Aztec Religion
The Aztec god of seeds, Xipe Totec (ca 1500 AD)
Aztec people, like the people of China,
India, or Africa
at this time, were polytheistic
- they had many gods. Many of these gods were parts of nature. Coatlicue was the god of creation. Xipe Totec
was the seeds to be planted, that would grow into food (like Persephone
for the Greeks). Tlaloc was the god of rain (like Demeter
for the Greeks). He had a companion Chalchiuhtlicue, the god of water. They worked with Chicomicoatl, who was the god
of actually producing food.
Other Aztec gods represented ideas. Huitzilopochtil, for instance, was the god of war (like Ares). But he was also a sun god, like Apollo. Quetzalcoatl was less important than Huitzilopochtil, but he was the god of civilization - and also the god of wind. His brother was Tezcatlipoca, the god of wars that were fought at night (when Huitzilopochtil was resting).
Other Aztec gods represented ideas. Huitzilopochtil, for instance, was the god of war (like Ares). But he was also a sun god, like Apollo. Quetzalcoatl was less important than Huitzilopochtil, but he was the god of civilization - and also the god of wind. His brother was Tezcatlipoca, the god of wars that were fought at night (when Huitzilopochtil was resting).
To find out more about South American religion before 1500, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Ancient Rome (Eyewitness Books), by Simon James (2004). For kids.
Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery, by John W. Hayes (1997). Hayes has been the leading expert on Roman pottery for the last several decades.
Roman Pottery, by Kevin Greene (1992). Greene is another pottery expert, particularly interested in what pottery can tell us about the Roman Economy.
