Aztec and Maya mythology

In short: The mythologies of the Aztecs and Maya shaped Mesoamerica’s great civilisations with complex pantheons, a focus on calendars and cosmology, and a close link between religion and rulership.

In more detail: Both cultures believed in cyclical world ages that end and renew through cosmic catastrophes.

In detail

• Quetzalcoatl: The feathered serpent was a central deity of knowledge and wind among the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples.
• Huitzilopochtli: The Aztec god of war and the sun, in whose honour human sacrifices were made to keep the sun in the sky.
• Maya calendar system: A highly developed calendar system closely linked religious rituals with astronomical observations.
• Popol Vuh: The most important surviving Maya creation epic tells of gods, hero twins, and the creation of humans.
• The underworld Xibalba: The Maya underworld was a dangerous place full of trials for the souls of the dead.
• Human sacrifice: Both cultures practised ritual sacrifice to honour gods and ensure the world’s continuation.
• Spanish conquest: The arrival of Spanish colonisers in the 16th century led to the violent downfall of these religious systems (antike-hochkulturen-mesopotamien-indus-china, roemische-mythologie-grundlagen).