Mythology Book

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drink pulque, threw a rabbit at

Tecciztecatl’s face. It dimmed his

light, ensuring he would never

shine as brightly as a sun. He

became Metztli the Moon, which

still bears the imprint of a rabbit.

Sacrifice of the gods

Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun, hung

motionless in the sky for four days.

The gods begged him to move, but

he refused to do so until he had

received a blood sacrifice. At this,

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of the

planet Venus, grew angry and

launched a dart at the Sun using an

atlatl (an Aztec tool that increased

the velocity of projectiles). The dart

missed. Tonatiuh threw a dart back

at Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli and it

pierced his head, turning him into

the god Itztlacoliuhqui, who spread

THE AMERICAS

Teotihuacán

The city of Teotihuacán was

a place of pilgrimage for the

Aztecs, who admired its

magnificent ruins and thought

it the cradle of civilization.

Teotihuacán (“the place where

gods are created”) is the Aztec

word for the city; its original

name is lost to us. The city lay

30 miles (48 km) northeast of

their capital, Tenochtitlán, and

had been built between the

1st and 7th centuries ce. At its

peak in the mid-5th century, it

was probably the largest city

in pre-Columbian America.

Its major thoroughfare—the

Avenue of the Dead—was

flanked with civic buildings,

temples, and tombs.

The city's most impressive

feature was its immense

Pyramid of the Sun, and there

was also a slightly smaller

Pyramid of the Moon. Both

structures are mentioned in

the Fifth Sun myth, as the

“hills” raised by the gods

where, before their ordeal,

Tecciztecatl and Nanahuatzin

purified themselves.

At the heart of Teotihuacán

is the citadel, a large courtyard

where a third pyramid was

built ca. 200 ce. When the

great seven-tiered Temple of

Quetzalcoatl was completed,

more than 200 people from

outside the city were then

sacrificed there, including

36 young warriors.

Leaders of Aztec Religion

The Aztec Emperor was the

gods' representative and the

high priest of Tenochtitlán.

The High Priest

of the god

Huitzilopochtli

served as joint head

of all priests in the

capital Tenochtitlán.

Every temple

and every god

had its own

priestly order.

Priestesses

served in the

temples. Priestesses,

who cut their hair

to signify chastity,

often cleaned or

lit the fires.

Priests took

charge of rituals

and ceremonies.

They also taught

novice priests.

The High Priest

of Tlaloc shared

the leadership,

directing lower

orders serving in

the community.

frost with the dawn. The gods

realized they had to make an

offering to persuade Tonatiuh to

move. Numerous gods offered

themselves to Quetzalcoatl, and he

removed their hearts with a sacred

knife. Their blood ensured that the

Fifth Sun moved through the

heavens. The gods had sacrificed

themselves to help mankind.

The Aztecs believed this

sacrifice by the gods was key to the

survival of all humanity. Aztec

warriors had a responsibility to

capture enemies to sacrifice to

Tonatiuh; they thought that if they

ceased to replicate the gods’ blood

offerings, the world would end with

a series of earthquakes. Only acts of

sacrifice could ensure that the Fifth

Sun kept moving across the sky and

that the world continued to exist. ■

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