Mythology
Aztec and Maya mythologies
In Mexico and Central America great civilisations flourished, such as the Maya and the Aztecs, with cities of pyramids, extremely precise calendars and a writing system made of pictures. Their myths speak of worlds created and destroyed several times, of a feathered serpent who gives knowledge to humans, of rain gods that maize could not do without. Many books were destroyed during the Spanish conquest, but a few codices and the accounts gathered in the sixteenth century have allowed these stories to reach us.
Who they were, where, and how we know
The Aztecs and the Maya are two different civilisations. The Maya, in the Yucatán peninsula and in Guatemala, were building stone cities already two thousand years ago. The Aztecs, or Mexica, arrived later in central Mexico and founded Tenochtitlan around 1325: in 1521 it was conquered by the Spaniards of Hernán Cortés.
Most of the ancient books were destroyed in the conquest. What remains is a few pages of codices, inscriptions on monuments, and stories written down after the Spaniards arrived: the «Popol Vuh» of the K'iche' Maya and the «Florentine Codex», the work of the friar Bernardino de Sahagún with Aztec informants. They are precious sources but they come from a world that was changing.
Among the Aztec gods are Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, Huitzilopochtli, the warrior sun, and Tlaloc, of rain. Among the Maya, Kukulkan (the feathered serpent), Chaac of rain, Ixchel of the moon.
The cards
QuetzalcóatlTeotihuacan and Cholula, Mexico · feathered serpent not scary at all
TezcatlipocaTenochtitlan · lord of the night scary
HuitzilopochtliTemplo Mayor, Mexico City · god of the sun and war a little scary
TlalocTemplo Mayor, Mexico City · god of rain and thunder a little scary
The Founding of TenochtitlanMexico City · founding not scary at all
The Five SunsTeotihuacan · the ages of the world a little scary
The Hero Twins of the Popol VuhGuatemala · twins a little scary
ChaacYucatán, Mexico · god of rain a little scary
CoatlicueCoatepec and Mexico City · mother of the gods scary
XólotlMictlán, the land of the dead · dog-headed god a little scary
The maize people of the Popol VuhPaxil, Guatemala · the Maya creation not scary at all
KukulkánChichén Itzá, Mexico · feathered serpent of the Maya not scary at all
IxchelCozumel island, Mexico · goddess of the moon and weaving not scary at all
The ballgameMesoamerica · sacred game not scary at allWho comes from whom
Tap a name: its parents and children light up. Names with a medallion open their card (with a finger: tap them twice).
Places of the myths
- Tenochtitlan
- the Aztec capital built on a lake, where Mexico City stands today.
- Teotihuacan
- the city of the great Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, where according to the myth the fifth sun was born.
- Xibalbá
- the Maya underworld, where the Hero Twins went down.
- Chichén Itzá
- the Maya city with the great pyramid of Kukulkán, the Maya feathered serpent.
Main sources
- Popol Vuh (K'iche' Maya)
- Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex
- Leyenda de los Soles (1558)
- Dresden Codex
GreekRomanNorseEgyptianCelticMesopotamianHinduJapaneseChineseAfricanPolynesianAboriginalSlavic
Who's behind this
Ciro Simone Irmici
I build websites, apps and games. I built the Atlas with artificial intelligence and I check every card and every source myself. I am not a scholar of mythology: I tell these legends with respect and always say where they come from. If you know a legend from your town, write to me.
More of my work: free audiobooks on YouTube · ebooks on Gumroad · Apple Books · music on Spotify and YouTube Music