Aztec Mythology in Context

The mythology of the Aztec civilization, which dominated central Mexico from the 1300s through the early 1500s CE, described a universe that was both grand and dreadful. Worlds were created and destroyed in the myths, and splendid gods warred among themselves. Everyday items, like colors, numbers, directions, and days of the calendar, took on special meaning because each was associated with a deity, or god. Aztec religious life ranged from keeping small pottery statues of the gods in homes to attending elaborate public ceremonies involving human sacrifice.

The Aztecs migrated to central Mexico from the north in the 1200s CE. According to their legends, they came from a land called Aztlan, the source of their name. The Aztecs were not a single people but several groups, including the Culhua-Mexica, the Mexica, and the Tenocha. In the early 1300s, these groups formed an alliance and together founded a city-state called Tenochtitlan (pronounced teh-nowch-TEE-tlan) on the site of present-day Mexico City. The people of Tenochtitlan rose to power and ruled a large empire during the fifteenth century.

The Aztecs were newcomers to a region long occupied by earlier civilizations such as the Olmecs and the Toltecs, who had developed a pantheon, or worship of a collection of gods, and a body of their own myths and legends. The Aztec culture absorbed the deities, stories, and beliefs from these earlier peoples and from the Maya (pronounced MYE-ah) of southern Mexico. As a result, Aztec mythology contained religious and mythological traditions shared by many groups in Mexico and Central America. Under the Aztecs, certain aspects of the religion, notably human sacrifice, came to the forefront.

When Spanish colonists defeated the Aztecs and settled in the area, they destroyed as many Aztec documents and images as they could. They did this because they believed the Aztec religion was evil. Much of what we know about Tenochtitlan and Aztec customs comes from accounts of Spanish writers who witnessed the last days of the Aztec empire.