Quetzalcoatl: The Birth and Death of the Aztecs

While the cultures of Latin America had many different gods, one of the most prevalent deities was named Quetzalcoatl.  Quetzalcoatl was worshiped as a god by many cultures in Mesoamerica, including the Aztec civilization. As one of their chief deities, he was sometimes revered as the creator of mankind. Unfortunately, historically Quetzalcoatl would play a role in the downfall of the Aztecs, coming to represent both their birth...and their death.

But just who is Quetzalcoatl?

“His name comes from quetzal, a rare bird with strikingly long green tail feathers, and coatl, which means snake. Under different names he was honoured throughout Mexico and Central America and the highest pyramid temple in Mexico, at his sacred city of Cholula, was dedicated to him.” (Gifford 21)

Quetzalcoatl was worshipped as a god of many things, including war, intelligence, and the creation of man.

One of the first places the name Quetzalcoatl appears in Mesoamerican mythology is in the stories and architecture of the Toltecs.  The word "Toltec" means artisan, and this people is often accredited with creating the great city of Teotihuacan - literally, "The City of the Gods".  Teotihuacan is home to one of the most famous temples of Quetzalcoatl: the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.

 (UNESCO video)

 

A famous leader amongst the Toltecs was a man named Quetzalcoatl.  He was a ruler who they believed had been sent by the gods to lead them.  Around 1000AD they were driven out of their city by a neighboring army led by a man called Tezcatlipoca. (Bingham 127)  Interestingly, both Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca came to be regarded as gods.  Besides simply being deified in legends, they were also regarded as brothers by those who told their story. (Flood)

 

When the Aztecs came to inhabit the land the Toltecs had previously ruled, they adapted many of the stories and myths of that earlier people. 

"According to Aztec tradition and legend, Quetzalcoatl/Tialtzin was challenged by a warlike faction who had as their tribal god the fierce Tezcatlipoca (the Smoking Mirror). The fight between the two groups, which is told as a struggle between the gods themselves, brought an end to the power of Tollan and the Toltecs.” (Gifford 13)

The Aztecs built their grand city of Tenochtitlan near the city of Teotihuacan.  As such, they would have been able to see the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, and perhaps were inspired by its grandness to place Quetzalcoatl so high in their own pantheon.

 

(Kass)

 

In the myths of the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl became the creator of mankind.  The Aztecs divided time into a period of five suns.  During the second sun, Quetzalcoatl ruled as a sun deity who made mankind as they are seen today.  Unfortunately, man became wicked and corrupt, and so another god turned them into monkeys.  Quetzalcoatl was infuriated by his failure, and so he used a tidal wave to wipe away the monkeys.  He then stepped aside to give another god his turn at ruling the earth - but eventually Quetzalcoatl would descend into the underworld, where he used his own blood to bring life to the bones of the humans he had once made.  His sacrifice of blood raised the dead, creating the men who live in this, the fifth sun period. ("Aztec Creation Story")

 

Tragically, this being whom the Aztecs believed had brought them life would also be in part responsible for their downfall.  Another myth about Quetzalcoatl told of the god being tricked into getting drunk.  While intoxicated, Quetzalcoatl slept with his sister.  Upon waking and discovering his incestuous actions, Quetzalcoatl was ashamed.  He made a boat and sailed away into the east in self-imposed exile, but the god vowed to one day return. (Bingham 110)

 

The year of the god's return was given, and the retelling of the story lent it a prophetic air.  The Aztecs believed that the god Quetzalcoatl would return in the year they called 1 Reed.  Alas, 1 Reed was the year known as 1519: the year in which the Spaniard called Hernan Cortes invaded Mesoamerica.  The emperor of the Aztec empire during that year was called Moctezuma, and he foresaw disaster in his dreams.

 

(Bell)

 

Whether or not Moctezuma truly believed that Cortes was Quetzalcoatl returned remains unclear...but the rumors caused him to hesitate, which proved a costly mistake.

“The Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl would one day return from over the sea. This would happen in a year when his birthday fell on a particular day...when the Aztec ruler, Montezuma, was told of the strange men who were landing on the neighboring coast, he concluded that Quetzalcoatl had arrived to claim his land...It was only when the Spaniards revealed their warlike intentions that the Aztecs realized their tragic mistake.” (Gifford 25)

Moctezuma's uncertainty prevented him from taking immediate action against the army of the Spaniards, a mistake when "only swift and unified action could have saved the day for the Indians.” (Adams 189)  He invited Cortes into the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, upon which the Spaniard revealed himself to be a greedy man rather than a returned god.  Moctezuma was taken captive and ultimately killed.  Many Aztecs died during the ensuing battle, and many more were killed by disease inadvertently carried by the Spaniards.  Cortes' forces were ultimately driven out of the city, but they returned with a larger troop and slaughtered the remaining Aztecs. (Bell)

And so it was that Quetzalcoatl, whom the Aztecs regarded as their creator, also proved to be their downfall.  Their belief in the prophecy of the god's return led to their acceptance of Cortes and his men...men who then turned upon their hosts and killed them, taking their wealth and property for their own.

Quetzalcoatl had not returned - but his story lives on in the records of his people.  Some individual Aztecs survived, and they passed the tales of their ancestors on to their descendants.  Because of this, the name Quetzalcoatl and the myths that surround him still live on today.

 

(Codex)

 

Works Cited

 

Adams, Richard E. and MacLeod, Murdo J. The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas: Volume II: Mesoamerica Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.

“Aztec Creation Story”. Aztec-History. 2006. Web. 11 November, 2015. http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-creation-story.html
 

Bell, Amy. “500 Nations II, Mexico, the Rise and Fall of the Aztecs 1 YouTube”. Online video clip. YouTube. 5 September 2012. Web. 11 November, 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkI2J0FcoOc>

Bell, Amy. “500 Nations II, Mexico, the Rise and Fall of the Aztecs 3 YouTube”. Online video clip. YouTube. 5 September 2012. Web. 11 November, 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdOUA8OmBZs>

Bingham, Ann. South and Meso-American Mythology A-Z. New York: Facts on File, 2004. Print.

“Codex Telleriano-Remensis page_18r”. Photograph. FAMSI. Web. 11 November, 2015. http://www.famsi.org/research/loubat/Telleriano-Remensis/page_18r.jpg
 

Flood, Julia. “God of the Month: Quetzalcoatl”. Mexicolore. 13 August, 2013. Web. 11 November, 2015. http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/gods/god-of-the-month-Quetzalcoatl
 

Gifford, Douglas. Warriors, Gods & Spirits from Central & South American Mythology. New York: Shocken Books and Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1983. Print.

Kass, Barry D. “Closeup of the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan”. Photograph. Images of Anthropology. Web. 11 November, 2015. http://www.imagesofanthropology.com/images/c.Pyramid_of_Quetzalcoatl_Teotihuacan_Mexico_image_2.jpg
 

UNESCO. “Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan (UNESCO/NHK)”. Online video clip. YouTube. 3 June, 2010. Web. 11 November, 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMsIyFGnLQA>