Quetzalcoatl

Like Mesopotamian civilization, Mesoamerican civilization consisted of a set of basic elements—religious, ritual, social, artistic—that were extended through a series of cultures.  Like the Sumerians, the Olmecs established these basic elements; and just as the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians extended and redefined earlier Sumerian forms, subsequent Mesoamerican cultures—e.g. the Maya, the Teotihuacan people, the Toltecs—extended and redefined the founding Olmec elements to serve their specific needs.  The last of the great Mesoamerican civilizations to build upon the Olmec foundation was the Aztecs.  As the Aztecs migrated into Central Mexico, they absorbed the ancient Olmec forms by way of the Toltecs and the monumental remains of the Teotihuacan culture.  From these earlier civilizations they inherited not only architectural elements and ritual practices, but also the god they named Quetzalcoatl.  Use the links below to learn more about Quetzalcoatl and the larger civilization of which he was a part.

1. Go to Gods to learn more about the similarities among the deities of the major Mesoamerican civilizations.  To learn more about Quetzalcoatl specifically, read this overview of the various forms he took in Mesoamerican mythology.
2. Like the other Aztec deities, Quetzalcoatl was identified with the heavens.  Learn more about Aztec cosmology, paying special attention to the place Quetzalcoatl occupied in that system.
3. Though an adopted god, Quetzalcoatl came to play a central role in the Aztec understanding of the world's origins.  To learn what that role was read this Aztec Creation Story.
4. Now consider the broader culture of the Aztecs.  Go to Yautepec, an Aztec City in Mexico and Aztec Peasant Sites to broaden your understanding of urban and rural life in the Aztec Empire.
5. When the Aztecs migrated into Central Mexico they looked with awe at the remains of Teotihuacan and strove in their own building projects to emulate its magnificence.  To gain some sense of what so moved the Aztecs, take this virtual tour of Teotihuacan.  (Use the links provided to examine the maps of the site and major buildings of the city.)
6. The Aztecs also took inspiration from the Toltecs.  Take a look at the remains of Cacaxtla, a major Toltec city.  Study as well the remarkable Cacaxtla murals which vividly depict the ritualized warfare common to Mesoamerican civilization.