Knowra Aztec mythology Aztec mythology Aztec mythology comprises the traditional stories and religious beliefs of the Aztec peoples, centering on gods, cosmic cycles, creation, and human obligations.
Aztec religion : The religious practices, institutions, and beliefs of the Aztec peoples. Mythic narratives formed part of a broader religious system of ritual and worship.
Five Suns : The Aztec account of successive world ages, each ruled by a sun and destroyed before the present age. This creation scheme frames the current world as one vulnerable stage in a cosmic sequence.
Huitzilopochtli : The Mexica solar and war deity, patron of Tenochtitlan and central figure in its origin traditions. His birth and victories were central to Mexica accounts of divine power and political identity.
Codex Borgia : A pre-Columbian Mesoamerican ritual manuscript with painted calendrical and religious imagery. Its deity scenes and ritual symbolism preserve visual evidence for central Mexican religious traditions.
Nahuatl : A Uto-Aztecan language spoken historically by the Aztecs and still spoken by communities in Mexico. Many Aztec myths survive in Nahuatl accounts and poetry.
Aztec creation myths : Narratives describing how the gods created the earth, humanity, and the conditions of life. These stories give distinct accounts of how cosmic order came into being.
Quetzalcoatl : A widely worshipped Mesoamerican deity associated with wind, knowledge, and the feathered serpent. His roles in creation and the recovery of human bones connect several mythic traditions.
Codex Chimalpopoca : A colonial-era Nahuatl manuscript containing the Annals of Cuauhtitlan and the Legend of the Suns. Its accounts preserve important written versions of cosmic creation and succession.
Teotl : A Nahuatl concept associated with sacred power, divinity, and the dynamic forces of the cosmos. The term helps explain why divine beings and sacred forces do not map neatly onto one fixed category.
Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl : A mythic account in which Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl descend to Mictlan to retrieve the bones of earlier humans. The journey explains how the gods enabled humanity's creation through risk and sacrifice.
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