Aztec Gods
There are over 100 gods, goddesses, and deities in Aztec religion. The main gods and goddess however are listed below; follow the link underneath for more of the gods. Huitzilopochtli:Huitzilopochtli is the god of war and the god of the sun but not one of the four suns in the legend about how the earth came about. The Aztecs where supposedly guided to Mexico by Huitzilopochtli. Coatlicue is Huitzilopochtli’smother who fell pregnant with him after discovering a ball of feathers and placing it near her chest for safe keeping to only discovering she was pregnant when searching for the feathers. Coatlicue who already had children who are the moon and stars became insanely jealous of their unborn sibling. So they decided to rebel against their mother with Coyolxauhqui leading them but before they could harm her, Huitzilopochtli appeared from his mother wombs and defeated his siblings. He beheaded Coyolxauhqui and now his siblings head is the moon. Tezcatlipoca:Tezcatlipoca means ‘the
mirror that smokes’. Tezcatlipoca is the main Deity, who is described as being
an antithesis to Huitzilopochtli the main God. Tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl:Quetzalcoatl is the God of civilization and education. Quetzalcoatl is recognized as the second sun that created the fourth sun. Once the fifth sun was created Quetzalcoatl introduced the humans to agriculture and learning. Quetzalcoatl is described to look like a feather serpent and is known to many of the Mesoamerican civilization as well as the Aztecs. Tlaloc:Tlalocwas the rain god and one of the most ancient gods in Mesoamerican religion. He is commonly associated with fertility and agriculture gods. The Aztecs who often sacrifice children because they thought a newborns cry was sacred to Tlaloc, causing many ceremonies involving the sacrifice of children. Tonatiuh:Tonatiuh was the sun god and was one of the most gentle, he provided warmth and fertility. However to provide warmth and fertility he would need a sacrifice of blood Tonatiuh: Tonatiuh was the benefactor of warriors. Tonatiuh was the ruler of the fifth world and governedthe era of the fifth sun. Chalchiuhtlicue: Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of water and her name means ‘she of the Jade Skirt’. Her husband was Tlaloc and assisted in labor and childbirth. Centeotl:Centeotl was the god of maize and his name meant ‘Maize cob Lord’. Centeotl was related to Tlaloc, the god of rain. Xipe Totec:Xipe Totec means ‘Our Lord with the flayed skin’, and was the god of agricultural, fertility, the east and the goldsmiths. | Aztec Legend: How the Earth was created
The Aztecs believed there were five worlds to begin with but each faced a terrible event causing for of the worlds to die. The story is underneath. ‘Tezcatlipoca created the first sun, known as Nahui-Ocelotl, or Four-Jaguar. It came to an end when Quetzalcoatl struck down Tezcatlipoca, who became a jaguar and destroyed all the people. Quetzalcoatl was the ruler of the second sun, Nahui-Ehécatl, or Four-Wind. However, Tezcatlipoca threw Quetzalcoatl off his throne, and together the fallen god and the sun were carried off by a hurricane of wind. People turned into monkeys and fled into the forest. The third sun, Nahuiquiahuitl or Four-Rain, belonged to the rain god Tlaloc. Quetzalcoatl destroyed it with fire that fell from the heavens. The water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue ruled the fourth sun, called Nahui-Atl or Four-Water. A 52-year flood destroyed that sun, and the people turned into fish.’ Source http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ar-Be/Aztec-Mythology.html#ixzz2EjXtUzuv
The Aztecs believed this legend and passed it onto other generations.
They believed that because so many of the world or suns as other legends say
died, they needed to perform a sacrifice almost every day to make sure our
world stays alive. If a sacrifice was
missed then the Aztecs believed they would suffer great consequences or cause
the world to end because the gods had already sacrificed so much for them.
The legend above is important to the Aztecs because it is the story of creation and how they believed it started. It presents why they think they must offer human sacrifices to the gods every day and how they interpret there punishment for not sacfricing a human. The reason why they perform sacrifices focuses on this legend because the Aztecs feel they have a debt to pay to the gods and they feel the gods will pleased with human sacrifices most specifically they beating heart of a human. So the priest would perform a ritual involving a sacrifice to the gods to show how thankful they are and to make sure the world we keep on moving.
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