Who Were The Aztecs?

The Aztecs were an important empire in early Mesoamerican history. They ruled the area of Texcoco lake (Mexico City) from 1300 to 1541 AD, which is more than 250 years. 

Here, the Aztecs built Tenochtitlan which would be the capital of their Empire. 

The Aztecs have a rich history, which they often use legends and mythology to explain. 

This led to the existence of hundreds of Gods and Goddesses that the Aztecs worshiped, each having a story and a purpose. This helped the Aztecs understand the world around them. 

What were their Beliefs? 

The Aztecs believed that they were not originally from the Texcoco Lake area, instead they believed they were from a place called Aztlan. 

They believed that they traveled with one of their Gods to 

Texcoco Lake, and this was where they were supposed to settle and create their great city- Tenochtitlan. 

The Aztecs had a very complicated belief system, which is still not fully understood. However, there were some similarities among other emerging religions such as Catholicism. 

For example, the Aztecs practiced gruesome human sacrifice, torture and believed in the animation of objects with the spiritual realm. Not unlike the early Catholics who also practiced sacrifice, torture and believed that wafer and wine had a spiritual manifestation.

As you know now, the Aztecs had many deities that they worshiped. 

To worship them they built temples, shrines, and would conduct rituals where the priest was believed to become a God himself. 

These rituals were done with elaborate dress, dancing and gruesome practices of human sacrifice.  

The Aztecs had a few different versions of the origin story (how Earth was created). 

The most commonly believed was the Legend of the Two Suns.

In summary, this says that ...

the universe was in the fifth epoch, the Gods all gathered at a mountain where two of the Gods jumped into the fire to create the Sun and the Moon. 

The other Gods then followed them into the fire, to create the other celestial bodies and it was their blood that set the universe in motion. 

The belief that it was the blood of the Gods that made the universe is what drives human sacrifice in the Empire. 

There were a few beliefs surrounding human blood. 

One, was that the sacrifice was necessary to keep balance in the universe. 

Another was that the blood was nourishment for the Gods and was needed to keep the movement of the universe. 

Finally, another was that the blood of humans was needed to “feed the sun”, “nourish the Gods'' and continue life on Earth

Regardless of why the sacrifice needed to happen, the Aztecs believed that if it did not take place then everything would stop, and everything on Earth would perish. 

The people that were sacrificed were either prisoners of war or slaves. 

Human Sacrifice

The Aztec Gods and Goddesses

The Aztecs had many Gods and most of these Gods have origin stories of their own. 

The Aztecs also worshiped their Gods, some more frequently than others. 

The Gods that were worshiped frequently had the most influence over Aztec life, such as agriculture, fertility, and war. 

Some of these include...

Quetzalcaotl - The Creator God

Quetzalcoatl was the jack of all trades and responsible for creating every living thing. 

To create new people, and keep the civilization thriving this God was believed to travel to the underworld to take the bones. He would then add his own blood and create life. 

Quetzalcoatl was potentially the most important God to the Aztecs.  

Quetzalcoatl was also one of the very few Gods that didn't require human sacrifice for nourishment.

Huitzilopochtli- War God

This God was the patron God of War, and was responsible for all of the victories and losses when the Aztecs went to war. 

To honor the fallen warriors the Aztecs would pray to Huitzilopochtli, and make offerings. 

Huitzilopochtli was also the brother of Quetzalcoatl, and was tasked with bringing order to the world. 

Opposite of his brother, this God needed Human sacrifice and was so well known for it that some consider him to also be the God of Human Sacrifice. 

Coatlicue-Mother of the Gods

Coatlicue was the mother of the Gods, she gave birth to the stars and other celestial bodies. 

This Goddess resembles fertility, and also life and death. 

She is believed to have predicted the fall of the Aztec Empire. 

Mixcoatl-God of the Hunt

The Aztecs main food source were crops but Mixcoatl was an important God to worship because the Aztecs needed a successful hunt for meat. 

This meat was mainly used  as offerings to the other Gods. 

Mixcoatl was also the first to discover fire, by striking flint and stone.