The Mythology Book

250

I

n Aztec mythology, the present

world was not the first to exist;

it was preceded by four others.

Each world began with the creation

of a new sun and ended with its

destruction. Our world, therefore,

is the Fifth Sun.

Before the creation there was

Ometeotl, who resided on the

highest level of heaven. The deity,

whose name means “dual cosmic

energy,” was both male and female.

Ometeotl gave birth to the first

generation of gods: Tezcatlipoca,

Quetzalcoatl, Xipetotec, and

Huitzilopochtli. These four gods

created all of the other deities, then

made the world and its flora and

fauna. To give light to this world,

Tezcatlipoca (“Smoking mirror”)

was chosen to be the First Sun. At

this time, a primitive race of giants,

who subsisted only on roots and

acorns, peopled the Earth.

The relationship between

Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered serpent”)

and Tezcatlipoca became the

driving force of creation. The two

gods had markedly different

characteristics. Quetzalcoatl was

associated with harmony, balance,

and learning. Tezcatlipoca was a

force of destruction, conflict, and

change. Yet Quetzalcoatl, jealous

that Tezcatlipoca had been chosen

to be the First Sun, knocked him

down from the heavens into the

sea. Tezcatlipoca rose from the

water in the form of a giant jaguar.

In his fury, he ordered the jaguars of

the world to devour the race of

giants. The earth was plunged into

darkness. After 676 years, the age

of the First Sun was over.

Another race of people was

created. Quetzalcoatl became the

Second Sun. This world lasted only

364 years. Tezcatlipoca ended it

THE LEGEND OF THE FIVE SUNS

IN BRIEF

THEME

The cycles of creation

SOURCE

“The Legend of the Suns,”

Codex Chimalpopoca,

Anonymous, 1558; History and

Mythology of the Aztecs, John

Bierhorst, 1992.

SETTING

The beginning of time.

KEY FIGURES

Ometeotl Creator deity.

Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl,

Xipetotec, Huitzilopochtli

First-generation gods.

Tlaloc God of fertility and rain.

Chalchiuhtlicue Second wife

of Tlaloc.

Tlaltecuhtli Sea monster.

Mictlantecuhtli Lord of

the dead in the Underworld.

Tonatiuh, Fifth Sun Sickly

god Nanahuatzin, transformed.

The Aztec Empire

The Aztecs arrived in central

Mexico from the north around

1250 ce and settled in marshy

swampland. According to

legend, they chose the site of

their capital—an island in Lake

Texcoco where Mexico City now

stands—after seeing an eagle

eating a snake on a cactus. They

founded the city in 1325 and

named it Tenochtitlán (“Place

of the cactus fruit”). To protect

themselves, Aztec rulers made

marriage alliances with other

city-states. Acamapichtli, the

product of one such union,

founded the Aztec imperial

dynasty in 1376. In 1428, the

emperor Itzcoatl allied with two

other city-states in the Aztec

Triple Alliance and led the

conquest of other neighboring

city-states. Tenochtitlán became

the capital of a vast Aztec

Empire and was one of the

world's largest cities when the

Spanish conquistadors arrived

in 1519. However, the Aztecs

could not withstand European

weapons and the diseases the

Spanish brought, and the empire

was overthrown in 1521.

Here are wisdom tales made

long ago, of how the earth was

established, how everything

was established ... how all the

suns that there were began.

History and Mythology

of the Aztecs

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251

Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca lock

in combat in an image from the Codex

Borbonicus (ca. 16th century). Aztec

scribes painted with pigments derived

from plants, trees, rocks, and insects.

by avenging his earlier slight,

striking down Quetzalcoatl and

creating a great hurricane that

swept all the people away.

Drought and floods

As Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca

had selfishly brought disorder to

creation through their rivalry, the

other gods decided that someone

else should have the honor of being

the new sun. The Third Sun was

the rain god Tlaloc. He was married

to Xochiquetzal, goddess of beauty.

Their union ended when

Tezcatlipoca kidnapped and

seduced Xochiquetzal. Mourning

his beloved wife, the grief-stricken

god refused to send down rain to

nourish the earth and the world

became parched. The people

continuously beseeched him to end

the drought, but to no avail. Tired of

their appeals, Tlaloc instead sent

down torrents of fire that turned the world to ash. The Third Sun was

the shortest lived of all, existing

only for 312 years.

When Tlaloc remarried, taking

Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of

streams and still waters, as his

wife, Quetzalcoatl allied himself

with her, and she became the

Fourth Sun. Tezcatlipoca, however,

again helped to bring an end to

this world. He told Chalchiuhtlicue

she did not sincerely love the

people of this fourth world, but was

only benevolent because she

wanted their praise.

Chalchiuhtlicue cried so hard

that her tears created a great

deluge that flooded the world and

lasted for 52 years. All but two

people were turned to fish. The

couple who survived were called

Tata and Nene. They floated on a

hollow log and subsisted on just a

single ear of maize each, which

See also: The epic of Gilgamesh 190–97 ■ Cherokee creation 236–37 ■ Spider Woman 238–39

THE AMERICAS

Five Suns

Tezcatlipoca—676 years

Tonatiuh—Aztec era

Quetzalcoatl—364 years

Tlaloc—312 years

Chalchiuhtlicue—676 years

was supplied by Tezcatlipoca on

the condition that they eat nothing

else. As the flood waters subsided,

Tata and Nene caught a fish and

roasted it, defying Tezcatlipoca’s

instructions. When the god found

out, he turned them into dogs. The

Fourth Sun had lasted 676 years.

United against the enemy

Realizing now that their disputes

had caused only destruction,

Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca

began to work together. A vicious

sea monster called Tlaltecuhtli had

taken up residence in the oceans.

Its body was covered with multiple

mouths to satisfy its relentless ❯❯

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