chiccomeccatl, or Xilonen) - goddess of new maizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and produce, wife of Cinteotl.
- Chicomexochtli - a patron of artists
- Chiconahui
In Aztec mythology, Chiconahui was a domestic fertility goddess and protectress of families and homes....
- a domestic fertility goddess
- Chiconahuiehecatl
In Aztec mythology, the god Chiconahuiehecatl participated in the creation of the world....
- associated with creation
- Cihuacoatl
In Aztec mythology, Cihuacoatl was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses....
(also Chihucoatl or Ciucoatl) (Woman Serpent) - an aspect of Ilamatecuhtli and consort of QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
- Cinteotl (also Centeotl or Centeocihuatl) - the principal maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
god, son of TlazolteotlIn Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl is a goddess of purification, steam bath, midwives, filth, and a patroness of adulterers. In Nahuatl, the word tlazolli can refer to vice and diseases. Thus, Tlazolteotl was a goddess of filth , vice, and sexual misdeeds...
- Cipactonal - god of astrology and the calendar
- Citlalatonac (see Ometeotl
Ometeotl is a name sometimes used about the pair of god Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl in Aztec mythology...
)
- Citlalicue
In Aztec mythology, Citlalicue was a goddess who created the stars along with her husband, Citlalatonac. This pair of gods are sometimes associated with the first pair of humans, Nata and Nena....
- a creator of the stars
- Coatlicue
Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan , "The Mother of Gods" , is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war...
(She of the Serpent Skirt) - legendary mother of CoyolxauhquiIn Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui was a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl and is the leader of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods. Coyolxauhqui was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue, because Coatlicue had become pregnant.- Attack on Coatlicue :The...
, the Centzon HuitzahuaIn Aztec mythology, the Centzonuitznahua were the gods of the southern stars. They are the evil elder sons of Coatlicue, and their sister is Coyolxauhqui...
, and HuitzilopochtliIn Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
- Cochimetl
In Aztec mythology, Cochimetl, or Cocochimetl was the god of commerce and merchants....
(also Coccochimetl) - god of commerce, bartering, and merchants
- Coyolxauhqui
In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui was a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl and is the leader of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods. Coyolxauhqui was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue, because Coatlicue had become pregnant.- Attack on Coatlicue :The...
- legendary sister of HuitzilopochtliIn Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
, associated with the moon, possibly patroness of the Milky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
- Cuaxolotl - a goddess of the hearth
- Ehecatl
Ehecatl is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as the aspect of the Feathered Serpent deity as a god of wind, and is therefore also known...
(also Ehecatl-QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
) - the god of the Wind and creator of the earth, heavens, and the present race of humanity. As god of the west, one of the skybearers
- Huehuecoyotl
In Aztec mythology, Huehuecóyotl is the auspicious god of music, dance and song of ancient Mexico. He is depicted in the Codex Borbonicus as a dancing coyote with human hands and feet, accompanied by a human drummer...
(also Ueuecoyotl) - a trickster god of indulgence and pranks. A shapeshifterShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, associated with drums and the coyote
- Huehueteotl
Huehueteotl is a Mesoamerican deity figuring in the pantheons of pre-Columbian cultures, particularly in Aztec mythology and others of the Central Mexico region. He is also sometimes called Ueueteotl...
(also Ueueteotl, Xiuhtecuhtli, Xiutechuhtli) - an ancient god of the hearth, the fire of life. Associated with the pole star and the north, and serves as a skybearer
- Huitzilopochtli
In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
(also Mextli, Mexitl, Uitzilopochtli) - the supreme god of Tenochtitlan, patron of war, fire and the sun
- Huixtocihuatl
In Aztec mythology, Huixtocihuatl was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water. Her younger brother was Tlaloc, and the rain gods, the Tlaloques are her sisters, or, in some sources, the children of Tlaloc...
(also Uixtochihuatl) - a goddess of salt and saltwater
- Ilamatecuhtli (also Cihuacoatl or Quilaztli) - aged goddess of the earth, death, and the Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
. Her roar signalled war
- Itztlacoliuhqui-Ixquimilli - god of stone, obsidian, coldness hardness, and castigation. Aspect of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli
In Aztec religion, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is the god of the planet Venus, the morning star. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli was considered a dangerous and malevolent god, and was associated with Quetzalcoatl.-Myths:...
- Itzli
In Aztec mythology, Itzli was a god of stone, particularly in the shape of a sacrificial knife. He served Tezcatlipoca as the god of the Second Hour of the Night. He is associated with Chalchiuhtlicue and Tlazolteotl. Itzli was therefore the god of sacrifice and stone knives....
- god of sacrifice and stone knives.
- Itzpapalotl
In Aztec mythology, Itzpapalotl was a fearsome skeletal warrior goddess, who ruled over the paradise world of Tamoanchan, the paradise of victims of infant mortality and place identified where humans were created. She is the mother of Mixcoatl and is particularly associated with the moth...
- Queen of TomoanchanTamoanchan is a mythical location of origin known to the Mesoamerican cultures of the central Mexican region in the Late Postclassic period. In the mythological traditions and creation accounts of Late Postclassic peoples such as the Aztec, Tamoanchan was conceived as a paradise where the gods...
and one of the CihuateteoIn Aztec mythology, the Cihuateteo were the spirits of human women who died in childbirth . Childbirth was considered a form of battle, and its victims were honored as fallen warriors...
(night demons) and tzitzimimeIn Aztec mythology, a tzitzimitl is a deity associated with stars. They were depicted as skeletal female figures wearing skirts often with skull and crossbone designs...
(star demons)
- Ixtlilton
In Aztec mythology, Ixtlilton was the Mexican god of medicine and healing, and therefore was often alluded to as the brother of Macuilxochitl, the god of well-being or good luck....
- the god of healing, dancing, festivals and games. Brother of Xochipillithumb|300px|right| Image of Xochipilli.Xochipilli was the god of art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, and song in Aztec mythology. His name contains the Nahuatl words xochitl and pilli , and hence means "flower prince"...
.
- Macuilcozcacuauhtli (five vulture) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuilcuetzpalin (five lizard) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuilmalinalli (five grass) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuiltochtli
Macuiltochtli is one of the five deities from Aztec and other central Mexican pre-Columbian mythological traditions who, known collectively as the Ahuiateteo, symbolized excess, over-indulgence and the attendant punishments and consequences thereof.Macuiltochtli and the other Ahuiateteo...
(five rabbit) - one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Macuilxochitl (five flower) - the god of games and gambling, and chief of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess)
- Malinalxochitl - sorceress and goddess of snakes, scorpions and insects of the desert
- Matlalceuitl (also Matlalcueje) - goddess of rainfall and singing. Identified with Chalchiuhtlicue
Chalchiuhtlicue was an Aztec goddess of love, beauty, youth, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism. Reputedly universally revered at the time of the Spanish conquest, she was an important deity figure in the Postclassic Aztec realm of central Mexico...
.
- Mayahuel
Mayahuel is the female divinity associated with the maguey plant among cultures of central Mexico in the Postclassic era of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology, and in particular of the Aztec cultures...
(also Mayahual, or Mayouel) - the goddess of maguey, and by extension, alcohol
- Metztli
In Aztec mythology, Metztli was a god or goddess of the moon, the night, and farmers. He/she was probably the same deity as Yohaulticetl and Coyolxauhqui and the male moon god Tecciztecatl; like the latter, he/she feared the sun because he/she feared its fire...
(also Metztli, Tecuciztecatl, Tecciztecatl)- lowly god of worms who failed to sacrifice himself to become the sun, and became the moon instead, his face darkened by a rabbit.
- Mextli
In Aztec mythology, Mextli was the god of war and storms and was born fully armed as a warrior. He accepted hundreds of sacrifices annually. citation need His name is thought by many to be the source of the name "Mexico".-References:...
- a god of war and storms
- Mictecacihuatl
In Aztec mythology, Mictecacihuatl is Queen of Mictlan, the underworld, ruling over the afterlife with Mictlantecuhtli, another deity who is designated as her husband.Her role is to keep watch over the bones of the dead...
(also Mictlancihuatl) - goddess of death and Lady of MictlanMictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
, the underworldThe Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
- Mictlantecuhtli
Mictlantecuhtli , in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan , the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He was one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and was the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld...
(also Mictlantecuhtzi, or Tzontemoc) - the god of death and Lord of MictlanMictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
, also as god of the south, one of the skybearers
- Mixcoatl
Mixcoatl , or Camaxtli, was the god of the hunt and identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures. He was the patron deity of the Otomi, the Chichimecs, and several groups that claimed descent from the Chichimecs...
(cloud serpent) - god of hunting, war, and the Milky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
. An aspect of Tezcatlpoca and father of QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
- Nanahuatzin (also Nana, Nanautzin, or Nanauatzin) - lowly god who sacrificed himself to become sun god Tonatiuh
In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky...
- Omacatl (see Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. One of the four sons of Ometeotl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty,...
)
- Omecihuatl (see Ometeotl
Ometeotl is a name sometimes used about the pair of god Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl in Aztec mythology...
)
- Ometecuhtli (see Ometeotl
Ometeotl is a name sometimes used about the pair of god Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl in Aztec mythology...
)
- Ometeotl
Ometeotl is a name sometimes used about the pair of god Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl in Aztec mythology...
(also Citlatonac or Ometecuhtli (male) and Omecihuatl (female)) - the god(s) of duality, pregenator(s) of souls and lord/lady of heaven
- Ometotchtli
In Aztec mythology, Ometochtli is the collective or generic name of various individual deities and supernatural figures associated with pulque , an alcoholic beverage derived from the fermented sap of the maguey plant...
(two rabbit) - drunken rabbit god, leader of the Centzon TotochtinIn Aztec mythology, the Centzon Totochtin are a group of deities who meet for frequent parties; they are divine rabbits, and the gods of drunkenness. Some of their named members include Tepoztecatl, Texcatzonatl, Colhuatzincatl Macuiltochtli and Ometotchtli...
- Opochtli
In Aztec mythology, Opochtli was a god of hunting and fishing....
- left-handed god of trapping, hunting and fishing
- Oxomoco
Oxomoco is an Aztec deity, the Goddess of astrology and the calender. Oxomoco and Cipactonal were said to be the first human couple, and the Aztec comparison to Adam and Eve in regards to human creation and evolution. They bore a son named Piltzin-tecuhtli, who married a maiden, daughter of...
- goddess of astrology and the calendar
- Patecatl
In Aztec mythology, Patecatl is a god of healing and fertility, and the discoverer of peyoteas well as the "lord of the root of pulque ". With Mayahuel, he was the father of the Centzon Totochtin....
- the god of medicine, husband of MayahuelMayahuel is the female divinity associated with the maguey plant among cultures of central Mexico in the Postclassic era of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology, and in particular of the Aztec cultures...
- Paynal
In Aztec religion, Painal was a god who served as a representative of Huitzilopochtli....
- the messenger to HuitzilopochtliIn Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
- Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
(also Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli) (quetzal-feathered serpent) - creator god and patron of rulership, priests and merchants. Associated with EhecatlEhecatl is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as the aspect of the Feathered Serpent deity as a god of wind, and is therefore also known...
as the divine wind
- Quilaztli (see Ilamatecuhtli)
- Tecciztecatl (see Mextli
In Aztec mythology, Mextli was the god of war and storms and was born fully armed as a warrior. He accepted hundreds of sacrifices annually. citation need His name is thought by many to be the source of the name "Mexico".-References:...
)
- Temazcalteci
In the Aztec mythology, Temazcalteci was the goddess of steam baths. According to Sahagún, this goddess was the goddess of medicine, Toci, she was venerated by doctors. She was also worshipped by those who had temazcals in their houses....
(also Temaxcaltechi) - goddess of bathing and sweatbaths
- Teoyaomicqui (also Teoyaomiqui)- the god of dead warriors
- Tepeyollotl
In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl was the god of earthquakes, echoes and jaguars. He is the god of the Eighth Hour of the Night, and is depicted as a jaguar leaping towards the sun...
- (The jaguar form of TezcatlipocaTezcatlipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. One of the four sons of Ometeotl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty,...
) god of the heart of the mountain, associated with jaguarThe jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
s, echoes, and earthquakes
- Tepoztecatl
In Aztec mythology, Tepoztecatl was the god of pulque, of drunkenness and fertility. The deity was also known by his calendrical name, Ometochtli...
(also Tezcatzontecatl) - god of pulquePulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
and rabbits
- Teteoinnan - mother of the gods
- Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. One of the four sons of Ometeotl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty,...
(also Omacatl, Titlacauan) - omnipotent god of rulers, sorcerers and warriors; night, death, discord, conflict, temptation and change. A sinister rival to QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
. Can appear as a jaguarThe jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
.
- Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli
In Aztec religion, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is the god of the planet Venus, the morning star. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli was considered a dangerous and malevolent god, and was associated with Quetzalcoatl.-Myths:...
- destructive god of the morning star (venus), dawn, and of the east. One of the skybearers
- Tlaloc
Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography he...
(also Nuhualpilli) - the great and ancient provider and god of rain, fertility and lightning
- Tlaltecuhtli
Tlaltecuhtli, Tlaltecutli is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican deity figure, identified from sculpture and iconography dating to the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology , primarily among the Mexica and other Nahuatl-speaking cultures...
- goddess of earth, associated with difficult births
- Tlazolteotl
In Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl is a goddess of purification, steam bath, midwives, filth, and a patroness of adulterers. In Nahuatl, the word tlazolli can refer to vice and diseases. Thus, Tlazolteotl was a goddess of filth , vice, and sexual misdeeds...
(also Tlaelquani, Tlazolteotli)- the goddess of purification from filth, disease or excess
- Tloquenahuaque - a creator god or ruler
- Toci
Toci is a deity figuring prominently in the religion and mythology of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilization of Mesoamerica...
(also Temazcalteci) - grandmother goddess, heart of the earth and mother of the gods. Associated with midwives and war
- Tonacatecuhtli
In Aztec mythology, Tonacatecuhtli was a fertility god, who was worshipped for being the power that warmed the earth and made it fruitful. He organized the world into land and ocean at the creation of the world. Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl were the creators of the life, but he created them and...
- the aged creator and provider of food and patron of conceptions
- Tonacacihuatl
In Aztec mythology, Tonacacihuatl was the wife of Tonacatecuhtli....
- consort of TonacatecuhtliIn Aztec mythology, Tonacatecuhtli was a fertility god, who was worshipped for being the power that warmed the earth and made it fruitful. He organized the world into land and ocean at the creation of the world. Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl were the creators of the life, but he created them and...
- Tonantzin
In Aztec mythology and among present-day Nahuas, Tonantzin 'Our Revered Mother' is a general title bestowed upon female deities. Informants of Sahagún, for example, called a frightening goddess of war and childbirth, Cihuacoatl, by this title...
- a mother goddess
- Tonatiuh
In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky...
- a sun god and heavenly warrior, associated with eagles and with the MayaThe Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
- Tzitzmitl - aged grandmother goddess
- Xilonen - the goddess of young maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
- Xipe Totec
In Aztec mythology and religion, Xipe Totec was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east, disease, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths and the seasons. Xipe Totec was also known by the alternative names Tlatlauhca, Tlatlauhqui Tezcatlipoca and Youalahuan...
- the god of the seasons, seed germination and renewal, considered the patron of goldworkers
- Xiuhcoatl
In Aztec religion, Xiuhcoatl was a mythological serpent, it was regarded as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec fire deity, and was also an atlatl wielded by Huitzilopochtli...
(fire serpent or turquoise serpent) - embodiment of the sun's rays and emblem of XiuhtecuhtliIn Aztec mythology, Xiuhtecuhtli , was the god of fire, day and heat. He was the lord of volcanoes, the personification of life after death, warmth in cold , light in darkness and food during famine...
- Xiuhtecuhtli
In Aztec mythology, Xiuhtecuhtli , was the god of fire, day and heat. He was the lord of volcanoes, the personification of life after death, warmth in cold , light in darkness and food during famine...
-(also called HuehueteotlHuehueteotl is a Mesoamerican deity figuring in the pantheons of pre-Columbian cultures, particularly in Aztec mythology and others of the Central Mexico region. He is also sometimes called Ueueteotl...
)
- Xochipilli
thumb|300px|right| Image of Xochipilli.Xochipilli was the god of art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, and song in Aztec mythology. His name contains the Nahuatl words xochitl and pilli , and hence means "flower prince"...
- the young god of feasting, painting, dancing, games, and writing. Associated with Macuilxochitl and Cinteotl
- Xochiquetzal
In Aztec mythology, Xochiquetzal was a goddess associated with concepts of fertility, beauty, and female sexual power, serving as a protector of young mothers and a patroness of pregnancy, childbirth, and the crafts practised by women such as weaving and embroidery...
- goddess of love, beauty, female sexuality, prostitutes, flowers, pleasure, craft, weaving, and young mothers
- Xocotl - star god associated with fire
- Xolotl
In Aztec mythology, Xolotl was the god with associations to both lightning and death.Although often depicted in relation to the underworld, Xolotl was not a psychopomp in the Western sense. Xolotl did, however, aid the dead on their journey to Mictlan, the afterlife in some myths.Xolotl was also...
- canine companion of QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
and god of twins, sickness and deformity. Accompanies the dead to MictlanMictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
- Yacatecuhtli
In Aztec mythology, Yacatecuhtli or Yiacatecuhtli was the patron god of commerce and travelers, especially merchant travelers. His symbol is a bundle of staves....
(also Yactecuhtli) - the god of merchants and travellers
Serpent gods
- Chicomecoatl
In Aztec mythology, Chicomecoatl "Seven snakes", was the Aztec goddess of maize during the Middle Culture period. She is sometimes called "goddess of nourishment", a goddess of plenty and the female aspect of corn. Every September a young girl representing Chicomecoatl was sacrificed. The priests...
- Cihuacoatl
In Aztec mythology, Cihuacoatl was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses....
- Coatlicue
Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan , "The Mother of Gods" , is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war...
- Mixcoatl
Mixcoatl , or Camaxtli, was the god of the hunt and identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures. He was the patron deity of the Otomi, the Chichimecs, and several groups that claimed descent from the Chichimecs...
- Xiuhcoatl
In Aztec religion, Xiuhcoatl was a mythological serpent, it was regarded as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec fire deity, and was also an atlatl wielded by Huitzilopochtli...
God groups
- Ahuiateteo (also Macuiltonaleque) - five gods who personify excess
- Cihuateteo
In Aztec mythology, the Cihuateteo were the spirits of human women who died in childbirth . Childbirth was considered a form of battle, and its victims were honored as fallen warriors...
(also Civatateo) - souls of women who died in childbirth who lead the setting sun in the western sky. Also night demons who steal children, and cause seizures, insanity and sexual transgression. They also accompany warriors to heaven.
- Centzon Huitznahua - southern stars, children of Coatlicue
Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan , "The Mother of Gods" , is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war...
- Centzon Totochtin
In Aztec mythology, the Centzon Totochtin are a group of deities who meet for frequent parties; they are divine rabbits, and the gods of drunkenness. Some of their named members include Tepoztecatl, Texcatzonatl, Colhuatzincatl Macuiltochtli and Ometotchtli...
(400 rabbits) - gods of pulquePulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
- Skybearers - associated with the four directions, supported the vault of the sky.
- Tzitzimime
In Aztec mythology, a tzitzimitl is a deity associated with stars. They were depicted as skeletal female figures wearing skirts often with skull and crossbone designs...
- star demons of darkness that attack the sun during eclipses and threaten the earth
Supernatural creatures
- Ahuitzotl
The ahuizotl is a legendary creature in Aztec belief.-Description:It was described as dog-like, with hands capable of manipulation and an additional hand on its tail. The ahuizotl was feared due to its liking for human flesh, especially nails, eyes, and teeth...
- a human-eating water-dwelling dog-monkey with a hand on its tail
- Cipactli
Cipactli 'Crocodile' or 'Caiman', was the first day of the Aztec divinatory count of 13 X 20 days , and Cipactonal 'Sign of Cipactli' was considered to have been the first diviner. In Aztec cosmology, the crocodile symbolized the earth floating in the primeval waters...
- the caimanCaimans are alligatorid crocodylians within the subfamily Caimaninae. The group is one of two subfamilies of the family Alligatoridae, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Central and South America. They are relatively small crocodilians, with most species reaching lengths of only a few...
at the foundations of the earth
- Cihuateteo
In Aztec mythology, the Cihuateteo were the spirits of human women who died in childbirth . Childbirth was considered a form of battle, and its victims were honored as fallen warriors...
- the spirits of women who died in childbirth (mociuaquetzque.)
- Nagual
In Mesoamerican folk religion, a Nagual or Nahual is a human being who has the power to magically turn him- or herself into an animal form: most commonly a donkey, turkey, or dog, but also other and more powerful animals such as the jaguar and puma.Such a Nagual is believed to use his powers for...
- a tutelary animal or vegetable spirit
- Nahual - a shapeshifting sorcerer or witch
- Tlaltecuhtli
Tlaltecuhtli, Tlaltecutli is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican deity figure, identified from sculpture and iconography dating to the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology , primarily among the Mexica and other Nahuatl-speaking cultures...
- a drunken toad goddess
Places
- Apanoayan (where one crosses the river)- the first of the nine levels of Mictlan, also known as Itzcuintlan.
- Aztlán
Aztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...
(land of the herons) - the original home of the MexicaThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
before the peregrination and the establishment of Tenochtitlan
- Iztaccihuatl
Iztaccíhuatl , is the third highest mountain in Mexico, after the Pico de Orizaba, , and Popocatépetl, . Its name is Nahuatl for "White woman"....
- the sleeping lady
- Mictlan
Mictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed . Mictlan was located far to the north, and consisted of nine distinct levels....
- the underworld.
- Popocatepetl
Popocatépetl also known as "Popochowa" by the local population is an active volcano and, at , the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba...
- the smoking mountain
- Tlalocan
Tlalocan is the first level of the upper worlds, or the Aztecs' thirteen heavens, that has four compartments according to the mythic cosmographies of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples of pre-Columbian central Mexico, noted particularly in Conquest-era accounts of Aztec mythology...
first paradise.
- Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of...
place of the hill of the sacred jaguar
- Tlillan-Tlapallan
Tlillan-Tlapallan 'Place of the black and red colour' is a legendary place or region on the Gulf Coast of Mexico where king Quetzalcoatl went on his flight from Tollan in order to burn himself and change into the Morning Star....
middle realm of the heaven (middle paradise).
- Tonatiuhichan highest paradise
- Tamoanchan
Cultural depictions
Aztec gods are the subject of a composition for string quartet entitled
Macuilli Mexihcateteouch - Five Aztec Gods, written in 2005 by Italian composer
Lorenzo FerreroLorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer with a predilection for opera, a librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and wrote over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo...
.
External links
; late 19th C. compendium of some Aztec mythological texts and poems appearing in one MS. version of Sahagun's 16th C. codices.