Aztec Tenochtitlan, in the Valley of Mexico, now under the modern Mexico City, was the capital of the Aztec empire. According to native sources, it was founded in 1325, after the Aztecs wandered for years in search of a new homeland.
The Origins of the Aztecs
Aztec
Creation MythThe Aztecs-who called themselves Mexica -- were not originally from the Valley of Mexico, but migrated from the north, from a mythical island called Aztlan, “The Place of Herons”. Historically, the Aztecs/Mexica were the last of many tribes-collectively known as Chichimeca -- who migrated towards south from what is now Northern Mexico and the Southwest of the United States due to a period of great drought. In many codices (painted folding-books) the Aztecs are shown carrying with them the idol of their patron deity Huitzilopochtli. After almost 2 centuries of migration, at around A.D. 1250, the Mexica arrived in the Valley of Mexico.
The Valley of Mexico: An Occupied Land
The Valley of Mexico lies ~7000 feet above the sea level and is surrounded by high mountains and volcanoes. Today this area is almost completely covered by the monstrous expansion of Mexico City, but in antiquity, water coming down from these mountains created a series of shallow, marshy lakes that were intensely exploited for fishing and hunting, collecting plants, salt and water for cultivation.
Because of its wealth of natural resources, the Valley of Mexico has been continuously occupied for millennia. Before the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico other societies developed there and exploited this rich environment.
Teotihuacan: Almost 1000 years before the Aztecs, the city of Teotihuacan (between 200 BC and AD 750) flourished there.
Today Teotihuacan is a main archaeological site a few miles north of modern Mexico City and every year attracts thousands of tourists.
The word Teotihuacan is a Nahuatl term -- the language spoken by the Aztecs -- and means “The Birthplace of the God”. We don’t know its real name, but the Aztecs gave this name to the city because it was a sacred place, associated with the legendary origins of the world.
The Legend of the Fifth Sun: The legend of the Fifth Sun is a famous Aztec myth about the creation of the universe and the origins of the world.
According to the myth, the Gods, after the destruction of humankind during the era of the Forth Sun, met at Teotihuacan to decide which gods had to sacrifice themselves in order for a new era to start.
They performed ceremonies at the pyramids of the Moon and the Sun, and finally threw themselves in a great fire. But the sun and moon were still immobile.
So Ehecatl, the wind god, blowing at the sun, could finally move it through its way: the Fifth Sun -the era in which the Aztecs lived- was born.
Tula: Another city that developed in the Valley of Mexico before the Aztecs was the city of Tula. This, between AD 950 and 1150, was the capital of the Toltecs.
The Toltecs were considered by the Aztecs to excel in the arts and science and to be brave warriors. This place was so revered by the Aztecs, that the king Motecuhzoma (aka Montezuma) sent people to dig up Toltec objects to be placed in temples at Tenochtitlan.
The First Settlement on Chapultepec (“Grasshopper Hill”), and the Princess’ Sacrifice
When the Aztecs/Mexica finally arrived in the Valley of Mexico Teotihuacan and Tula had been abandoned from centuries, but they found other groups settled on the best land. Those were groups of Chichimecs who had migrated in earlier times. The Mexica were, therefore, forced to settle on the inhospitable hill of Chapultepec.
They later became vassals of the city of Culhuacan, a prestigious city whose rulers were considered heirs of the Toltecs. As acknowledgment for their help in battle, they obtained by the Culhua king one of his daughters to be worshipped as a goddess/priestess.
However, when the Colhua king arrived to attend the ceremony, he found one of the priest dressed with the flayed skin of her daughter: Hutzilopochtli asked for the sacrifice of the princess. This provoked a clash and the defeat of the Mexica who had to leave and moved to some marshy islands in the middle of the lake.
Tenochtitlan, “The place of the Fruit of the Prickly Pear Cactus”
According to the myth, after weeks of wandering, Huitzilopochtli appeared to the Mexica leaders and guided his people to a place where a great eagle perched on a cactus killing a snake. This was the place elected for them by the god, the place where they will found their capital Tenochtitlan. The year was 2 Calli (Two House) or A.D. 1325. Tenochtitlan rapidly grew as a commercial and military center.
The Mexica were skillful and fierce soldiers and created solid alliances with the surrounding cities. The apparently unfortunate position of their city, actually facilitates economic connections using canoes and boats across the lakes and at the same time helped against military attacks. The city grew rapidly, with palaces and well organized residential areas and aqueducts that provided fresh water to the city from the mountains.
At the center of the city stood the sacred precinct with ball courts, schools for nobles, priests’ quarters and the ceremonial heart of the city and of the whole empire: the Great Temple of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the Huey Teocalli (the Great House of the Gods).
This was a stepped pyramid with a double temple on top dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the main deities of the Aztecs.
The temple, decorated with bright colors, was rebuilt many times during Aztec history, the 7th and last version was the one seen and described by Hernan Cortés and the Conquistadors. When, on November 8 1519, Hernan Cortés and his soldiers entered the Aztec capital, they were entering one of the largest cities in the world; many of them had never seen a city like that before.
The Aztec creation myth which tells how the world originated is called the Legend of the Fifth Sun. Several different versions of this myth exist because the stories were originally passed down by oral tradition, and because the Aztecs adopted and modified gods and myths from other tribes.
The Legend of the Fifth Sun
According to Aztec mythology, their world was the fifth era of a cycle of creation and destruction, during which different gods first governed the earth through a dominant element, and then destroyed it. These worlds were called suns.
The creator of the world was the god Ometeotl, who was both male and female and gave birth to the four Tezcatlipocas of the East, North, South and West. These gods eventually created the world and all the other deities.
Next they had to give light to humans and in order to do this; one of the gods had to sacrifice himself into a fire. The first god to sacrifice himself was Tezcatlipoca. This First world was inhabited by giants and came to an end when the giants were devoured by jaguars.
The Second world, or sun, was governed by Quetzalcoatl and the earth was populated by humans. This world came to an end through hurricanes and floods. The survivors fled to the top of the trees and were transformed into monkeys.
The Third Sun was dominated by water and its ruling deity was Tlaloc. People who inhabited this world ate aquatic seeds. This world came to an end when the god Quetzalcoatl made it rain fire and ashes. The humans who didn’t die became birds and the others were replaced by other animals.
The Fourth Sun was governed by the goddess Chalchiuthlicue, sister and wife of Tlaloc. A great flood marked the end of this world and all the people were transformed into fish. A further version of the myth tells that at the end of this epoch the gods gathered at Teotihuacan to decide who had to sacrifice him/herself in order for the new world to begin. The god Huehuetéotl, the old fire god, started a sacrificial bonfire, but none of the most important gods wanted to jump into the flames. Only the old god Nanahuatzin had the courage to jump into the flames and became the new sun.
The Fifth Sun was the world in which the Aztecs lived. Tonatiuh the sun god was the ruling deity. The Aztecs considered themselves “the People of the Sun” and therefore their duty was to nourish the Sun god through blood offerings and sacrifices. Failing of doing this would have caused the end of their world and the disappearing of the sun from the sky. This world is characterized by the sign Ollin, which means movement. According to Aztec beliefs, this indicated that this world would come to an end through earthquakes.
A version of this myth is recorded on the famous Aztec Calendar Stone, a colossal stone sculpture whose images referred to one version of this creation tale linked to Aztec history.
Aztec Gods Most Important Aztec Deities
The Aztecs had a complex and diversified pantheon (which means ensemble of gods). Scholars studying Aztec religion identified no less than 200 gods, divided into three groups, with each group supervising one aspect of the universe such as the heaven or the sky; the rain, fertility and agriculture; and finally the war and sacrifice.
Among the most important deities, we can list
1. Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli (pronounced Weetz-ee-loh-POCHT-lee) was the patron god of the Aztecs. He was the god that, during their migration, indicated them the place to found their capital Tenochtitlan. His name means “Hummingbird of the left” and he was the patron of war and sacrifice. His shrine, on top of the pyramid of the Templo Mayor, was decorated with skulls and colored in red for blood.
2. Tlaloc
Tlaloc (pronounced Tlá-loc) was the rain god and one of the most ancient deities in all Mesoamerica. His origins can be traced back to Teotihuacan, the Olmec and the Maya. He is associated with fertility and agriculture. To Tlaloc was dedicated the second shrine on top of the Templo Mayor, the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan. His shrine was decorated with blue bands representing rain and water. The Aztec believed that the cries and tears of newborn children were sacred to the god, and, therefore, many ceremonies for Tlaloc involved the sacrifice of children.
3. Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh (pronounced Toh-nah-tee-uh) was the sun god. He was a nourishing god who provided warmth and fertility. In order to do so, he needed sacrificial blood. Tonatiuh was also the patron of warriors. For Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh governed the era under which the Aztec believed to live, the era of the Fifth Sun.
4. Tezcatlipoca
(pronounced Tez-cah-tlee-poh-ka). His name means “Smoking Mirror” and he often represented an evil power. Tezcatlipoca was the patron of the night, of the north, and in many aspects represented the opposite of Quetzalcoatl.
5. Chalchiuhtlicue
Chalchiuhtlicue (pronounced Tchal-chee-uh-tlee-ku-eh) was the goddess of water and all aquatic elements. Her name means “she of the Jade Skirt”. She was the wife and/or sister of Tlaloc and was also patroness of childbirth.
6. Centeotl
Centeotl (pronounced Cen-teh-otl) was the god of maize. His name means “Maize cob Lord”. He was closely related to Tlaloc and is usually represented as a young man with a maize cob on his headdress.
7. Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl (pronounced Keh-tzal-coh-atl), “the Feathered Serpent”, is probably the most famous Aztec deity and is known in many other Mesoamerican cultures such as Teotihuacan and the Maya. He represented the positive counterpart of Tezcatlipoca. He was patron of knowledge and learning and also a creative god. The fame of Quetzalcoatl is linked to the idea that the last Aztec emperor, Moctezuma, supposedly believed that the arrival of Cortes was the fulfilling of a prophecy about the return of the god. However, many scholar now consider this myth as a creation of the Franciscan friars during the post-Conquest period.
8. Xipe Totec
(Pronounciation: Shee-peh Toh-tek) His name means “Our Lord with the flayed skin”. Xipe Totec was the god of agricultural fertility, the east and the goldsmiths. He is usually portrayed wearing a flayed human skin representing the death of the old and the growth of the new vegetation
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