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& Cuauhxicalli of
( Ocelotl-Cuauhxicalli
Moctezuma I
Moctezuma I, the fifth Aztec
emperor, consolidated the
empire. His military victories are
displayed on this enormous,
intricately carved wheel-shaped
stone. Eleven historical conquest
scenes are depicted, showing
battles that occurred in different
parts of Mexico.
* Xochipilli
A cuauhxicalli is a type of
altar stone and is used to con-
duct sacrifices to the gods. The
eagle and jaguar are common
animal motifs used. Ocelotl is
the Aztec name for a jaguar.
) Chapulín
This unusual, large, red-
colored stone grasshopper, or
chapulín , was found on Cerro del
Chapulín, Grasshopper Hill,
which is the hill in Bosque de
Chapultepec (see pp22-3) that
the Castillo stands on today. This
place was sacred to the Aztecs
and they built a temple here.
The god of music, song,
flowers, and love, Xochipilli sits
on his throne decorated with
butterflies and flowers, the
symbols of his realm.
Mythology
The Aztecs believed that the
world was created by the
gods, and that their world
was in the fifth and final
iteration - the Sun Stone, the
monolithic centerpiece of the
Aztec Hall, is believed to depict
the first four worlds. The
heavens were comprised of
vertical levels, with the
supreme creators, the gods,
reigning in the top level. Among
the gods, one of the most
important was Coatilcue, an
Earth goddess who gave birth
to the sun, moon, and stars.
Another creation myth
describes the formation of the
world by rival twins, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca,
representing good and evil. Aztec mythology held that
the Universe is comprised of four parts, corresponding
to the four cardinal directions with the convergence
ruled from the center by Xiuhtecutli, god of fire and
lord of turquoise. The reason that there are often
multiple myths explaining single aspects of belief is
that the Aztecs borrowed heavily from the Toltec,
Teotihuacán, and other cultures. It is estimated that
the Aztecs had a pantheon of over 1,500 deities
when the Spanish, under the leadership of Cortés,
arrrived in 1519.
Top 10 Aztec
Deities
1 Huitzilopochtli, supreme
god of sun and war
2 Coyolxauhqui, goddess
of the moon
3 Quetzalcoatl, god of
wind and fertility
4 Tezcatlipoca, god of
night, discord, and
sorcerers
5 Xochipilli, god of love,
beauty, dance, and
flowers
6 Mixcoatl, god of hunting
and the milky way
7 Ometeotl, lord of duality
8 Xiuhtecutli, god of fire
and lord of turquoise
9 Tlaloc, god of rain and
fertility
0 Coatlicue, goddess who
birthed the sun god
Huitzilopochtli, the
moon, and stars
Coatlicue, the
mother goddess
Aztec Relief Sculpture of the
Birth of Quetzalcoatl
11
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