Aztec Mythology

The Aztec people had a very polytheistic religion- worshiping over 128 different gods. Each one had its own appearance ranging from what looked to be a woman to an animal. The main gods that the Aztecs worshiped were Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc -Huitzilopochtli being the main god that they worshiped. He was supposedly the god that would make sure that the sun rose in the morning. Tlaloc was the god of new life and birth.

But during the earlier years, the Aztec became one of the most advanced civilizations because of their religion, war, and agriculture. In the Aztec religion, they performed human sacrifices for the gods daily. Sacrifice was one of the main events in the Aztec religion. They believed that the people being sacrificed, were their messengers to the gods. In basic ceremonies, slaves or victims of war were used to sacrifice.

The Aztec and the Maya were very strict in practicing their culture and religion and human sacrifice was a big part of their culture. Life in Latin America prior to European contact insinuated duality because they engineered buildings, had a strong understanding of astronomy, yet had limited technology, and practiced human sacrifice and blood-letting. Latin America before the Europeans came had a tough but advanced life. The Olmec, Inca, Maya, and Aztec were advanced in their own way and practiced religion differently. They had their own setbacks with resources and engineered sacred temples that are still standing today.

They did this because they believed that good gods could prevent bad gods from doing evil things and they also believed that good gods got their strength from human blood and hearts so they had sacrifices in order to keep their gods strong. For major rituals warriors were sacrificed, for the warrior this was one of the greatest hon... ... middle of paper ... ...eternity. The earth was thus created through fire and death; the earth mother had fallen, the moon goddess was dead, and her brothers slaughtered. And so is the story of the Aztec creation. They based their lifestyle on the examples set by the gods and goddesses in the story, thus they led violent lives.

(Unstead, 9&10.) The Aztecs had many gods, which they believed in. The two chief gods were Oretecuhtlick and Orecihuatl. They were the lord and the lady of creation. They had four sons who would be the creators of the other gods.

In this legend, Quetzalcoatl would not accept the destruction of his people so he stole their bones from the underworld and dipped them in his blood to resurrect them. They reopened their eyes to the current sun, Huitzilopochtli. The other children of Ometeotl became jealous of Huitzilopochtli, and the

Yet, they worshiped these gods in very violent ways through human sacrifice. Some civilizations killed younger children and some killed adults, ripping out their hearts and cutting off their heads. Life in Latin America before the Europeans arrived insinuated a paradox because they had an organized leadership and were spiritual, yet they caused mayhem through violence and war. Works Cited The Inca: The Great Inca Rebellion The Maya: Engineering an Empire The Aztec: Documentary: The Aztec Empire In Search of History The Olmec: Secrets of the Ancient Olmecs (Full Documentary) on You tube

The main purpose of the great Aztec pyramids was, in fact, human sacrifices. They also believed that there were “lucky'; and “unlucky'; days for baptism and to declare war on, which were decided by a priest. Most art and architecture in the Aztec civilization was based on their religion. There are many brightly colored murals and paintings on walls and on bark which depict religious ceremonies, along with large idols of gods. One of the most amazing and famous of the...

2014) Many ancient myths claim Teotihuacan was the birthplace of creation and is where the Gods went to observe the evolving world and criticize its progress. However, it would be from man in strife hidden under the destruction that would ultimately be Teotihuacan 's downfall. A land dominated by two colossal pyramids and an extensive sacred avenue, Teotihuacan became considered a spiritual land to most inhabiters. Teotihuacan itself means, “the place where the Gods were created” or “where men became Gods”, reflecting the belief of the Aztecs that the creation of the universe occurred on that very land. (Jarus, Owen.

Religion, according to Melford E. Spiro author of "Religion: Problems of Definition and Explanation" can be narrowly defined as an institution consisting of culturally postulated superhuman beings. (2) Religion, was a major part of the Aztec culture, which was polytheist. The main god that was worshiped was the sun god, Huitzilopochtli who was also the god of war. In the modern world, there are people that still worship Aztecan gods, through dance, and other rituals. Concheros is a group of people that follow traditions of Aztec worship with a more modern outlook.