Thank you for visiting. This article is the first installment in a series explaining the original texts of Aztec mythology.
This time, I look, following the original texts, at how the Aztec world began — its creation myth. The Aztecs’ distinctive “worldview that repeats destruction,” the birth of the earth itself, and why the sun needs sacrifices — their root is told here.
The creation myth dealt with here relies mainly on three original texts. The “Legend of the Suns” and the “Annals of Cuauhtitlan,” which convey the Five Suns; the “History of the Mexicans,” which records the creation of the earth; and the Sahagun-compiled “Florentine Codex,” Book 7, which tells in detail the birth of the sun. In this article, I read out while showing in which original text each myth is conveyed.
For an overview map of the original texts of Aztec mythology as a whole, please see this summary article.
The Root God Ometeotl — the God Who Is Two and One
At the starting point of the Aztec mythic world is “Ometeotl,” who generated all the gods and all things. The name means “the god of two (the dual god).”
Ometeotl holds in one body the male principle Ometecuhtli (the Lord of Two) and the female principle Omecihuatl (the Lady of Two), a fundamental being who is both male and female and transcends both. This paired god was also called by several names, such as Tonacatecuhtli (Lord of Our Flesh) and Tonacacihuatl (Lady of Our Flesh). Dwelling in the highest heaven of the world, “Omeyocan (the place of duality),” it was held to be the source of the power that generates all things from there.
Interestingly, this supreme god Ometeotl was a “distant god,” so to speak, with almost no temple or ritual. What occupied the center of daily faith was rather the four gods who appear next, who act directly on the world (Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl). That the world of the Aztec gods begins not from a single personal god but from the principle of “pair, duality” well expresses the Aztec worldview, which values the contrast of good and evil, male and female, life and death, seen later.
From this Ometeotl were born four gods (often called the “four Tezcatlipocas”) who actually take charge of the creation of the world. They are tied to the four directions of the world and their respective colors.
| Direction | Color | God |
|---|---|---|
| East | Red | Red Tezcatlipoca (also Xipe Totec) |
| North | Black | Black Tezcatlipoca (the original Tezcatlipoca) |
| West | White | White Tezcatlipoca = Quetzalcoatl |
| South | Blue | Blue Tezcatlipoca = Huitzilopochtli |
Among them, the black Tezcatlipoca and the white Quetzalcoatl, sometimes cooperating, sometimes fiercely opposing, become the protagonists of the story, repeating the creation and destruction of the world we now see.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Myths and LegendsView on Amazon →
An Anatomical Illustrated Guide to the Myths That Make StoriesView on Amazon →
The Five Suns — the World Destroyed Four Times
The most important worldview in Aztec mythology is the “Five Suns.” The representative original texts conveying this worldview are the Nahuatl manuscripts “Legend of the Suns” and “Annals of Cuauhtitlan,” and the four past suns are also carved as images on the famous stone sculpture “Sun Stone (the Aztec Calendar Stone).” According to these original texts, the Aztec people thought that the present world is the “fifth world (the Fifth Sun),” and that before it there were four worlds, all destroyed by great calamities.
Each age was ruled by a different god as the sun, but by the gods’ strife, all met destruction.
The First Sun (4 Jaguar) was ruled by Tezcatlipoca. In this age giants dwelt, but when the rival Quetzalcoatl struck Tezcatlipoca down from the sky with a club, the angry Tezcatlipoca loosed a pack of jaguars and had them devour all the giants.
In the Second Sun (4 Wind), this time Quetzalcoatl became the sun. But because people became corrupt, Tezcatlipoca took revenge and dragged it down, and a great wind (hurricane) that blew everything away struck the world. The few who survived were turned into monkeys.
The Third Sun (4 Rain) was ruled by the rain god Tlaloc. This world was burned up by a rain of fire pouring from the sky, and people are told to have been turned into birds.
In the Fourth Sun (4 Water), the water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue became the sun. But this world was swallowed by a huge flood, even the sky fell and it collapsed, and people are held to have been turned into fish.
And the now we live in is the age of the “Fifth Sun (Nahui Ollin = 4 Movement).” What is important is that it was believed this fifth world too will one day be destroyed by a huge earthquake. The world is not eternal, and is always next to collapse — this earnest sense of crisis runs at the base of Aztec religion.
The Creation of the Earth — the Torn Monster Tlaltecuhtli
After the Fourth Sun was destroyed by flood and the world was covered by water, the gods had to create the earth anew. What tells of that creation of the earth is the fierce myth of “Tlaltecuhtli.” This is recorded in the post-conquest text translated into French, the “History of the Mexicans.”
In the primal sea floated the earth monster Tlaltecuhtli. It was a greedy female monster with mouths and eyes all over her body, trying to chew up everything.
The two, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, decided to slay this monster and create the earth. The two gods changed into giant serpents, coiled around the monster, and tore her body in two. The upper half of the torn body became the heaven, and the lower half the earth.
The gods, pitying the monster’s wretched figure, generated the world’s blessings from her body. Her hair became trees and grasses and flowers, her eyes springs and wells, her mouth rivers and caves, and her shoulders mountains. But the torn earth goddess, from too much suffering, is told to have cried out night after night and demanded human hearts and blood. In exchange for giving the ripening of crops, she wanted the blood that feeds her. Here too appears the Aztec-distinctive idea that the earth’s blessing is paid for with sacrifice (blood).
The Sacrifice at Teotihuacan — the Birth of the Fifth Sun
The earth was made. So how was the Fifth Sun, which lights this world now, born? What tells of it is the most famous myth in Aztec mythology, the “myth of Teotihuacan.” This story is recorded especially vividly in Book 7 of the “Florentine Codex,” which Sahagun compiled based on local testimony. Teotihuacan is a giant pyramid ruin actually existing in Mexico, and its name means “the place where the gods were born.”
When the Fourth Sun was destroyed and the world was wrapped in darkness, the gods gathered at Teotihuacan, kindled a great fire, and discussed thus: “To become the new sun, someone must throw themselves into this sacred fire and become a sacrifice.”
The ones who stepped forward were two gods. One was the rich, prosperous, proud god Tecuciztecatl, who could offer fine offerings. The other was the poor, pustule-covered, unimpressive, feeble god Nanahuatzin. The two gods piled up four days of austerity, and at last the time to leap into the fire came.
But the proud Tecuciztecatl, who was to leap in first, flinched four times at the heat of the blazing flames and could not leap in at all. Then the shabby god Nanahuatzin closed his eyes and, without hesitation, threw himself into the flames. He blazed up and in time rose in the eastern sky as the dazzling sun (Tonatiuh). The ashamed Tecuciztecatl too hurriedly followed and leapt into the flames, and this one rose as the moon.
But the sun and the moon shone with the same brightness. One of the gods, thinking this would not do, is told to have thrown a rabbit at the moon and weakened its brightness. That the Aztec people thought “the pattern on the moon’s surface is the shape of a rabbit” derives from this myth.
To Make the Sun Move — the Sacrifice of All the Gods
But the greatest problem remained. The newborn sun stayed fixed at one point in the sky and would not move at all. If the sun did not move, day and night would not turn, and no time would flow in the world.
The sun demanded, as the price for moving, “the lives (blood) of all the gods.” So the wind god Ehecatl (one of Quetzalcoatl’s forms) offered up every god present as a sacrifice, without leaving one, and further blew powerfully. Thus at last the sun began to move, and day and night came to the world.
This ending holds a decisive meaning for Aztec religion. The sun circling the sky this very moment stands upon the sacrifice of the gods who gave their lives. From here is born the thought of human sacrifice (Article 4), which characterizes the Aztec civilization — “humans too must offer blood to the gods, feed the sun, and keep supporting the world.”
How Strong Are the Characters? — the Strongest Ranking
The gods and heroes who appeared in this article are also introduced in order of strength in the “Mythology, Religion, and Legend Strongest Ranking.” Please enjoy both their activity in the original texts and their “strength.”
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I explained in detail the Aztec creation myth, following the original texts. How was it?
The world of Aztec mythology begins with the dual-gender root god Ometeotl, and the four gods created and destroyed the “Five Suns,” and now it is the age of the Fifth Sun. The earth was created by tearing apart the monster Tlaltecuhtli, and the sun was born and began to move by the self-sacrifice of the gods at Teotihuacan.
What runs consistently through these myths is the thought that “the world is supported by the sacrifice (blood) of the gods.” This is the greatest key to understanding Aztec mythology.
In the next Article 2, centering on Quetzalcoatl, the god who created humanity itself and brought maize and civilization, I will explain the myths of the origin of humanity and civilization.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Aztec Mythology (2/5)
