The Aztecs: Mythology and Religion (inc. Notable Figures, Deities, Stories, Concepts, etc.)

The Aztecs (Religion)

• Their religion was intricate and complex and central to their society

• They worshipped an ever-evolving pantheon of hundreds of deities, many of whom were considered to have both male and female aspects to them

• Their worship involved a great many rituals and feast days as well as human sacrifices

• They believed that the gods had sacrificed themselves in order to create the world

  • Thus, human sacrifice and bloodletting was a sort of repayment and atonement for human sin

Human Sacrifice (All Facts)

• Religious practice which may have had a political component, in the sense that it demonstrated the great might of the Aztec Empire in dramatic fashion

• The number that occurred may never be known, especially considering that much of the information about their society comes from the Spanish invaders, who may have exaggerated the extent of the namesake practice in order to make the Aztecs seem more deserving of needing to be conquered

Tlaloc (All Facts)

• Aztec God of Rain

Chalchiuhtlicue (All Facts)

• Aztec Goddess of Water

Mictlantecutli (All Facts)

• Aztec God of the Dead and the Underworld

Quetzalcoatl (All Facts) 

• Aztec God of Life, Light, and Wisdom 

• He was the Plumed Serpent 

Huitzilopochtli (All Facts)

• Aztec Sun God who had to be fed with human sacrifices