Templo Mayor Research Paper

In the Aztec religion there was not only god, there were many sun-gods over many ages. In the Aztec religion there were five ages, or five suns. Each of these sages had a different Aztec sun god and each age ended in disaster. Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror) was the first god to be a sun. Tezcatlipoca was the god of the night and was an enemy of Quetzalcoatl which is another god (Ancient Aztec Religion). After Tezcatlipoca was knocked by Quetzalcoatl from his exalted position, in revenge Tezcatlipoca took the form of a jaguar and destroyed the world (Aztec-History). Aztecs believe that the world was created and then destroyed with wind, and then two floods (Ancient Aztec Religion). Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent) became the next sun, but the rivalry continued, and the paw of the jaguar knocked him from the sky. The reign of the second sun god came to an end. A strong wind arose and there was great destruction on the earth. The gods next chose Tlaloc (god of rain) to be the sun. Quetzalcoatl wasn't happy and made the fire rain down, causing destruction on the earth and the end of the age. The next god of the Aztec sun goddess was Tlaloc's sister named Chalchiuhtlicue (lady of the jade skirts). Chalchiuhtlicue was chosen by Quetzacoatl to rule the sky. Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of water, lakes and streams. Once again the fighting of the gods caused the destruction of the world, which was again destroyed by floods. No other god wanted the job

     According to the famous legend, the Aztecs finally settled at a spot where an eagle sat upon a cactus eating a snake. This was a sign foretold by their patron god. The sign, found by the priests, finally appeared on a small island in Lake Texcoco. By 1325, on the island, the Aztecs built a temple to Huitziposhtli and began to construct the city of Tenochtitlan, the "Place of Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit." Over the next 200 years, the city slowly became one of the largest and most powerful cities of the world, and was the giant heart of the Aztecs Empire .

Aztec culture is the culture of the people referred to as Aztecs, but since most ethnic groups of central Mexico in the postclassic period shared basic cultural traits, many of the traits that characterize Aztec culture cannot be said to be exclusive to the Aztecs. For the same reason, the notion of "Aztec civilization" is best understood as a particular horizon of a general Mesoamerican civilization. The culture of central Mexico includes maize cultivation, the social division between pipiltin nobility and macehualtin commoners, a pantheon, and the calendric system of a xiuhpohualli of 365 days intercalated with a tonalpohualli of 260 days. Particular to the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan was the Mexica patron God Huitzilopochtli, twin pyramids, and the ceramic ware known as Aztec I to III. Client states paid tribute to the Aztec emperor, the Huey Tlatoani, in an economic strategy limiting communication and trade between outlying polities, making them

Tetla was the chief attendant of the city’s government while Huitzitzilin was an Aztec princess/concubine to this government official. Huitzitzilin was keeping a secret because of public humiliation and mockery

The Aztecs were Mesoamerican people from the early centuries in the Americas. The home of the Aztecs was in the Valley of Mexico, they named it Tenochtitlan an island in Lake Texcoco. Before they got to Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs were from Aztlan led by chief man Tenoch. It was believed that “they were hated and rejected by all the surrounding inhabitants of the valley because they were uncivilized” (Aztec Culture). It was also believed that the chief Tenoch got a message from their God that said to lead his people to a place surrounded by Lake Texcoco and, where they saw an eagle eating a snake on a cactus that was their place for them to grow. During the next couple of years, the Aztec empire began growing into the greatest and most powerful tribe in Mexico. The Emperor who led them after Tenoch was Moctezuma II and it has also who led them to their downfall when the Spanish got to Tenochtitlan.

The Aztecs had many beliefs that were based on the end of the world and nature. The Aztec religion focused on keeping a balance in nature. They believed that one mistake could lead to a natural disaster or could cause the sun to stop rotating. Among the many hundreds of gods that the Aztecs adored, there was a particularly interesting god that stood out from the rest. This god was Quetzalcoatl, otherwise knows as the “Feathered Serpent”. According to legend Quetzalcoatl created all humans with his own blood. The Aztecs believed that they needed to repay Quetzalcoatl and all the gods for their sacrifice by performing rituals. In

Friar Diego Duran points out that an Aztec god ordered them to call the piece of land that they settled in, Tenochtitlan (Doc. 2). There are religious reasons that justify the Aztec reign and control over central Mexico; one of these reasons if their gods telling them what to do. There is a polytheistic reign in the Aztec empire, which makes them feel like they have to build towers to impress their gods and make their lives better. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Student Edition describes “the central plaza of an Aztec castle included a pyramid temple to the war god, left, temples to other gods and palaces” (Doc. 4) The Aztecs relied on their gods to help them make choices in life. The Aztecs did fierce human sacrifice to turn the sacrifice into a god. Most of the Aztecs fierce fighting game from human sacrifice to their

Aztec history tells that the Aztecs migrated around the 6th century when they settled central Mexico. In the 13th century the last Aztec Tribe, known as the Mexica, settled in central Mexico. However, in 1323, the Mexica Tribe saw a vision from the Aztec Gods, that once again made them move. The vision was of an eagle perched on a cactus, clutching a snake. Said vision showed them where they should build their new city. So the tribe of Mexicas moved to a small island in the center of Lake Texocco and started building – the city of Tenochtitlan. In 1376, they elected their first king or “Huey Tlatoani,” Acamapichtli.

The religious aspects of both the Aztec and the Incan civilizations were based on several different deities. The Aztec empire had more than 128 gods and goddesses. The most important of these gods is Tlaloc (Life god) and Huitzilopochtli (Sun god). These gods could be represented in human, animal or direction form. Aztec gods were worshipped through pyramid shaped religious buildings and ritual sacrificing. Human

The Aztec civilization was a very complex society that was feared and known well for their various gory sacrifices done to please their many gods in their polytheistic religion. The much feared civilization began by the exile of one of the two Toltec leaders, which lead to the decline of the Toltec state that was later replaced by Mexica, or the Aztecs. According to the Aztecs, the land chosen to build their main city was chosen by the portrayal of an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. Through military might, the Aztecs managed to become the most powerful civilization in the mid-fourteenth century. They maintained their power through military might and the fear they caused other civilizations because of the human

Cortez and his force arrived in Tenochtitlan on November 8th, 1519. Tenochtitlan was the capital of what we know today as Mexico. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Tenochtitlan was run by the Aztecs. Cortes then met Montezuma, the Aztecs’s emperor. Montezuma and the Aztecs thought Hernan Cortes was a god. They thought he was Quetzalcoatl. Cortez was there at the right time because the god was supposed to arrive the same year Cortes was there. Since they thought he was a god they would do anything for his command. Later on Montezuma suspected Cortez not to be the god. He gave him gold and jewels to try and get him to leave. It had the opposite affect and increased the Spaniards greed. Cortez then captured Montezuma as hostage to prevent the Aztecs attacking.

Huitzilopochtli’s name is a means hummingbird. It was originally a somewhat ordinary god of war and of young men, but in the fifteenth century, he was elevated to status among the Mexica. He became associated with the sun and gradually become the Mexica’s most important deity. According to new texts, Mexica’s had been guided to Lake Texcoco by Huitzilopochtli; this is where they were to build their city. People made human sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli such as human hearts. This was because they thought that the sun needed the energy to keep on rising. Also, the Mexica built a great temple on the Pyramid in Tenochtitlan in his honor.

Tenochtitlan was built on a lake island called Aztlan and over the lake, the Aztecs built fertile, floating farms called “Chinampas”.The people who inhabited the Aztlan Island were originally called the Mexica people. The name Aztec is derived from the name of the Island. However primitive this empire may seem, the Emperors were quite affluent. They had lavish possessions

The first being political political: the subjugation of enemy city states in order expand the empire and demonstrate power and superiority. The second objective was religious and socioeconomic: the taking of captives to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies. According to Friar Diego Durán’s accounts of the Aztec civilization, Tlacaelel - a king of the Aztec Empire - arranged with leaders of other Pre-Columbian city states to engage in ritual battles that would provide all parties with enough sacrificial victims to appease the gods. Tlacaelel reigned over a period of great famine in the empire in year 1450. The Aztec Religion believed that Gods required sacrifices to keep all running smoothly. There were several gods that the Aztecs worshiped to for agricultural purposes, for example: Tláloc, who sends rain and nourishes maize7, Centeotl, the god of maize in general, Teteoinnan, the god of agriculture as well as sexual fertility, and Xipe Totec, god of rituals and sacrifice8. The Aztecs believed that through worshipping certain gods, and generously providing them with a steady supply of sacrifices and blood, the gods would in return keep things balanced. When there was not enough victims, Tlacaelel resorted to these battles to collect more humans to be sacrificed. War was a dominant aspect of the Aztec civilization, and they aspired to exponentially expand their empire through military conquest, while also collecting tribute from the

The religion of the Aztecs was made up of mainly three gods: Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl. Below these three main gods were four creating gods. Below these four gods were many other gods, however the most important were Tlaloc, the rain god, Chalchihuitlicue, the god of growth and Xipe, the god of spring. The main thing that captures the attention of Aztec religion is their human sacrifice made to the different gods. Although human sacrifice was practiced around Mesoamerica, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice in a large scale never seen before to date. The idea of human sacrifice was that Gods gave things to humans like food, rain, wealth, and other goods only if they were given human beings in return. The Aztecs believed that the goods liked best the living hearths of sacrificed captives. If the captive was a well skilled soldier and very brave then the Gods would return better goods to his people. This idea lead to wars were the Aztecs fought with other indians and capture their bravest men for sacrifice. As we can imagine,