ipl-logo

Why Was The Pantheon So Important To The Aztec Pantheon?

861 Words4 Pages

Alexis Adan
12/4/2014
CH150 T,TH 9:35-11:00
The Aztec pantheon was a very important and vital concept for the Aztec empire since their religion was born from fear of nature and fear of the end of the world. The death of a sea serpent was actually the cause of the universe’s birth. The Aztecs believed the pantheon attempted to create the world five times. The Aztecs in recompense for such essential actions, they nourished the pantheon with bloody
Human sacrifices. Huitzilopochtli; the God of sun seem to be the major and most popular God of the Mexica. These tribes that were isolated from Europe until the conquistadores, were able to develop their own series of religion concepts.
Aztec mythology says that the world was created five times by …show more content…

The pantheon couldn’t accept this so they threw a

rabbit a Tecciztecatl to dim the brightness and became known as what we call, the moon. That world is the current world we live on and the new given name of the sun is
Tonatiuh. The Aztecs did prefer the most important God to the empire which was,
Huitzilopochtli.
The Aztecs most precious sun God was Huitzilopochtli but he wasn’t an actual sun God according to the article “Huitzilopochtli,” by Nicoletta Maestri. Huitzilopochtli was also the God of war that fought for the Aztec empire. His homeland is Tenochtitlan where he appeared in dreams and told Aztec priests to build a temple in the middle of lake Texcoco where they would see an eagle landing on a cactus. According to Ramon
Eduardo Ruiz in his book “Mexico: Why Are Few Are Rich and the People Poor,” the conquistadores witnessed Aztecs appreciating Huitzilopochtli with bloody rituals. The
Aztecs thought it was essential to fuel the sun with Human blood and so they would sacrifice prisoners at the top of their Temple. Ruiz explains that the conquistadores reported about twenty thousand victims a year.
The Aztecs were terrified of the forces of nature so it explains why this

Show More
Related

  • Hernan Cortes Research Paper

    453 Words  | 2 Pages

    Preston Lipscomb 5/22/17 Hernan Cortes Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conqueror. He was born in 1485 in Medellin, Spain. He died on December 2, 1547. He invaded Mexico in 1519, and he conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521. His parents’ names were Martin Cortez and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano.

    Read More

  • What Does Coatlicue Say About The Statue Of Aztec Art

    798 Words  | 4 Pages

    The statue reveals religious aspects of ancient Aztec society. Source 1 shows that the Aztecs believed in cyclical cosmology and human sacrifice. Human sacrifice was a very important part of Aztec religion as it was believed human sacrifice brought good fortune and nourished the gods. In source 2, The statue has a carving of another god/deity, Tlaltechhtlion on its base. The deity is usually hidden from view which means the Aztecs paid precise attention to every part of their artworks/artefacts even if they were not always visible.

    Read More

  • Tezcatlipoc More Than One Sun In Aztec Religion

    430 Words  | 2 Pages

    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”.

    Read More

  • How Hernan Cortes Conquered The Aztec

    191 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hernan Cortes was a spanish conquistador that conquered the Aztec empire. He claimed Mexico for the spanish and became governor of Cuba. Hernan Cortes was born around 1485 in Medellin, Spain and died on december 2,1547 in castilleja de la cuesta, Spain. His parents wanted him to go into a law career. He was a sick child but got better when he went into his teen years.

    Read More

  • Why Was Agriculture Important To The Aztecs

    227 Words  | 1 Pages

    Agriculture is also important to the Aztecs through religion. The Aztecs had 128 major gods, and many of them were based around Agriculture. Huitzilopochtli, the main god, was the god of the Sun, which was crucial to agricultural success. The Aztecs also had other agricultural

    Read More

  • Why Do The Aztecs Sacrifice Their People

    462 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people remember the Aztecs for their incredible farming skills, architecture, and fierce fighting skills, but they didn't do just that. The Aztecs believed in human sacrifice to keep their gods happy. They would sacrifice their people to keep the universe in balance. Human sacrifice was important to the Aztec culture and civilization in many ways.

    Read More

  • Aztec Dbq Essay

    889 Words  | 4 Pages

    As some may conclude the Aztecs performed human sacrifice out of pure evil, the real reason behind the gruesome act revolved around the Aztec’s gods. The ritual of human sacrifice was ultimately to receive the god’s gifts, which gave them life. In document J the previous opinion is discussed saying, “…humans must sacrifice that which was most important to them – life – to receive the sun, the rain, and other blessings of the gods that made life possible”(Document J). If Aztecs looked at human sacrifice in this way it can be argued that they participated in this act for the sake of keeping the gods happy, who were the providers of everyday fundamentals such as the sun and rain. Ultimately, the Aztecs were determined to give the gift of life to the god’s.

    Read More

  • Native American And Aztec Key Terms

    1415 Words  | 6 Pages

    Key Terms Aztecs - The Aztecs were around the time period 1325 and found modern day Mexico city. They believed in the many gods and believed that the sun fought the moon to save mankind. When Hernan Cortes came, the aztecs thought it was their god Quetzalcoatl. Montezuma, the god upon men, turned himself over to Cortes. Cortes and his men killed Montezuma and the Aztecs realized that he was not their god.

    Read More

  • Sacrifice And The Sun: The Aztec Sun Stone

    1406 Words  | 6 Pages

    Their understanding of time and these cycles of destruction were one in the same with their religious beliefs. This stone is not only a looking class to the past but serves as a strong symbol of the Aztec

    Read More

  • Social Classes In The Aztecs

    503 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Aztecs believed that their devotion would save the world for the time being and provide good harvest. Their philosophy was to devote themselves to creation. Eventually the religion became cult like and the main god was Huitzilopochtli, god of

    Read More

  • Aztec Sacrifice

    432 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Aztecs’ main god was the sun or Huitzilopochtli. They believed that the sun needed constant replenishment so that it could move across the earth everyday and prevent the world from ending. However, the only way to keep this from happening, and provide mobility for the sun was to offer human sacrifices; he needed human flesh and blood. This accounts for the human sacrifices that the Aztecs had as well as the many festivals, which their ultimate goal to sacrifice humans for Huitzilopochtli and other gods as well. It is important to point that the Aztecs believed that they were living in the 5th and last era, but that they needed to keep the world from ending.

    Read More

  • How Did The Aztecs Have A Diversified Pantheon

    136 Words  | 1 Pages

    Firstly, the Aztecs had a complicated and diversified pantheon (Appendix A). The Aztec had a strong belief in their Gods, and according to the scholars, the Aztec religion had over 200 gods and goddesses, often based on those of older Mesoamerican religions. Theoretically, the Aztec deities were divided into three groups ruling different human activities or aspects of nature: the heaven or the sky; the rain, fertility and agriculture; and the war and sacrifice. Especially, with culture based heavily on farming, the Aztec had many agricultural gods. Some Aztec popular gods and goddesses were: Huitzilopochtli (The tribal God of the Mexica of Tenochtitlan and the patron of war and sacrifice), Tlaloc (The god of rain, storm, water and thunder),

    Read More

  • Great Empire Vs Aztec Government

    192 Words  | 1 Pages

    • The government of the Aztecs was similar to a monarchy where a King or Emperor was the primarily ruler • Aztecs called their ruler the Huey Tlatoani, which means the “Great Speaker" in Nahuatl • The Aztecs believed that the Huey Tlatoani was appointed by the gods and had the celestial right to rule, therefore he was the ultimate power in the land • The Aztec Empire was made up of city states • New Aztec Emperors were chosen by a group of elite or high ranking nobles • Aztec economy was built on trade it was an accustomed procedure in the everyday life of an Aztec • The Aztec economy was established on three things: trade, tribute and agricultural goods • In ancient Aztec times the casual currency was bartering and

    Read More

  • Quetzpochtli How Did The Aztecs Build Their World

    4874 Words  | 20 Pages

    Quetzcoatl was the one who created the humans. Ehecati was the emperor who sacrificed his own people. Huitzpochtli had to sacrifice his own people in order to win the battle against darkness. Tezcatlipoca destroyed the Aztecs earth. Huitzpochtli was the emperor for the Aztecs from 1481CE to 1486CE.

    Read More

  • How Do Historians Emphasize Human Sacrifice In The Aztecs

    687 Words  | 3 Pages

    A major part of Aztec life, centered around religion. The Aztecs believed in a polytheistic, animistic religion. There were about 128 major deities, including gods of rain, fire, water, corn, the sky, and the sun, which showed you how large of a scale their religion was. When it comes to Aztec religion and culture, it becomes crucial to

    Read More

More about Why Was The Pantheon So Important To The Aztec Pantheon?

Open Document