The Aztecs believed that every 13 days, planets, stars and other celestial bodies enter a certain Sign, which determines the character and fate of people born at that time. The position of the heavenly bodies is responsible for the properties of our character.

The Aztecs believed that every 13 days, planets, stars and other celestial bodies enter a certain Sign, which determines the character and fate of people born at that time. The position of the heavenly bodies is responsible for the properties of our character. And the symbols of this horoscope serve as a kind of amulets against troubles and adversity. The Aztecs had a solar calendar (xihihuitl) that had 365 days: 360 days made up 18 months of 20 days, with five extra days considered unlucky. Every fourth year was a leap year. Each year was named after its first day: the year of the Reed, the year of the Knife, the year of the House, the year of the Rabbit. The Year of the Reed has always been considered to bring misfortune. This was the case, for example, in 1519, when the Spanish invaded.

Determine your sign according to the Aztec horoscope

You: Rabbit (tochtli), if born: January 11, 23. February 9, 21. March 5, 17, 29. April 10, 22. May 4, 16, 28. June 9, 21. July 3, 15, 27. August 8, 20. September 1, 13, 25. October 7, 19, 31. November 12, 24. December 6, 18, 30.

You: Eagle (quauhtli), if born: January 12, 24. February 10, 22. March 6, 18, 30. April 11, 23. May 5, 17, 29. June 10, 22. July 4, 16, 28. August 9, 21. September 2, 14, 28. October 8, 20. November 1, 13, 25. December 7, 19, 31.

You: Monkey (ozomatli), if born: January 1, 13, 25. February 1, 11, 23. March 7, 19, 31. April 12, 24. May 6, 18, 30. June 11, 23. July 5, 17, 29. August 10, 22. September 3, 15, 27. October 9, 21. November 2, 14, 26. December 8, 20.

You: Flint (tecpatl), if born: January 2, 14, 26. February 12, 24. March 8, 20. April 1, 13, 25. May 7, 19, 31. June 12, 24. July 6, 18, 30. August 11, 23. September 4, 16, 24. October 10, 22. November 3, 15, 27. December 9, 21.

You: Rain (qui auitl), if born: January 3, 15, 27. February 13, 25. March 9, 21. April 2, 14, 26. May 8, 20. June 1, 13, 25. July 7, 19, 31. August 12, 24. September 5, 17, 29. October 11, 23. November 4, 16, 28. December 10, 22.

You: Cayman (cipactli), if born: January 4, 16, 28. February 2, 14, 26. March 10, 22. April 3, 15, 27. May 9, 21. June 2, 14, 26. July 8, 20. August 1, 13, 25. September 6, 8, 30. October 12, 24. November 5, 17, 29. December 11, 23.

You: Home (calli), if born: January 5, 17, 29. February 3, 15, 27. March 11, 23. April 4, 16, 28. May 10, 22. June 3, 15, 27. July 9, 21. August 2, 14, 26. September 7, 19. October 1, 13, 25. November 6, 18, 30. December 12, 24.

You: Flower (xochitl), if born: January 6, 18, 30. February 4, 16, 28, 29. March 12, 24. April 5, 17, 29. May 11, 23. June 4, 16, 28. July 10, 22. August 3, 15, 27. September 8, 20. October 2, 14, 26. November 7, 19. December 1, 13, 25.

You: Snake (coatl), if born: January 7, 19, 31. February 5, 17. March 1, 13, 25. April 6, 18, 30. May 12, 24. June 5, 17, 29. July 11, 23. August 4, 16, 28. September 9, 21. October 3, 15, 27. November 8, 20. December 2, 14, 26.

You: Wind (eecatl), if born: January 8, 20. February 6, 18. March 2, 14, 26. April 7, 19. May 1, 13, 25. June 6, 18, 30. July 12, 24. August 5, 17, 29. September 10, 22. October 4, 16, 28. November 9, 21. December 3, 15, 27.

You: Ocelot (oceloti), if born: January 9, 21. February 7, 19. March 3, 15, 27. April 8, 20. May 2, 14, 26. June 7, 19. July 1, 13, 25. August 6, 18, 30. September 11, 23. October 5, 17, 29. November 10, 22. December 4, 16, 28.

You: Wanderer (death) (miquiztli), if born: January 10, 22. February 8, 20. March 4, 16, 28. April 9, 21. May 3, 15, 27. June 8, 20. July 2, 14, 26. August 7, 19, 31. September 12, 24. October 6, 18, 30. November 11, 23. December 5, 17, 29.

Rabbit (tochtli)

• Lucky number: 8
• Color – indigo.

The Rabbit is usually very lenient towards himself and others. He avoids conflict situations and prefers to spend his days in peace and quiet, but at night he frolics with all his might. A smiling seducer, an eternally joyful comrade - his lightness can sometimes even irritate. The Aztecs blamed rabbits for stealing food brought by hunters, while the culprits were evil female angels. Quiet Rabbits went into the fields to avoid human wrath, where they calmly continued their race, never ceasing to enjoy life.

Eagle (quauhtli)

• Lucky number: 9
• Color – silver

The eagle represents benefactor and strength. He enjoys authority all over the world. Men are usually distinguished by perseverance, and women by organizational skills. The eagle is very purposeful, but at the same time he has a cunning and resourceful mind. The presence of a female Rabbit or Monkey or a male Flint or Ocelot will add rationality to the impulsive Eagles. This bird occupies the highest level of the Aztec pantheon. The eagle is the conqueror of twilight who brings sunlight on his wings.

Monkey (ozomatli)

• Lucky number: 11
• Color – gold

The Monkey does not take himself seriously, he is always cautious, inventive and full of new ideas and projects. She is usually very attractive, capable of enjoying both the riot of passions and the tranquility of a peaceful holiday. It is difficult to upset and shake her. By nature, the monkey is an elegant esthete, loves surprises, surprises, and especially his freedom.

Flint (tecpatl)

• Lucky number: 7
• Color – bright red

Precision, courage and straightforwardness are the main qualities of Flint. He does not like gossip, lies and suspicions. Risks getting lost and abyss, underestimating the dangers. Among the Aztecs, flint was valued higher than other precious stones because of its purity. He is like a sacred dagger that sprinkles the sun with enemy blood.

Rain (qui auitl)

• Lucky number: 3
• Color – dark red

The goal of a Rain man’s life is to find himself in this world, not to lose luck and overcome impulsiveness. His sentimentality constantly pulls him “to another world.” In order to achieve harmony, he needs more humility. Among the Indians, Rain is the Master of the thunderstorm and the sky; he bathes in the rays of light from other planets, while the drowned and those struck by lightning are waiting for him with hope below.

Cayman (cipactli)

• Lucky number: 1
• Color – light green

His strong point is knowledge, he is always in search of new information, ideas, advice... For complete balance, he cannot stay in one place for a long time. He needs everything to be logical and clear. He is a great friend.

House (calli)

• Lucky number: 6
• Color – dark green

Playful and very open, the Dom is willing to give everything to friends or family and thus avoid disappointment. The fear of loneliness leads him to the fact that he wants to find a home with his soulmate at any cost. Among the Aztecs, the house rises in the center of a completely sown field, so at sunset the sun leaves the hospitable home, and at sunrise it again delights the owners with its presence.

Flower (xochitl)

• Lucky number: 10
• Color – luminous white

The flower gives everyone around its magical aroma. Everything blossoms nearby, becomes tender and sensual, just like him. Often, as in nature, the Flower keeps itself rather aloof. In the company of the Eagle and the Monkey, he will never make the wrong steps. For the Aztecs, a flower is a symbol of development, combining languid and passionate, sweet and salty, motionless and restless.

Snake (coatl)

• Lucky number: 2
• Color – orange

It is hardly possible to achieve compassion from the Snake. She surrounds herself with a shadow of mystery. This is the only way, she believes, to achieve longevity and success in life. The Snake often acts on the sly. It is impossible to predict what she will do in a few minutes. Possessiveness is a common trait among representatives of this sign. Often this quality acts as self-defense. The Aztecs believed that the Snake was the redeemer, the standard-bearer of the truce between heaven and earth.

Wind (eecatl)

• Lucky number: 5
• Brown color

The wind is a born inventor. He is very flexible both physically and mentally, which allows him to bypass obstacles and maneuver freely between different poles. After a period of instability, the wind calms down to gather strength. And develop a plan for further action. Among the Aztecs, the wind takes on the mask of a duck, escaping the horn equally easily both through water and air.

Ocelot (oceloti)

• Lucky number: 12
• Black color

Nobility and generosity are the main character traits of Ocelot. He is very ardent and passionate, sometimes quite aggressive. An alliance with a sensual flower or a cunning monkey will lead him to calm. Among the Aztecs, Ocelot is a crafty creature that brings confusion and revenge to unfaithful wives.

Death (miquiztli)

• Lucky number: 4
• Color – purple

Paradoxically, Death is one of the most positive signs in the Aztec horoscope. Promise, honesty and high moral qualities dominate this sign. An active worker, he thinks about how others treat him, so he often withdraws into himself, experiencing emotional storms alone. The House influences him favorably. The Akztecs perceived death not as destruction, but as a gift to the sun. Without it, updating is impossible

()
According to legend, the Aztecs once lived in a place (on an island) called Aztlan (“Place of Herons”, “Place where herons live”) - hence the name “Aztecs” (literally “people of Aztlan”). Further, leaving the island of Aztlan, the tenochki (as they were also called) reached Chicomostoc ("Seven Caves"), the mythical starting point of the wanderings of many wandering tribes into the Valley of Mexico, including the Tlaxcalans, Tepanecs, and others. The wanderings of the Aztecs took more than 200 years before than they settled in Tenochtitlan.

One day, the Aztec leader Tenoch had a vision in which the main Aztec god Huitzilopochtli predicted that they would settle where they would see an eagle holding a snake in its claws and sitting on a cactus. Much time passed before they found themselves on two islands in Lake Texcoco, infested with snakes, to the delight of neighboring tribes, who believed that the snakes would put an end to the Aztec tribe. But…
"The Aztecs were very happy to see the snakes, and they roasted them all. They roasted them all to eat. The Aztecs ate them all."

And then their prophecy came true:
"And they arrived to where the nopal towered. And with joy they saw that the nopal towered among the stones, and on its top sat an eagle. He tore something with his claws and devoured. Seeing the Aztecs, the eagle nodded his head. From afar they watched the eagle and behind his nest of magnificent feathers there were the feathers of a blue bird, the feathers of a red bird, all of them were precious, and there were also the heads of various birds, their paws and bones.

Then Tenochtitlan was founded - in 1325.

()
The Aztecs believed that every 24 hours, planets, stars and other celestial bodies enter a certain cycle that determines the character and fate of people born at that time.

The position of the heavenly bodies is responsible for the properties of our character. And the symbols of this horoscope have become a kind of amulets against troubles and adversity. The magical names of these signs in the Aztec language serve as a kind of graphic spell for each of us.

You: Rabbit (tochtli), if born: January 11, 23. February 9, 21. March 5, 17, 29. April 10, 22. May 4, 16, 28. June 9, 21. July 3, 15, 27. August 8, 20. September 1, 13, 25. October 7, 19, 31. November 12, 24. December 6, 18, 30.

You: Eagle (quauhtli), if born: January 12, 24. February 10, 22. March 6, 18, 30. April 11, 23. May 5, 17, 29. June 10, 22. July 4, 16, 28. August 9, 21. September 2, 14, 28. October 8, 20. November 1, 13, 25. December 7, 19, 31.

You: Monkey (ozomatli), if born: January 1, 13, 25. February 1, 11, 23. March 7, 19, 31. April 12, 24. May 6, 18, 30. June 11, 23. July 5, 17, 29. August 10, 22. September 3, 15, 27. October 9, 21. November 2, 14, 26. December 8, 20.

You: Flint (tecpatl), if born: January 2, 14, 26. February 12, 24. March 8, 20. April 1, 13, 25. May 7, 19, 31. June 12, 24. July 6, 18, 30. August 11, 23. September 4, 16, 24. October 10, 22. November 3, 15, 27. December 9, 21.

You: Rain (qui auitl), if born: January 3, 15, 27. February 13, 25. March 9, 21. April 2, 14, 26. May 8, 20. June 1, 13, 25. July 7, 19, 31. August 12, 24. September 5, 17, 29. October 11, 23. November 4, 16, 28. December 10, 22.

You: Cayman (cipactli), if born: January 4, 16, 28. February 2, 14, 26. March 10, 22. April 3, 15, 27. May 9, 21. June 2, 14, 26. July 8, 20. August 1, 13, 25. September 6, 8, 30. October 12, 24. November 5, 17, 29. December 11, 23.

You: House (calli), if born: January 5, 17, 29. February 3, 15, 27. March 11, 23. April 4, 16, 28. May 10, 22. June 3, 15, 27. July 9, 21. August 2, 14, 26. September 7, 19. October 1, 13, 25. November 6, 18, 30. December 12, 24.

You: Flower (xochitl), if born: January 6, 18, 30. February 4, 16, 28, 29. March 12, 24. April 5, 17, 29. May 11, 23. June 4, 16, 28. July 10, 22. August 3, 15, 27. September 8, 20. October 2, 14, 26. November 7, 19. December 1, 13, 25.

You: Snake (coatl), if born: January 7, 19, 31. February 5, 17. March 1, 13, 25. April 6, 18, 30. May 12, 24. June 5, 17, 29. July 11, 23. August 4, 16, 28. September 9, 21. October 3, 15, 27. November 8, 20. December 2, 14, 26.

You: Wind (eecatl), if born: January 8, 20. February 6, 18. March 2, 14, 26. April 7, 19. May 1, 13, 25. June 6, 18, 30. July 12, 24. August 5, 17, 29. September 10, 22. October 4, 16, 28. November 9, 21. December 3, 15, 27.

You: Ocelot (oceloti), if born: January 9, 21. February 7, 19. March 3, 15, 27. April 8, 20. May 2, 14, 26. June 7, 19. July 1, 13, 25. August 6, 18, 30. September 11, 23. October 5, 17, 29. November 10, 22. December 4, 16, 28.

You: Death (miquiztli), if born: January 10, 22. February 8, 20. March 4, 16, 28. April 9, 21. May 3, 15, 27. June 8, 20. July 2, 14, 26. August 7, 19, 31. September 12, 24. October 6, 18, 30. November 11, 23. December 5, 17, 29.

Rabbit (tochtli) lucky number: 8, color – indigo

The Rabbit is usually very lenient towards himself and others. He avoids conflict situations and prefers to spend his days in peace and quiet, but at night he frolics with all his might. A smiling seducer, an eternally joyful comrade - his lightness can sometimes even irritate. The Aztecs blamed rabbits for stealing food brought by hunters, while the culprits were evil female angels. Quiet Rabbits went into the fields to avoid human wrath, where they calmly continued their race, never ceasing to enjoy life.

Eagle (quauhtli) lucky number: 9, color – silver

The eagle represents benefactor and strength. He enjoys authority all over the world. Men are usually distinguished by perseverance, and women by organizational skills. The eagle is very purposeful, but at the same time he has a cunning and resourceful mind. The presence of a female Rabbit or Monkey or a male Flint or Ocelot will add rationality to the impulsive Eagles. This bird occupies the highest level of the Aztec pantheon. The eagle is the conqueror of twilight who brings sunlight on his wings.

Monkey (ozomatli) lucky number: 11, color – gold

The Monkey does not take himself seriously, he is always cautious, inventive and full of new ideas and projects. She is usually very attractive, capable of enjoying both the riot of passions and the tranquility of a peaceful holiday. It is difficult to upset and shake her. By nature, the monkey is an elegant esthete, loves surprises, surprises, and especially his freedom.

Flint (tecpatl) lucky number: 7, color – bright red

Precision, courage and straightforwardness are the main qualities of Flint. He does not like gossip, lies and suspicions. Risks getting lost and abyss, underestimating the dangers. Among the Aztecs, flint was valued higher than other precious stones because of its purity. He is like a sacred dagger that sprinkles the sun with enemy blood.

Rain (qui auitl) lucky number: 3, color – dark red

The goal of a Rain man’s life is to find himself in this world, not to lose luck and overcome impulsiveness. His sentimentality constantly pulls him “to another world.” In order to achieve harmony, he needs more humility. Among the Indians, Rain is the Master of the thunderstorm and the sky; he bathes in the rays of light from other planets, while the drowned and those struck by lightning are waiting for him with hope below.

Caiman (cipactli) lucky number: 1, color – light green

His strong point is knowledge, he is always in search of new information, ideas, advice... For complete balance, he cannot stay in one place for a long time. He needs everything to be logical and clear. He is a great friend.

House (calli) lucky number: 6, color – dark green

Playful and very open, the Dom is willing to give everything to friends or family and thus avoid disappointment. The fear of loneliness leads him to the fact that he wants to find a home with his soulmate at any cost. Among the Aztecs, the house rises in the center of a completely sown field, so at sunset the sun leaves the hospitable home, and at sunrise it again delights the owners with its presence.

Flower (xochitl) lucky number: 10, color - glowing white

The flower gives everyone around its magical aroma. Everything blossoms nearby, becomes tender and sensual, just like him. Often, as in nature, the Flower keeps itself rather aloof. In the company of the Eagle and the Monkey, he will never make the wrong steps. For the Aztecs, a flower is a symbol of development, combining languid and passionate, sweet and salty, motionless and restless.

Snake (coatl) lucky number: 2, color – orange

It is hardly possible to achieve compassion from the Snake. She surrounds herself with a shadow of mystery. This is the only way, she believes, to achieve longevity and success in life. The Snake often acts on the sly. It is impossible to predict what she will do in a few minutes. Possessiveness is a common trait among representatives of this sign. Often this quality acts as self-defense. The Aztecs believed that the Snake was the redeemer, the standard-bearer of the truce between heaven and earth.

Wind (eecatl) lucky number: 5, color – brown

The wind is a born inventor. He is very flexible both physically and mentally, which allows him to bypass obstacles and maneuver freely between different poles. After a period of instability, the wind calms down to gather strength. And develop a plan for further action. Among the Aztecs, the wind takes on the mask of a duck, escaping the horn equally easily both through water and air.

Ocelot (oceloti) lucky number: 12, color – black

Nobility and generosity are the main character traits of Ocelot. He is very ardent and passionate, sometimes quite aggressive. An alliance with a sensual flower or a cunning monkey will lead him to calm. Among the Aztecs, Ocelot is a crafty creature that brings confusion and revenge to unfaithful wives.

Death (miquiztli) lucky number: 4, color – purple

Paradoxically, Death is one of the most positive signs of the Aztec horoscope. Promise, honesty and high moral qualities dominate this sign. An active worker, he thinks about how others treat him, so he often withdraws into himself, experiencing emotional storms alone. The House influences him favorably. The Akztecs perceived death not as destruction, but as a gift to the sun. Without it, updating is impossible.

()
The name of the peoples who inhabited the Valley of Mexico shortly before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521. This ethnonym unites many tribal groups that spoke the Nahuatl language and exhibited features of a cultural community, although they had their own city-states and royal dynasties. Among these tribes, the Tenochs occupied a dominant position, and only this last people was sometimes called “Aztecs”. The Aztecs also refer to the powerful triple alliance created by the Tenochs of Tenochtitlan, the Acolhuas of Texcoco, and the Tepanecs of Tlacopan, who established their dominance in Central and Southern Mexico between 1430 and 1521. The Aztec city-states arose on a vast mountain plateau called the “Valley of Mexico.” , where the capital of Mexico is now located. This fertile valley has an area of ​​approx. 6500 sq. km extends approximately 50 km in length and width. It lies at an altitude of 2300 m above sea level. and is surrounded on all sides by mountains of volcanic origin, reaching a height of 5000 m. During the time of the Aztecs, the landscape was given originality by a chain of connecting lakes with the most extensive of them, Lake Texcoco. The lakes were fed by mountain runoff and streams, and periodic floods created constant problems for the population living on their shores. At the same time, the lakes provided drinking water, created habitat for fish, waterfowl and mammals, and boats served as a convenient means of transportation. The Triple Alliance subjugated a vast territory from the northern regions of what is now Mexico to the borders of Guatemala, which included a variety of landscapes and natural areas - the relatively dry areas of the northern Valley of Mexico, the mountain gorges of the present states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, the Pacific mountain ranges, the coastal plains of the Gulf of Mexico, the lush, humid tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula. Thus, the Aztecs gained access to a variety of natural resources that were not available in their original places of residence. The inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico and some other areas (for example, the Tlaxcalans who lived in the territory of the current states of Puebla and Tlaxcala) spoke dialects of the Nahuatl language (lit. “euphony”, “folding speech”). It was adopted as a second language by Aztec tributaries and became the intermediary language of almost all of Mexico during the colonial period (1521–1821). Traces of this language are found in numerous place names such as Acapulco or Oaxaca. According to some estimates, approx. 1.3 million people still speak Nahuatl or its variant Nahuat, more commonly called Mejicano. This language is part of the Macronaua family of the Uto-Aztecan branch, distributed from Canada to Central America and including about 30 related languages. The Aztecs were great lovers of literature and collected libraries of pictographic books (so-called codices) with descriptions of religious rituals and historical events or representing registers of tribute collection. The paper for the codices was made from bark. The overwhelming majority of these books were destroyed during the Conquest or immediately after it. In general, in all of Mesoamerica (this is the name of the territory from the north of the Valley of Mexico to the southern borders of Honduras and El Salvador), no more than two dozen Indian codes have been preserved. Some scholars argue that not a single Aztec code of the pre-Spanish era has survived to this day, others believe that there are two of them - the Bourbon Code and the Register of Taxes. Be that as it may, even after the conquest, the Aztec written tradition did not die and was used for various purposes. Aztec scribes recorded hereditary titles and possessions, compiled reports to the Spanish king, and more often described the life and beliefs of their fellow tribesmen for the Spanish monks in order to make it easier for them to Christianize the Indians. Europeans received their first information about the Aztecs during the conquest, when Hernán Cortés sent five letters of report to the Spanish king about the progress of the conquest of Mexico. About 40 years later, a member of Cortez's expedition, soldier Bernal Diaz del Castillo, compiled the True History of the Conquest of New Spain, where he vividly and thoroughly described the Tenochs and neighboring peoples. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was completely destroyed by the conquistadors. The remains of ancient structures did not attract attention until in 1790, during excavation work, the so-called. The Sun Stone and a 17-ton statue of the goddess Coatlicue. Archaeological interest in Aztec culture arose after the discovery of a corner of the main temple in 1900, but large-scale archaeological excavations of the temple were not undertaken until 1978–1982. Then archaeologists managed to expose seven separate segments of the temple and extract more than 7,000 objects of Aztec art and household items from hundreds of burials. Later archaeological excavations revealed a number of large and small ancient structures under the Mexican capital. The Aztec culture was the latest in a long line of advanced civilizations that flourished and declined in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The oldest of these, the Olmec culture, developed on the Gulf Coast in the 14th–3rd centuries. BC. The Olmecs paved the way for the formation of subsequent civilizations, which is why the era of their existence is called pre-classical. They had a developed mythology with an extensive pantheon of gods, erected massive stone structures, and were skilled in stone carving and pottery. These features of Olmec society were further developed in subsequent civilizations. In the tropical rainforests of southern Mesoamerica, the Mayan civilization flourished for a relatively short historical period, leaving behind vast cities and many magnificent works of art. Around the same time, a similar civilization of the classical era arose in the Valley of Mexico, in Teotihuacan, a huge city with an area of ​​26-28 square meters. km and with a population of up to 100 thousand people.

The name “Aztecs” (literally “people of Aztlan”) recalls the legendary ancestral home of the Tenochki tribe, from where they made a difficult journey to the Valley of Mexico City. The Aztecs were one of many nomadic or semi-sedentary Chichimec tribes who migrated from the desert areas of northern Mexico (or even more remote) to the fertile agricultural areas of central Mexico. The last of the Aztec emperors, Motecuzoma Xocoyottzin (Montezuma II), was not so much concerned with seizing new territories as with consolidating the empire and suppressing uprisings. But Montezuma, like his predecessors, failed to subjugate the Tarascans on the western borders of the empire and the Tlaxcalans in the east. The latter provided enormous military assistance to the Spanish conquistadors led by Cortes during the conquest of the Aztec empire. The Aztec polytheistic pantheon included many gods and goddesses. The demiurge gods are represented by the mysterious, unpredictable Tezcatlipoca (“Smoking Mirror”), the fire god Xiutecutli and the famous Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”), “who gave maize to people.” Since the life of the Aztecs largely depended on agriculture, they worshiped the gods of rain, fertility, maize, etc. Gods of war, such as Huitzilopochtli of the Tenoches, were associated with the Sun. The Aztecs erected temples for each deity, where priests and priestesses performed his cult. The main temple of Tenochtitlan (46 m high) was topped by two sanctuaries dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc. This temple rose in the middle of a vast fenced area where there were other temples, chambers of warriors, a priestly school and a court for a ritual ball game. Elaborate religious rituals included festivals, fasting, chants, dances, the burning of incense and rubber, and ritual drama, often involving human sacrifice. According to Aztec mythology, the Universe was divided into thirteen heavens and nine underworlds. The created world went through four eras of development, each of which ended with the death of the human race: the first - from jaguars, the second - from hurricanes, the third - from a worldwide fire, the fourth - from a flood. The contemporary Aztec era of the “Fifth Sun” was supposed to end with terrible earthquakes. Human sacrifice, which formed the most important part of Aztec religious rites, was practiced in order to supply the gods with energy and thereby delay the inevitable death of the human race. Sacrifice, the Aztecs believed, was necessary to maintain a sustainable life cycle; human blood nourished the Sun, caused rains and ensured the earthly existence of man. Some forms of sacrifice were limited to bloodletting through the thorns of the maguey plant, but often the victim was killed by the priests, ripping open the chest with a knife and tearing out the heart. In some rituals, the chosen one, who had the honor of embodying the deity, was sacrificed; in others, many captives were killed.

() Mayan mythology Aztec mythology

Gods Ah Pooch Kavil Camaxtli Quetzalcoatlus Kukulkan Metztli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Sinteotl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Huitzilopochtli Chuck Xipe Totec Yum Kaash Goddesses Headquarters Ixchel Coatlicue Coyolxauqui Myths Song of Hiawatha

Deity head from Copan, 9th century AD Mayan mythology. Among the Mayans, knowledge and religion were inseparable from one another and constituted a single worldview, which was reflected in their art. Ideas about the diversity of the surrounding world were personified in the images of numerous deities, which can be combined into several main groups corresponding to different spheres of human experience: gods of hunting, gods of fertility, gods of various elements, gods of heavenly bodies, gods of war, gods of death, and so on. At different periods of Mayan history, certain gods may have had different significance for their worshipers. The Mayans believed that the universe consisted of 13 heavens and 9 underworlds. In the center of the earth there was a tree that passed through all the celestial spheres. On each of the four sides of the earth there was another tree, symbolizing the cardinal points - a red tree corresponded to the east, a yellow tree to the south, a black tree to the west, and a white tree to the north. Each side of the world had several gods (wind, rain and heaven holders) who had a corresponding color. One of the important gods of the Maya of the classical period was the god of corn, represented in the guise of a young man with a high headdress. By the time the Spaniards arrived, Another important deity was Itzamna, represented as an old man with a hooked nose and a goatee. As a rule, images of Mayan deities included a variety of symbolism, indicating the complexity of thinking of the customers and performers of sculptures, reliefs or drawings. So, the sun god had large crooked fangs, his mouth was outlined by a stripe of circles. The eyes and mouth of the other deity are depicted as coiled snakes, etc. Among the female deities, especially significant, judging by the codes, was the “red goddess,” the wife of the rain god; she was painted with a snake on her head and with the paws of some kind of predator instead of legs. Itzamna's wife was the moon goddess Ish-Chel; it was believed to help with childbirth, weaving and medicine. Some Mayan gods were represented in the form of animals or birds: jaguar, eagle. During the Toltec period of Mayan history, the veneration of deities of Central Mexican origin spread among them. One of the most respected gods of this kind was Kukulkan, in whose image elements of the god Quetzalcoatl of the Nahua peoples are clear. Currently, most scientists accept and recognize the following Mayan mythological deities: the god of rain and lightning - Chaak (Chaak or Chac); the god of death and ruler of the world of the dead - Ah Puch; god of death - Kimi (Cimi); lord of the sky - Itzamna; god of trade - Ek Chuah; goddess of sacrifices and ritual suicides - Ish-Tab (IxTab); goddess of the rainbow and moonlight - Ish-Chel (IxChel); the riding god, the feathered serpent of Quetzal - Kukulkan (Gukumatz); god of corn and forests - Jum Kaash; god of fire and thunder - Huracan; demon of the underworld - Zipacna and others.

Mayan writing. It has long been believed that the Mayans were the inventors of writing and the calendar system. However, after similar but older signs were found in places farther away from the Maya region, it became apparent that the Mayans had inherited some elements from earlier cultures. Mayan writing was of the hieroglyphic type. Mayan hieroglyphs were preserved in 4 manuscripts (the so-called Mayan codes, three in Dresden, Madrid, Paris, the fourth codex was partially preserved); they give either images of figures, or are connected in groups of 4 or 6 hieroglyphs above the figured images. Calendar signs and numbers accompany the entire text. Schellgas (in “Zeitschrift fuer Ethnologie”, 1886) and Seler (in “Verhandlungen der Berliner Anthropologischen Gesellschaft” and in “Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie”, 1887) did a lot to analyze hieroglyphs.

To calculate time, the Aztecs used two calendars, a ritual calendar of 260 days and a solar calendar, which had 18 twenty-day months and 5 unlucky days. The names of the months in it corresponded to the names of agricultural plants. The combination of the two types of timekeeping gave the Aztecs, like the Mayans, a repeating 52-year cycle.

Drawing on the skin of the Aztec calendar

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The basis of the Aztec economy was agriculture. Their agricultural technology was primitive. The main weapon was a wooden stick pointed at one end. But under the hot sun of Mexico, even such a simple technique generously rewarded labor, if only the plants received enough moisture. Therefore, the Aztecs widely used artificial irrigation.
An interesting and unique feature of Aztec agriculture was floating vegetable gardens, called “chinampas” in Mexican. Such vegetable gardens are still established today on the lagoons of Chalco and Xochimilco. It was not easy to make chinampa in those days. Small, lightweight rafts made of wooden slats and woven reeds were covered with silt taken from the bottom of the lake. A small amount of soil was added to the sludge. In this fertile mixture, always moist due to contact with water, the plants developed especially quickly and luxuriantly. Several of these rafts, tied together, were tied to piles driven into the bottom of the lake. Tenochtitlan, located on a small island and therefore without much land, was surrounded by many floating vegetable gardens. Various garden plants were grown on them: tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, peppers, zucchini, sweet potatoes and all kinds of flowers. The Aztecs were very fond of growing flowers. It is not for nothing that the Xochimilco Lagoon, which abounded in chinampas, means “flower gardens.”
The main crop, however, of the Aztecs, like all other Indian tribes of Central America, was corn, or maize. From the Aztecs or other tribes of America, Europeans learned cocoa, tobacco, tomatoes, sunflowers, various types of beans, potatoes, pumpkin, pineapple, vanilla, groundnuts, rubber trees, many medicinal plants, quinine, strychnine, cocaine, and finally, many beautiful ornamental plants : dahlias, begonias, fuchsias, prickly pear, calceolaria, various types of orchids. It is not for nothing that many of the names of these plants are taken from Indian languages, for example “chocolate” or “tomato” - distorted Aztec words “chocolatl” and “tomatl”. None of the plants cultivated by the American Indians before the settlement of the American continent by whites was known either in Europe, or in Asia, or in Africa. The introduction and development of these crops more than doubled the food resources of the Old World. Aztec farmers also had at their disposal: chia, a plant whose grains were used to make oil and prepare a refreshing drink; yam - a plant with edible starchy tubers; Kamote is a plant from the bindweed family, the root of which is used as food. From areas with hotter and more humid climates, they imported cocoa beans, pineapples and vanilla. Agave was used in Aztec households mainly for its juice. A strong alcoholic drink, octli, was prepared from it by fermentation. A glass of which could knock a person off his feet. In addition, agave was used for other economic purposes: very strong ropes and coarse fabric for bags and for sewing clothes were made from its fibers. However, only the poor wore such clothes. The richer ones wore cotton clothes. On plantations of the nopal cactus, the Aztecs diligently bred cochineal, a small insect that produced an excellent dye for dark crimson fabrics.

Among the Aztecs, men worked the land. At first, when Aztec society did not yet know classes, the tribal council distributed land between clans. Within the clan, the land was divided between families in proportion to the number of eaters. When the head of the family died, his sons worked the plot. If he had no offspring or did not sow his fields for two years, the plot was transferred to the new owner. Later, with the emergence of classes in Aztec society, the situation changed. Special plots began to be designated for the maintenance of the tribal ruler and priests. These lands were cultivated, of course, not by themselves, but by ordinary members of the tribe and, partly, by slaves. The rich and noble seized more fertile and extensive areas for themselves. The poor could not feed themselves and their families on the plots of land allotted to them and were forced to go into bondage with the rich.
Dogs played some role in the Aztec economy. They were bred mainly for their meat, which was considered a delicacy. Among the living creatures that the Aztecs had, turkeys should be mentioned. Europeans learned about this bird only after the discovery of America. There is reason to believe that the Aztecs also bred geese, ducks and quails. Beekeeping was widely developed. Honey was consumed not only by rich, but also by middle-income families. Hunting was an important source of meat food. The Aztecs were famous as skilled hunters and sharp shooters. They hunted with bows and arrows and various types of traps. They also knew the simplest devices for throwing spears and blowing tubes for throwing clay balls. People who lived on the shores of lakes also engaged in fishing.
Although the main tools of the Aztecs were stone and wood, at that time a gradual transition to the manufacture of metal tools began. The Aztecs were familiar with copper - it was collected as tribute from conquered tribes. By combining it with tin, ancient metallurgists obtained an alloy close to bronze. Axes, knives, adzes, various jewelry, as well as jagged spear tips were made from it. Copper tools were used mainly in wood processing. But both copper and bronze objects, which gradually came into use, had not yet replaced stone tools and were of relatively little importance.
The works of ancient Mexican culture that have survived to this day show what perfection the Aztecs achieved in stone processing, using stone tools. Many similar monuments have been discovered. Aztec lapidaries turned pieces of obsidian, rock crystal, jade, moonstone, opal, and amethyst into wonderful sculptural images. The Aztecs achieved great success in processing gold and silver. No wonder all the Spanish conquerors unanimously admired the amazing jewelry of the Aztec craftsmen. One of the Spanish historians wrote about the Mexican goldsmiths: “They are superior to the goldsmiths of Spain, because they can cast a bird with a moving tongue, head and wings, or a monkey with a moving head, tongue, legs and arms, and put a toy in the hand, so that it seems that she dances with her. Moreover, they take an ingot, half of which is gold and half of silver, and cast a fish with all its scales, one scale being gold and the other silver.”
Unfortunately, very few Aztec gold items have survived to this day. Most of them were melted down into ingots by the Spanish conquerors. Aztec jewelry that survived the barbaric hands of the Spaniards is the pride of several of the largest museums in the world. Our State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad is one of the owners of such jewelry. From the drawings and descriptions of the casting process preserved in Aztec manuscripts, we can imagine the work of Indian metallurgists and jewelers. A model of decoration was sculpted from fine-grained clay and covered with a thin layer of wax, on top of which clay was stuck. When the mold was heated, the wax melted and a cavity was formed in it, exactly reproducing the configuration of the model. Molten gold or silver was poured into the upper hole, specially made for this purpose. It filled all the voids of the form. Now all that remained was to wait until the metal hardened in order to remove the casting from the mold. It was then polished and immersed in a bath of alum to add shine. In reality it was much more complex. The main difficulty was to create a strong, heat-resistant shell around the wax model that could not be destroyed by the molten metal. The fragile wax model was, as it were, wrapped in a thin but extremely durable ceramic cover, which protected it from the formation of burns, roughness, and pockmarked surfaces. This was achieved by selecting appropriate types of clay and sand, strict temperature conditions for pouring, and the art of making molds. The ancient Aztec metallurgists mastered all this perfectly. Their eyes were replaced by precision instruments that foundry workers now use.
The pottery products of Mexican craftsmen were very diverse and beautiful. Each tribe, often even a separate village, made its own specially shaped clay vessels, which also had different ornaments. The vessels were sculpted by hand, since the potter's wheel was not known to the ancient inhabitants of Mexico. Tlaxcala and Cholula were especially famous for their distinctive, richly ornamented pottery. Vessels from Cholula, decorated with images of people, gods, animals and plants, were the most popular items in barter trade. It is not for nothing that archaeologists discover them during excavations throughout southern Mexico and large parts of Central America.
The Aztecs also valued weaving. Their fabrics were distinguished by complex and beautiful patterns, they played with bright colors. Aztec craftsmen knew how to give fabrics the appearance of velvet, brocade, and various furs. Unfortunately, the destruction caused by time, and subsequently by the Spanish conquerors, is very great. Few examples of this wonderful art have survived, and we know about it mostly from descriptions and drawings. Related to weaving, another Aztec craft, feather patterning, was a remarkable art. The master took feathers of a wide variety of colors and composed them into a complex and whimsical pattern. Then the shafts of these feathers in a certain order were either attached to the mesh fabric at the places where the threads crossed, or simply glued to the cotton fabric. This method was used to make the famous feather cloaks and magnificent headdresses of the leaders that so amazed the Spanish conquerors. The same feather mosaic, depicting various animals or reproducing geometric patterns, was often decorated with the shields of noble warriors. Feather products were striking in their amazingly harmonious combination of colors and shades. It was hard to believe that this was not a work of painting, the selection of colors was so perfect. Tenochtitlan was especially famous for its feather products. The unique craft of feather mosaic masters has survived to this day. Mexican craftsmen still know how to create beautiful landscapes and funny everyday pictures using feathers.
The Aztecs wore clothes that could almost accurately determine the occupation and wealth of passers-by by their appearance. People in modest white clothes are farmers. The wealthier ones girded themselves with wide sashes with thick fringe and beautiful embroidery. Only the very rich wore fur clothes and woolen fabrics. Noble persons sported feather dresses - light, warm and extremely graceful. Black robes were the property of priests. However, they could also be recognized by the signs of self-torture - tattered ears and dried blood on the head. Aztec women walked with their hair flowing down to their shoulders.
The Aztecs were actively engaged in trade. The city market of Tenochtitlan occupied a huge area, accommodating more than 50,000 buyers and sellers at a time. The square was paved with thick slabs and partly built up with shops. Here you could buy everything that was then produced in Mexico and neighboring countries - from dishes, furniture, gold jewelry to the most exquisite delicacies of Aztec cuisine. Each product had its own rows, a specific place in the market square. Clayware - carved and fired vases, bowls, and pots - was in great demand. The popular goods were obsidian blades, horn and bone spinning wheels, and copper needles. Copper axes did not lie around either, although they were quite expensive. There were special rows at the market where weapons were sold - spears, bows, arrows, wide Mexican swords with sharp obsidian blades, helmets and thick caftans that acted as shells.
Shops selling mosquito goods, roots, medicinal potions, incense, odorous ointments and ointments were briskly selling. The area was also bustling with sellers of raw and tanned hides, leather and leather goods. Writing materials, a kind of papyrus made from aloe fibers, were also sold.
Barbers worked in light huts built on the market square. Their razors made of sharp obsidian plates were in no way inferior to the steel blades of the Europeans. The Mexicans did not know weights and scales. All goods were sold individually, and bulk solids were sold in special measures. The role of money was played by cocoa beans and bone tubes with gold sand. Trade exchange was very developed. A significant part of the goods was not bought, but exchanged for other goods. But the huge market square did not accommodate all the centers of city trade. Lime, stone, timber - all bulky building materials were usually stored on the canal embankment adjacent to the market and on neighboring streets. And there were always crowds of buyers here.
The picture of the city market will be incomplete without mentioning the live goods that were also put on public display - slaves. There were hundreds of them, and on some days thousands, - thin, emaciated people wearing wooden collars attached to long flexible poles. They bought them like they buy pets: they examined their teeth, felt their muscles.
There were also slaves without collars. These people sold themselves to get shelter, clothing and food. Naturally, only the last poor people, desperate to find any means of subsistence, decided to do this. In the development of writing, the Aztecs did not go further than pictography, the essence of which is to convey meaning through drawings. Pictography is therefore also called pictorial writing or painting. The drawings that depict objects, events, actions have not yet acquired a permanent, sustainable meaning, and it is very difficult to read the pictogram. Moreover, this type of writing is extremely imperfect. It is not suitable for recording literary works, abstract concepts and much more. But the Aztecs, apparently, were quite satisfied with the pictorial writing they had developed over the centuries. With its help, they recorded the amount of tribute received from conquered tribes, kept their calendar, celebrated religious and memorable dates, and compiled historical chronicles.
The Aztec calendar is very complex and confusing. It has two parallel sections: the solar calendar, which consisted of 18 months of 20 days each (plus 5 “unlucky” days), and the sacred calendar, which covered a period of 260 days. It was divided into 20 weeks of 13 days each. The calendar compilers - the priests - were guided by a number of complex rules. At the same time, they used special reference books. Some of them have survived to this day. Each of these reference books represents a whole series of rather complex drawings: Crocodile, Death's Head, Monkey, Kite, Wind, Deer, Grass, Movement, House, Rabbit, Reed, Flint Knife, Lizard, Water, Ocelot, Rain, Snake, Dog, Eagle. Flower. Some drawings are made in paints. Explanatory notes compiled by some monks from the words of the Indians after the conquest of Mexico helped scientists understand the meaning and significance of these mysterious images.
The Aztec solar year could begin with only four days (“House”, “Rabbit”, “Reed”, “Flint Knife”). After each 52-year cycle, the years were counted from the beginning. There was no continuity between the cycles. This now makes it extremely difficult to date many events.
With the growing power of the Aztecs, the expansion of the lands and tribes under their control, and the complication of technology and production relations, pictographic writing also improved. The Aztecs did not reach the invention of the alphabet, but they came noticeably closer to this. Pictures began to be used not only to convey the concepts contained in them, but also phonetically, i.e. as a certain combination of sounds. In this way, it seemed possible to convey the meaning of a new word, unrelated to them in meaning, by combining two pictures. It's like puzzles. For example, the Aztecs conveyed the name of the city of Pantepec by drawing a flag (in Aztec “pantli”) on a schematic representation of a hill (“tepec”). To convey the sound meaning of words, various colors, homonyms, special arrangement of objects, etc. were used. Actions were conveyed by conventional signs: footsteps meant travel, movement, a shield and club symbolized battle, a bound body meant death, etc.
When calculating, the Aztecs used the base-20 system. Numbers up to nineteen were represented by dots, and the number 20 by a flag. Sometimes, in an abbreviated form, five dots were replaced by one stick. Twenty squared (400) was represented by a sign resembling a Christmas tree. It meant "as numerous as hair." Twenty cubed (8000) was depicted as a bag of cocoa beans (of which there are so many in the bag that they cannot be counted). The few Aztec chronicles that have reached us, as well as records of tribal affairs, despite the extreme brevity of the presentation, provide rich material for the historian. They have been carefully studied and significantly supplemented the archaeological data, expanded our understanding of the life, way of life and culture of the Aztecs.
Discipline among the Aztecs was their main virtue. Raising children was strict and punishments were cruel. An Aztec drawing depicts the punishment of guilty children: a mother stabs her daughter's hand with agave needles, a guilty boy is held over a fire into which pepper pods are thrown. The Aztecs considered deceit to be a terrible vice. Lips that told lies were pierced with thorns. Let this be a good lesson for him in the future... The Aztecs paid great attention to the rules of politeness and good manners. One famous researcher of Aztec culture recorded the following instructions from Mexican fathers to their sons: “Honor everyone who is older than you, and despise no one. Do not be deaf to the poor and unfortunate, but comfort them. Honor all people, but especially your parents, to whom you are obliged to show obedience, respect and helpfulness... Do not mock, my son, the old and the crippled... Do not go where you are not wanted, and do not interfere in what you are not concerns. Try to show good manners in all your words and actions. Eat at the table without greed; don't show if you don't like something...If you become rich, don't become arrogant. Feed on your own work, then the food will seem tastier to you... Never tell a lie. Don't talk bad about anyone. Don't be a news purveyor. Don't start hostility... Don't be wasteful. Do not steal or indulge in [gambling], otherwise you will bring shame on your parents...”
And here are the instructions intended for the daughter: “Spread and weave diligently, sew and knit. Don't indulge in sleep for too long... Women's affectation entails idleness and other vices. While working, do not indulge in bad thoughts. If your parents call you, don’t wait for a repeat, but go immediately to listen to their wishes. Don't answer in opposition. Don't show if you do something reluctantly... Don't deceive anyone. Don't be too proud of your property... Take care of your family. Do not leave home for any trifle and do not appear often on the street or market square. If you come to a relative’s house, immediately try to be useful - take up the spinning wheel...” If a girl or girl violated Aztec customs and norms of behavior, she was punished very severely. For example, sometimes chains were even put on the legs of little girls who were away from home...
Religious schools were characterized by the harshest education. Teenagers were taught to endure hardship and endurance. Fasting and self-torture have become a system here. Their goal is to teach children to endure pain and physical suffering without complaint. The Aztecs had countless gods. To more clearly imagine this number, we can name only three groups of them. For example, Senzon Uiznahua - the star gods of the southern part of the sky, Senzon Mimishcoa - the star gods of the northern part of the sky and Senzon Totochtin - the gods of the intoxicating drink octli. There are 1200 gods in these three groups! But this figure does not exhaust the number of gods of all ranks and titles with which the Aztec priests had to deal. The whole world is inhabited by deities - good, evil, generous and vengeful. You have to get along with them so as not to bring trouble on yourself. Of all these numerous deities, each of which had, so to speak, its own “specialty,” the gods associated with agriculture enjoyed the greatest reverence. Chief among this group of gods were the Tlalocs - the gods of the mountains who controlled rain, thunder and lightning. Their veneration was associated with rivers, lakes and springs. Each valley had its own Tlaloc, who lived on the nearest hill. The Aztecs believed that all these countless Tlalocs were subordinate to the supreme Tlaloc. The main temple of Tenochtitlan was dedicated to him, along with Huitzilopochtli. A quarter of all major religious holidays were directly related to this god. Tlaloc was always depicted with two snakes around his eyes. Initially, but in all likelihood, the Tlalocs were patrons of hunting and fishing. Subsequently, when people mastered agriculture, they changed their “specialty” and became patrons of farmers.
The goddess Chalchihuitlicue - “the lady in emerald clothing”, considered the wife of Tlaloc, was revered as the goddess of flowing water. According to the Aztec beliefs, the movement of water in rivers and lakes depended on it. She could send a flood to the earth. The goddesses and gods of corn - Chicomecoatl, Xilonen, Sinteotl and Xochiquetzal - were young and beautiful. Chicomecoatl (“semizmeinaya”) was the goddess of harvests and food. Shilonen and Shochiketsal personified growing young corn. The god Quetzalcoatl (his name probably means “feathered snake”) was associated with the worship of the planet Venus. The peoples of Mexico had many different legends about him. One of them says that Quetzalcoatl, after a long struggle, was expelled from Mexico. Leaving by sea for the East, he predicted that after some time he would return to his country again. This god was usually depicted with white skin. The myth of Quetzalcoatl served Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors with great service.
Each tribe of ancient Mexico had its own special patron god. Such a patron of the Tenochki, or Aztecs, was Huitzilopochtli, already known to us - the god of war and hunting. His mother was the earth goddess Coatlicue - “the mistress dressed in snakes.” This goddess was depicted with two snakes instead of a head, and her dress was woven from writhing and writhing snakes. In Tenochtitlan, she, as the mother of the patron god, enjoyed special veneration. A temple was built in her honor, which contained a colossal statue of this goddess, which has survived to this day. The supreme deity of the Aztecs was the god Tezcatlipoca - the “smoking mirror”. In the 16th century, he was revered by all Nahua tribes as an omnipotent deity, supreme in relation to all tribal, military and hunting gods. He was usually depicted holding a polished obsidian mirror in his hands. According to Aztec beliefs, this magic mirror reflected everything that happened in the world. Tezcatlipoca was, like Huitzilopochtli, a god of war. He was usually portrayed as very cruel, punishing people with hunger and disease and requiring countless human sacrifices. According to Aztec beliefs, he expelled Quetzalcoatl from Mexico.
The main temple of the war god Huitzilopochtli was located in Tenochtitlan near the market square. It was surrounded by a high stone wall, decorated on the outside with relief images of snakes. The vast temple courtyard was paved with slabs, polished to a shine. The Temple of Huitzilopochtli was a gigantic truncated pyramid - more precisely, five truncated pyramids, placed on ledges on top of each other, of which the larger one served as the base. One hundred and fourteen steps led to the top of the temple, but they did not go in a continuous line, but formed five staircases, corresponding to the five “floors” of the temple. Each of the stairs led the visitor to the next ledge, and only after going around it, he found himself on the next staircase. Thus, in order to reach the top of the temple, it was necessary not only to overcome all one hundred and fourteen steps, but also to walk around the entire building four times, each of its pyramids. The stairs ran along the outer plane. The solemn procession of the priests during the festivities, slowly rising to the top of the temple in full view of the entire people, was a spectacular and impressive sight. The exact dimensions of the temple of the god of war have not been preserved. Scientists believe that the area of ​​its base was approximately 1,000 square meters. meters, and the height is 30-35 meters. At the top of the temple there was a vast area with two sanctuary towers. In front of them stood altars in which lights burned day and night. A gigantic idol of a clumsy shape, with a ferocious and ugly face, appeared before the eye. He held a bow with his right hand, and golden arrows in his left. The body of the idol was girded with a snake made of pearls and precious stones, and on its neck hung golden human masks and a chain of gold and silver hearts. This is what Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god, looked like. The favorite dish of this bloodthirsty god was human hearts. On a special stone installed near the idol, the priests sacrificed people from among prisoners of war, slaves and residents of conquered tribes, ripping open their chests and removing their still fluttering hearts. It should be said that this disgusting ritual was skillfully used by Catholic priests as one of the main arguments for the new religion. There were statues of other Aztec gods in this temple, and human sacrifices were made to all of them. The priests inspired the people that only with such sacrifices could the sun, the source of life, be prevented from going away.
Aztec myths talk a lot about the struggle between Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl. It is possible that in these legends one can hear echoes of a long-standing struggle between the Toltecs and the Nahua tribes that invaded the valley.
According to the beliefs of the Aztecs, the world consisted, in addition to the earth, of thirteen heavens and nine hells. But the idea of ​​heaven for the righteous and hell for sinners, so characteristic of the Christian religion, was alien to the Aztecs. All thirteen levels of heaven were inhabited by deities. The more significant and powerful a given god was, the higher he lived. One of the heavens was in the possession of Tlaloc. All those killed by lightning and drowned ended up here. The heavens also had horizontal divisions. In the eastern part lived warriors who died in battle or were sacrificed, in the western part lived women who died during childbirth, that is, who died at the moment when they gave life to future warriors. All other dead people went to the underworld. But achieving it was not so easy. On the way of the dead, thousands of dangers lay in wait: mountains that threatened to crush the traveler; snakes and giant crocodiles; arid deserts; a whirlwind wind that threw obsidian knives. The last stage of the painful journey across the wide river was made on the back of a small red dog. The ruler of the underworld received gifts from the deceased and, depending on their value, determined in which underworld he should live. Thus ended the Aztec's earthly journey.

At the beginning of the 14th century, a new force appeared on the historical scene - the Tepanec tribe. In just a hundred years they managed to conquer all the settlements of the Valley of Mexico. Thus, after several centuries of invasions and struggles, the entire population of the valley again, as in the time of the Toltecs, found itself united under a single authority. The Tepanecs in their struggle for supremacy in the valley were helped by a small tribe of Tenochs who lived on the western shore of Lake Texcoco, near Chapultepec.

The Tenochki were the Aztecs. That's what they called themselves, and neighboring tribes called them Aztecs. Thus, the first mention of the rulers of the Valley of Mexico appears only in the 14th century, 200 years before the Spanish invasion. And they are mentioned as some kind of insignificant, small tribe. One of many nomadic or semi-sedentary Chichimec tribes who migrated from the desert northern regions of Mexico to the fertile agricultural areas of central Mexico.

In the period from 1068 to 1168, the Chichimec tribe left their legendary ancestral home - the island of Aztlan. The exact location of the island is unknown, but many researchers believe that it was located somewhere in the northern part of the Gulf of California. The name Aztec comes from the word Aztlani. They called themselves Mexica. Another name for the Aztecs was tenochki, in honor of the legendary leader Tenoch.

The Aztecs were great lovers of literature and collected libraries of pictographic books, the so-called codices, with descriptions of religious rites and historical events or representing registers of tribute collection. Paper for codices was made from bark. The overwhelming majority of these books were destroyed during the Conquest or immediately after it.

In general, no more than two dozen Indian codes have survived. Some scientists argue that not a single Aztec code of the pre-Spanish era has survived to this day, others believe that there are two of them - the Bourbon Code and the Register of Taxes. Be that as it may, even after the conquest, the Aztec written tradition did not die and was used for various purposes.

Europeans received their first information about the Aztecs during the conquest, when Hernan Cortes sent 5 letters of report to the Spanish king about the progress of the conquest of Mexico. About 40 years later, a member of the Cortez expedition, soldier Bernal Diaz del Castillo, compiled “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain,” where he vividly and thoroughly described the Tenochs and neighboring peoples.

Information about various aspects of Aztec culture came in the 16th and early 17th centuries from chronicles and ethnographic descriptions created by the Aztec nobility and Spanish monks. Aztec scribes recorded hereditary titles and possessions, compiled reports to the Spanish king, and more often described the life and beliefs of their fellow tribesmen for the Spanish monks in order to make it easier for them to Christianize the Indians.

In the development of writing, the Aztecs did not go further than pictography, the essence of which is to convey information using drawings. Pictography is therefore also called pictorial writing or painting. The pictures that depict objects, events, and actions have not yet acquired a permanent, sustainable meaning, and it is quite difficult to read the pictogram. Moreover, this type of writing is extremely imperfect.

It is unsuitable for writing literary works, abstract concepts and much more. But the Aztecs, apparently, were quite satisfied with the pictorial writing they had developed over the centuries. With their help, they recorded the amount of tribute received from conquered tribes, kept their calendar, celebrated religious and memorable dates, and compiled a historical chronicle.

In ancient times, every nation had legends about its origin and its folk heroes. The Aztecs also had legends about the origin of their people. They were aware, for example, that they were latecomers to the Valley of Mexico.

In ancient times, their legends say, the Aztecs lived somewhere very far from the valley, in western Mexico. They occupied an island in the middle of the lake and crossed to the mainland on light pirogues. This island was called Aztlan. From this word came the name of the people - Aztecs (more correctly: Aztecs - people from Aztlan). An ancient Aztec manuscript contains an image of this island with a pyramid in the center.

In a mountain cave near the lake, the Aztecs discovered a statue of the god Huitzilopochtli. This wonderful statue, according to legend, had the gift of prophecy and gave wise advice. That's why the Aztecs began to revere her. On the advice of Huitzilopochtli, they left Aztlan and went to wander with eight other tribes: the Chichimecs, Tepanecs, Culuas, Tlas Kalans and others.

Having set out on a long and dangerous journey, the Aztecs took with them the statue of Huitzilopochtli and, following its advice, built their route. They moved forward rather slowly, sometimes staying for a year at each new place. Meanwhile, the advanced units continued to search for new, more convenient places and developed them, cultivated and sowed the fields. By the time the entire tribe arrived at the new site, the corn harvest was already ripening.

Now the Aztecs are the people who inhabited the Valley of Mexico shortly before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521. This ethnonym unites many tribal groups that spoke the Nahuatl language and exhibited features of a cultural community, although they had their own city-states and royal dynasties. Among these tribes, the Tenochs occupied a dominant position, and this particular people was sometimes called the Aztecs.

The Aztec city-states emerged on a vast mountain plateau called the Valley of Mexico, where the capital of Mexico is now located. This fertile valley covers an area of ​​approximately 6,500 square meters. km is located at an altitude of 2300 m above sea level and is surrounded on all sides by mountains of volcanic origin, reaching a height of up to 5,000 m.

During the time of the Aztecs, the landscape was given its originality by a chain of lakes connecting to Lake Texcoco, the largest of them. The lakes were fed by mountain runoff and streams, and periodic flooding was a constant problem for the population living on their shores. At the same time, the lakes provided drinking water, created habitat for fish, waterfowl and mammals, and boats were a convenient means of transportation.

The main food of the Aztecs was corn, beans, pumpkin, numerous varieties of chili peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables, as well as chia and amaranth seeds, various fruits from the tropical zone and the prickly pear-shaped nopal cactus growing in semi-deserts. Plant foods were supplemented with meat from domesticated turkeys and dogs, game, and fish. From all these components, the Aztecs prepared very nutritious and healthy stews, cereals, and sauces. They prepared a fragrant, foamy drink from cocoa beans, which was intended for the nobility. The alcoholic drink pulque was prepared from agave juice.

Agave also provided wood fiber for making coarse clothing, ropes, nets, bags and sandals. The finer fiber was obtained from cotton that was cultivated outside the Valley of Mexico and imported to the Aztec capital. Only noble people could wear clothes made of cotton fabrics. Men's hats and loincloths, women's skirts and blouses were often covered with intricate patterns.

The basis of the Aztec economy was agriculture. Their agricultural technology was primitive. The main weapon was a wooden stick, pointed at one end. Sometimes such sticks had a slight extension at the sharp end, which was a little reminiscent of our shovels. These sticks were used both for loosening the soil and for sowing, to make small holes into which grains were then thrown. In ancient Indian manuscripts you can often see images of farmers with such a stick, engaged in sowing.

Under the hot sun of Mexico, even this simple technique generously rewarded labor, as long as the plants received enough moisture. Therefore, the Aztecs widely used artificial irrigation. The name of one of the lagoons of the Valley of Mexico - Chalco (translated as Many Channels) - directly indicates this.

A curious and unique feature of Aztec agriculture was floating vegetable gardens, or chinampas in Mexican. Such vegetable gardens are also established in our time on the Chalco and Xochimilco lagoons. Making chinampa was not easy at that time. Small lightweight rafts, built from wooden slats and woven reeds, were covered with silt taken from the bottom of the lake. A little earth was added to the sludge. In this fertile mixture, always moist due to contact with water, the plants developed especially quickly and luxuriantly.

Several of these rafts, tied together, were tied to piles driven into the bottom of the lake. Tenochtitlan, located on a small island and therefore without much land, was surrounded by many floating vegetable gardens. They grew mainly various garden plants: tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, peppers, zucchini, sweet potatoes and a variety of flowers. The Aztecs were very fond of growing flowers. It is not for nothing that the Xochimilco Lagoon, teeming with chinampas, is translated as flower gardens.

The main crop of the Aztecs, like all other Indian tribes of Central America, was corn or maize. From the Aztecs or other tribes of America, Europeans received cocoa, tobacco, tomatoes, sunflowers, various types of beans, potatoes, pumpkin, pineapple, vanilla, groundnuts, rubber trees, many medicinal plants, quinine, strychnine, cocaine, in the end, a lot beautiful ornamental plants: dahlias, begonias, fuchsias, prickly pear, calceolaria, various types of orchids. It is not for nothing that many of the names of these plants are taken from Indian languages, for example, chocolate or tomato - distorted Aztec words chocolatl and tomatl.

None of the plants cultivated by the American Indians were known in Europe, Asia, or Africa before the settlement of the American continent by whites. The introduction and development of these crops more than doubled the food resources of the Old World. Aztec farmers also had at their disposal crops such as chia, a plant whose grains were used to make oil and prepare a refreshing drink; yam is a plant with edible starchy tubers; Camote is a plant from the bindweed family, the root of which is eaten.

From areas with hotter and more humid climates, they imported cocoa beans, pineapples and vanilla. Agave was used in Aztec households mainly for its juice. A strong drink, octli, was prepared from it by fermentation. On plantations of the nopal cactus, the Aztecs diligently bred cochineal, a small insect that produced an excellent dye for dark crimson fabrics.

Among the Aztecs, men worked the land. At first, when Aztec society did not yet know classes, the tribal council distributed land between clans. Within the clan, the land was divided between families in proportion to the number of eaters. When the head of the family died, his sons worked on the plot. If he had no offspring or did not sow his fields for two years, the plot was transferred to a new owner.

Over time, with the emergence of classes in Aztec society, the situation changed. Special plots began to be designated for the maintenance of the tribal ruler and priests. These lands were cultivated, of course, not by them, but by ordinary members of the tribe and partly by slaves. The rich and noble seized more fertile and extensive areas for themselves. The poor could not feed themselves and their families on the plots of land allotted to them and were forced to go into bondage with the rich.

Among the living creatures that the Aztecs had, turkeys should be mentioned. Europeans learned about this bird only after the discovery of America. The Aztecs bred dogs mainly for their meat, which was considered a delicacy. There is reason to believe that the Aztecs also bred geese, ducks and quails. Beekeeping was widely developed. Honey was consumed not only by rich, but also by middle-income families.

Hunting was an important source of meat. The Aztecs were famous as skilled hunters and sharp shooters. They hunted with bows and arrows and various types of traps. They knew the simplest devices for throwing spears and blowing tubes for throwing clay balls. People who lived on the shores of lakes also engaged in fishing.

Although the main tools of the Aztecs were stone and wood, in those days a gradual transition to the manufacture of metal tools began. The Aztecs were familiar with copper - it was collected as tribute from conquered tribes. By combining it with tin, ancient metallurgists obtained an alloy close to bronze. Axes, knives, adzes, various jewelry, as well as jagged spear tips were made from it. Copper tools were used mainly in wood processing. But both copper and bronze objects, which gradually came into use, had not yet replaced stone tools and were of relatively little importance.

The works of ancient Mexican culture that have survived to this day show what perfection the Aztecs achieved in stone processing, using stone tools. A lot of monuments of this kind have been found. Aztec lapidaries turned pieces of obsidian, rock crystal, jade, moonstone, opal, and amethyst into wonderful sculptural images.

The Aztecs achieved great success in processing gold and silver. It was not for nothing that all the Spanish conquerors unanimously admired the amazing jewelry of the Aztec craftsmen. One of the Spanish historians wrote about the Mexican jewelers: “They are superior to the jewelers of Spain, because they can cast a bird with a moving tongue, head and wings, or a monkey with a moving head, tongue, legs and arms, and put a toy in the hand, so that it seems as if she dances with her. Moreover, they take an ingot, half of which is gold and half of silver, and cast a fish with all its scales, one scale being gold and the other silver.”

Unfortunately, very few Aztec gold items have survived to this day. Most of them were melted down into ingots by the Spanish conquerors. Aztec jewelry that survived the barbaric hands of the Spaniards is the pride of several of the largest museums in the world. From the drawings and descriptions of the casting process preserved in Aztec manuscripts, we are able to imagine the work of Indian metallurgists and jewelers.

A model of the decoration was made from fine-grained clay and covered with a thin layer of wax, on top of which the clay was stuck. When the mold was heated, the wax melted and a cavity was formed in it, exactly reproducing the configuration of the model. Molten gold or silver was poured into a specially made upper hole. It filled all the voids of the form. Now all that remained was to wait until the metal hardened before removing the casting from the mold. Then it was polished, and to give it shine, it was immersed in a bath of alum.

In fact, this process was much more complicated. The main difficulty was to create a strong, heat-resistant shell around the wax model that would not be destroyed by the molten metal. The fragile wax model was, as it were, wrapped in a thin but incredibly durable ceramic case, which protected it from the formation of burns, roughness, and pockmarked surfaces. This was achieved by selecting appropriate types of clay and sand, strict temperature conditions for pouring, and the art of making molds. The ancient Aztec metallurgists mastered all this perfectly. Their eyes were replaced by precision instruments that foundry workers now use.

The pottery products of Mexican craftsmen were very diverse and beautiful. Each tribe, often even a separate village, made its own specially shaped clay vessels, which also had different ornaments. The vessels were sculpted by hand, since the potter's wheel was not known to the ancient inhabitants of Mexico. Tlaxcala and Cholula were especially famous for their distinctive, richly ornamented pottery. Vessels from Cholula, decorated with images of people, gods, animals and plants, were the most popular items in barter trade. It is not for nothing that archaeologists find them during excavations throughout Southern Mexico and much of Central America.

The Aztecs also highly valued weaving. Their fabrics were distinguished by complex and beautiful patterns and played with bright colors. Aztec craftsmen could give fabrics the appearance of velvet, brocade, and various furs. Unfortunately, the destruction caused by time, and subsequently by the Spanish conquerors, is very great. Not many examples of these wonderful fabrics have survived, and we know about them mostly from descriptions and drawings.

Another Aztec craft related to weaving - making patterns from feathers - was a real art. The master took feathers of various colors and made quite complex patterns from them. Then the rods of these feathers, in a certain order, were either attached to the mesh fabric at the places where the threads crossed, or simply glued to the cotton fabric. In this way, the famous feather cloaks and magnificent headdresses of the leaders that so amazed the Spanish conquerors were made. The same feather mosaic, depicting various animals or reproducing geometric patterns, was often decorated with the shields of noble warriors.

Feather products were striking in their amazingly harmonious combination of colors and shades. It was hard to believe that this was not a work of painting - the selection of colors was so perfect. Tenochtitlan was especially famous for its feather products. The unique craft of feather mosaic masters has survived to this day. Mexican craftsmen still know how to create beautiful landscapes and funny everyday pictures using feathers.

The Aztecs wore clothes that made it possible to almost accurately determine a person’s occupation and wealth “at one glance.” People in modest white clothes are farmers. The wealthier ones girded themselves with wide sashes with thick fringe and beautiful embroidery. Only the very rich wore fur clothes and woolen fabrics. Noble persons sported feather cloaks - light, warm and extremely graceful. Black robes were the property of priests. Although, they could be recognized by the signs of self-torture - tattered ears and dried blood on the head. Aztec women walked with their hair flowing down to their shoulders.

The balanced, dynamic Sunflower achieves success in everything. He methodically moves towards his goal, putting maximum effort into achieving the result. And the more significant for him is the success achieved through hard work, thanks to his skill and creative abilities.

Sunflower, possessing incredible attractiveness and charm, nobility and inner strength, easily wins hearts. He cares passionately and inventively, but having conquered one peak, he rushes headlong to conquer the next.

The second decade of Leo is represented by people who are noble, hospitable, fair, willing and able to show themselves at their best.

These are lovers of performances and ceremonies, inclined to command, able to take over sex and move the heat of the soul into art or into the creation of lasting material security. They are eloquent, often capable of drawing and mathematics. In life and in thinking they know how to remove all unnecessary things, all useless details. In art they love classicism and reject baroque. They often make wonderful collections. If funds allow, you wouldn’t mind throwing a lavish reception. In achieving success in life for Leos of the second decade, especially those born on August 7-12, proper sex education in childhood and adolescence plays a huge role. Possessing a passionate soul and developed intellect (especially noticeable among those born on August 4-6), Leos of the second decade are constantly faced with a dilemma: give free rein to passions or follow the arguments of reason. In their subconscious, a strong sexual attraction is firmly seated, which does not exclude romance and the desire to bring some subtlety of feelings into carnal relationships. If this sexual tendency is not neutralized by education, sublimating it into creative activity, obsessive sex addiction is possible.

In general, the second decade of Leo gives rise to a strong character. These people are brave, courageous, cheerful. Nothing scares them; they meet any obstacle with dignity, consciously, and with self-esteem. Leos of the second decade are leaders who take full responsibility and do not stoop to reproaches if something goes wrong.

In love they are shy and reserved: it is not easy to force them to open up, to open their treasury of tenderness and affection, hidden behind the facade of self-confident firmness and even audacity. Leos of the second decade invest their money carefully, not being tempted by dubious speculation, although they are not without the ability to take risks. Men show a penchant for luxury, stubbornly strive for wealth, and use the slightest opportunity to achieve their goals. They often get married late. Women are beautiful, fair, neat. They are not easily irritated, but when angry they become violent.

Sunflower in the language of flowers - symbol of optimism, fun and prosperity . The lover, presenting a sunflower, says: “You are a miracle!”, “I have never met someone like you,” “I am proud that you are with me.”

Sunflower (sunflower) belongs to the Asteraceae family. In Latin - Helianthus. Helianthus comes from the Greek: "Helios" means "sun" and "anthos" means flower.

The sunflower is sunny and cheerful.

These animals are persistent and hardworking, they take failures painfully, but quickly find the strength to cope with them and continue what they started.

They love when guests come to their owners, they are very sociable and hospitable, even a cat will give a piece of its affection, allowing itself to be stroked and, if lucky, even jumping on its knees. The dog will certainly wag its tail so that in the next second either it will fall off or it will take off like a helicopter.

Sunflower Animals tend to be fertile and often have large litters. These are wonderful and caring mothers, they teach their offspring everything they know how to do.

Dogs are excellent watchdogs and take their responsibilities very seriously.

There are usually no problems with feeding, they are not fussy eaters, and their appetite is good.

They love long walks in warm sunny weather; cats prefer trips to the country, where they become their own bosses. Summer is the favorite time of these animals.