AZTEC GODS
Added on: 6th Dec 2015
HUITZILOPOCHTLI DIDN’T REALLY LIKE HIS
SIBLINGS THAT MUCH
Huitzilopochtli’s mother, Coatlicue, conceived him after having kept in
her bosom a ball of hummingbird feathers that fell from the sky.
Huitzilopochtli, who became the Aztec god of the obsidian knife, sprang
forth from his mother’s belly to kill his siblings before they killed him.
Now that’s brotherly love.
HUITZILOPOCHTLI CAN BE FOUND ON MEXICO’S FLAG
Huitzilopochtli’s first shrine was built on the spot where Mexica priests
found an eagle that was poised upon a rock while devouring a snake,
an image so important to Mexican culture that it is portrayed on the
national flag of Mexico. The eagle was seen as a representation of the
sun god Huitzilopochtli and was very important to the Mexicans who
referred to themselves as the “People of the Sun”.
OMETECUHTLI WAS THE ONLY AZTEC GOD TO
WHOM NO TEMPLE WAS ERECTED
Despite being one of the primordial gods and lord of life, Ometecuhtli
was the only Aztec god for whom no temple was erected. This
happened because the Aztecs saw him as remote in the heavens and
assumed he would never interact with them directly, but they were
aware of his presence in every ritual act and in every rhythm of nature.
XOCHIQUETZAL SHARES QUITE A FEW SIMILARITIES
WITH APHRODITE AND PERSEPHONE FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Xochiquetzal was the patroness of erotic love just like Aphrodite in
Greek mythology. She was also the goddess of vegetation, artistry, and
the protector of prostitutes. It was also believed she was taken against her
will to the Underworld by Xolotl because she had eaten a
forbidden fruit. Ring any bells?
AND SHE HAD A “HIPPIE” TWIN
Xochiquetzal’s twin, Xochipilli, was the god of flowers, maize, love,
games, song, and dance. He could easily be the god of hippies now
that we think about it.
OMETEOTL WAS IN REALITY TWO GODS IN ONE
Ometeotl (“Two God”) is a name sometimes used to refer to the pair
of Aztec gods Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl. Ometecuhtli and his
female counterpart, Omecihuatl, represented the primordial forces
of nature and duality, and were considered the parents of many of the
other major gods. Sometimes they are called husband and wife, but they
were really considered two sides of the same dualistic god and were
sometimes depicted as a half-man, half-woman figure.
QUETZALCÓATL WAS THE CREATOR OF HUMANS
Quetzalcóatl was a very important god; it was believed he was the
one who created humans. However, he wasn’t the first to create them.
According to Aztec mythology, the world had been created four times
before, and destroyed by infighting each time. Quetzalcóatl retrieved
human bones from the underworld and added his blood to
bring them to life.
BUT HIS BEST FRIEND WAS A DOG-HEADED GOD
They say that a dog is man’s best friend, but in Quetzalcóatl’s case it
appears they are a god’s best friend, too. With Xolotl as his companion,
a dog-headed god, Quetzalcóatl was said to have descended to the
underground hell of Mictlan to gather the bones of the ancient dead.
Those bones he anointed with his own blood, giving birth to the
men who inhabit the present universe.
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