Sun Worshipping In Ancient Aztec Civilization

In these civilizations, there were many worshipping and sacrificial places that were in place because of their belief in the gods and the afterlife. All around the world were temples and places to pray to the gods, but the religion in these civilizations was exceptionally strong. In Egypt, the Pyramids were everlasting tombs for the dead. The Pyramids are located on the Nile and was the most north and most sacred of all the temples. The belief in the afterlife was crucial in their religion. Egyptians treated the dead better than they treated the living. While your physical life on earth was short, they thought your soul could survive forever in the afterlife. These pyramids held important pharaohs and priests, that were placed in the tombs with gifts that they could take with them after they died.

Religion in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia played a significant role in developing and organizing the society. Based on the common belief of the world’s divine creation, both civilizations had regular rituals and ceremonies to honor the supernatural beings. In rituals and ceremonies, the cult was expressed as the manifestation of components that symbolized the divine such as the cult images, temples, and shrines. Since religion was an important aspect in the people’s daily lives, it also had an impact on the ruling system in the two civilizations. Even though Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have similar foundational beliefs about the cult, different cultic practices imply the difference in the structure and the scope of

The selfless act the gods committed led to one of the major reasons for human sacrifices which was that since the gods gave up their own life for the creation of the new world, that the Aztecs had to somehow respect and honor their action. They did this by creating an eighteen month calendar, which dedicated each month to a certain god. The Aztecs used scared and solar calendars to tell time and when all the possible combinations had been used, usually every fifty-two years, the Aztecs would go through a twelve-day period before the cycle started again (Benson 506).

Tonatiuh was considered to be the sun god in the fifth era, he was one of the most important gods in the Aztec religion. Tonatiuh was a patron of the Aztec gods, and he would assist the people by supplying them with warmth and fertility. The Aztec would worship him by sacrificing the hearts of their war prisoners, they did this to keep the sun moving in orbit. The people did this form of sacrifice to repay the gods, they believed that the sun appeared in the heavens, but it refused to move so the gods sacrificed their own hearts to convince the sun to move. Tonatiuh was given the role of the sun god through great sacrifice, in the earlier times a council was formed between the gods to decide who the next sun god would be, they established that the god worthy of being given this role would have to prove himself by sacrificing their own life to preserve human life forever.

The Aztecs had many different believes and theories. This included gods, practices, and culture. This paragraph is going to be focused on the Aztec gods. There were many gods that the Aztecs believe in. There are 10 main gods. They were, Huitzilopochtli who was the main god for the Aztecs. He is the one who lead them during the migration for directions of where they should build their capital city Tenochtitlan. He is the god of the sun and war. Tlaloc who is the god of rain is associated with agriculture and fertility. Tonatiuh was the god of nourishing who provided warmth to the people. Tezcatlipoca whose name means: “smoking mirror”. He is the god of evil power, death, and cold. Chalchiuhtlicue who was the goddess of running water and aquatic

In 1519, the Aztecs were the most powerful kingdom in Mesoamerica. At the peak of

Aztec practice religions of many gods. They had sun gods. Two of the sun gods were Ehecatl and Huitzilopochtli. The Aztec believed that if you added his or her blood they would come back to life. Also, they repaid people by sacrificing. The two things they feared most was natural and the world ending. For example, they thought that the world was going to in 52 years. They thought there was 13 layers in heavens and 9 layers in the underworld.

Our civilization was highly developed socially, intellectually and artistically. At the top were nobles, while at the bottom were serfs, indentured servants and slaves. Our faith shared ideologies of other religions, like that of the Maya, including the rite of human sacrifice. Within our cities were breathtaking temples, palaces, plazas and statues which represented our society’s devotion to the many Aztec gods. The Aztec calendar is based on a solar cycle of 365 days and a ritual cycle of 260 days. The calendar played a central role in the religion and rituals of our

They believed in a religion was popular at the time, many across the world following the same ways. According to Tim Lambert, “Aztecs were polytheists. That is they worshiped many gods” (The Aztecs: Aztec Religion). Once an Aztec died they believed that they would go to one of the thirteen heavens that was most suitable for them; you could also be sent to one of the nine hells if you committed crime or not followed the rules of behavior. Each of their Gods had a specific area in which they watched over and cared for. However, they were the most powerful over all of the Aztec people. As Linn Donn says, “They believed their gods would punish them if they did not worship them every day. They were terrified of their gods and what they might do if angered” (Aztec Empire: Religion and Gods). The Aztec priests told the people how to behave properly so they would not be punished by the gods. The priests were also a large portion of their worshipping, many times sacrificing themselves for the good of the people. All in all, the Aztecs were very involved in their religious rituals. Many Aztec artists created their stone sculptures to symbolize their religious

Mayans they worshipped many gods. Many gods were related to nature such as god of sun, rain, and crops. Mayans had one main god Itamna the god of creation. They also made sacrifices. The Mayans happened to be influenced strongly by the Olmecs. The Mayan indians still practice the same religion the ancient people did. The mayans had two calendars one was called Tzolk’n and the other one is Haab’. Tzolk’n is a religious calendar that last 260 days. Haab’ was a solar calendar.

Throughout History religion has been a cornerstone of civilization and culture, shaping the lives of people and generations to come. In a world constantly pursuing knowledge, religion offers enlightenment to understand the mysteries of life. In A History of God , Karen Armstrong delves into the role of God throughout history- primarily focusing on the Abrahamic religions- she discusses the rise of the concept of God alongside times of Civilization, Division, Intolerance and Unity defining the Axil time period. Armstrong begins her journey by discussing the emergence of an elusive “god” in multiple civilization all at once. The idea of god was a representation of people’s desire to learn and grow.

Human sacrifice is considered immoral in today’s value. However, this is not the case in ancient civilizations. The Aztec civilization that grew out of Mesoamerica region in the 14th century was proven to be practicing human sacrifice. The deep-rooted belief that people are indebted to Gods makes sacrifice a big part of Aztec culture. According to the Aztec creation myth, Gods sacrifice themselves for the creation of the Earth. Therefore, human sacrifice turns out to be the way Aztecan repays their Gods. The most common procedure of human sacrifice consists of four main steps: selection of victims, preparation, torture, and body dismemberment.

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Each of the artifacts I listed above represents the religion of the Aztec culture. The Aztecs held belief and cherishing of gods closest to their hearts throughout their era. The Aztecs were willing to sacrifice their own people for them. I believe that shows how much they adored their beloved gods, and how thankful they are. The statue of the sun and war god Huitzilopochtli was used in human sacrificial ceremonies and was prayed to, the Aztec death mask was worn in rituals by priests, and the cuauhxicalli eagle was used by the Aztecs to contain human hearts from sacrificial ceremonies. The Aztecs as a whole were deeply religious and their everyday life revolved around them cherishing their gods, because they wanted to stay healthy, have food

As the god of wisdom and crafts, Ea is responsible for human attributes including cleverness, inventiveness, and creativity, which enable people to survive independently. Ishtar, too, while a fickle friend, presides over sexual desire, fertility, nurturance, agriculture, and domesticity, which ensure humankind’s future. For the Mesopotamians, piety and respect for the gods are not true moral obligations. Rather, piety and respect suggest a practical acknowledgment of nature’s power and serve to remind humans of their place in the larger scheme of things.