Aztec Mythology

The Aztec people believed without a sacrifice the world would end in disaster. The Aztecs had many different types of Gods. They had 7 different Gods with about 2 or 3 in each category. The types of Gods were cultural Gods, nature Gods, Gods of creation, Gods of Plaque and excess, Gods of maize and fertility, Gods of the underworld, and trading Gods.

In Aztec religion there was not only one sun. There also was many more sun gods over the ages. It is kind of like looking at mexican presidents some were more complicated than others were. To make this seem more confusing the empire was actually a mosaic of many cultures so that means it was a combination of more than one religions. In Aztec religion there were 5 ages or “5 suns”.

The Aztecs were a fearsome collection of people. From complex waterways well beyond their time, to their barbaric sacrificial rituals, the Aztecs were from a unique time period. The conglomeration of the sacrifices and rituals gave rise to the need of a provider of human sacrifices, and thus began the elite society of ancient warriors. Revered highly by all, these warriors were immortalized through the usage of sculptures, paintings, clothing and more.

Student Name: Morgan Stevenson Geographical Setting: What continent? What Landforms? What important Places? The Aztecs lived on swampy lands in Mesoamerica. They made chinampas on lakes for farmland because their land was mainly lake.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like when the Mayan and Aztec lived ? The traditions of the Mayan and Aztec religion and art are very similar but have their differences. The Mayan and Aztec was polytheism (belief or worship of one or more god). Both Mayan and Aztec people believed in human sacrifices.

The Aztec system of human sacrifice has drawn the attention of historians and ethnographers for more than a century. Traditionally, Aztec human sacrifice has been understood as having a religious basis, in which a constant supply of humans were needed for sacrifice to the god of the sun. Conversely, some scholars argue that Aztec human sacrifice served a primarily social function that maintained stratification and bestowed great political power to certain classes. Until recently, however, the scholarly world’s understanding of Aztec human sacrifice has largely revolved around literal interpretations of primary sources written by leaders of both the Aztec Empire and Spanish conquest during the fourteenth to sixteenth century. Through examining and interpreting less well-known features of the Aztec Empire at its height, such as ecological needs, the ideology behind Aztec human sacrifice has become less clear and risen to be a topic of scholarly debate.

The Aztec identity for the self or personal identity, is elusive because most of the documents talk about the social identity which played a major role in Aztec culture; this does not mean that personal identity was not present but it was not a dominate factor as it is today. Social identity is defined as a person’s conception and expression of their own and other’s individuality. Aztec culture was rich combinations of cultures from the people that made the Aztec empire; traditions that were passed down through generations influenced the way people lived within the society. According to Miguel Leon-Portilla in the book, “Aztec Image of Self and Society,” states that the Nahuas had a strong desire to instill in the young the principles that would make the formation of citizens that were wise and firm.

The Egyptians had gods for every aspect of their lives and afterlives. Although the Mayans had many gods, they also practiced Animism. Both cultures had places for rituals and ceremonies. The gods they believed in were different from each other and some were worshiped more than others. With very few differences, the religious aspects of both cultures influenced both cultures equally.

Every religion has its own way of describing how life and earth came to be. It is a very disputed topic. The stories Genesis and Popol Vuh are two religions way of explaining this controversial idea. They come from the religions Christianity and the Quiché Maya. There are many differences between the two tales; however, there are also quite a few similarities.

The rivers that these civilizations were built around directly impacted the way they viewed their gods. The Nile was a very strong and reliable river. It flooded annually blessing the Ancient Egyptians with a richer agriculture then Ancient Mesopotamians. (pg 17) Because of this the Egyptians viewed their gods as reliable beings who wanted to help them.

Even though both stories do end up with the creation of earth the way they got there is a bit different. In Genesis it is stated that only one God created all of life but in Enuma Elish it was said that there were multiple gods whom have worked with individual jobs. In the Cosmogony, the first part of Enuma Elish that described the creation of the universe, Apsu and Tiamat were the only two gods who existed in the beginning of the story but were only set of water. The gods begin to form and create the earth but made a disturbance while doing so which had upset Apsu, so he tried to destroy them but later is stoped by

It is surprising how many characteristics these completely unrelated gods had in common and how many they didn’t. Comparing them, their territory,

Between foundation establishment of Egyptian and Chinese religion, there are a variety of differences such as beliefs and rituals. However despite their contrast, there is also known similarities of the two civilization’s religion discovered through the evolution of time. In comparison both civilizations were dependent upon the religious moral values implemented by a their divine being, bodily preservation, and the belief of Afterlife immortality. Both Egyptians and the Chinese believed equally as modern day Christians that there’s an afterlife for the deceased.

In Mesopotamia they had new inventions. For example they had the wheel, the sail, and the plow. In Egypt they had came up with the idea of pyramids. The pyramids were built by slaves and other workers. The pyramids were made for the Pharaohs or the Egyptian god-kings.

Each god and goddess had a unique/specific purpose, much like the roman and Greek mythology. For example: Ra, the god of the sun; Isis, the goddess of nature and magic; Horus, the god of war; and Osiris, the god of the dead (source 5). The gods and goddesses were worshipped in temples run by the priests, that were not open to the public. Due to this the citizens would have small statues to worship the gods. The citizens would also wear charms and amulets for protection against evil, according to source 5.