There
are many important temples on Tenochtitlan, we are going to present you eight
of them:
Unidentified temple:
It's a big temple placed on the north side of the Templo Mayor and we don't
have too much information about it. It's being studied yet.
Templo
Mayor:
It was Inaugurated on October 12, 1987, this site museum preserves, exhibits
and publicizes information on archaeological materials excavated over the course
of several seasons of work conducted by the Templo Mayor Project, from 1978
to the present. The museum has eight halls exhibiting thousands of objects,
many of them from the more than 110 offerings uncovered in the Archaeological
Zone, as well as sculptures, relieves and other elements found in this area.
To reflect the distribution of their shrines at the Great Temple, the halls
in the south wing are dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, god of war, related to the
Sun, and those in the north wing to Tlaloc, god of rain.
Temple
of Tezcatlipoca:
The Mexican devotees picked up a piece of clay in the temple of Tezcatlipoca
and ate it with the greatest reverence, and also ate a piece of earth in swearing
by the sun and earth. But the god of the night sky, Tezcatlipoca, expelled him
from Tula by performing feats of black magic. Quetzalc-atl wandered down to
the coast of the "divine water" (the Atlantic Ocean) and then immolated
himself on a pyre, emerging as the planet Venus. According to another version,
he embarked upon a raft made of snakes and disappeared beyond the eastern horizon.
The legend of the victory of Tezcatlipoca over the Feathered Serpent probably
reflects historical fact. The first century of the Toltec civilization was dominated
by the Teotihuac‡n culture, with its inspired ideals of priestly rule and
peaceful behaviour.
House
of the Priests:
Our present day impressions of clergy have nothing to do with what the Aztec
refereed to as Priest, perhaps a better word should be used. There was no joy
in being an Aztec priest. It was a hard life physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The only reward, and I believe, the only reason for entering the priesthood
was to gain respect, the foundation and glue of Aztec society.
At the top of the priestly
hierarchy stood two major priests, the Quetzalcoatl-Totec Tlamocazqui and
the Quetzalcoatl-Tlaloc Tlamocozqui. The first represented the patron god
of the city Huitzilopochtli and the second of Tlaloc the Rain God. These were
the only two sanctuaries on the highest pyramid of the great temple. Two equal
priests signified the devotion of the Aztecs to both of these gods.
Directly below the high priests was the Mexicatl Teohuatzin who was in charge
of the religious affairs in Tenochtitlan and of the conquered provinces. Next
were his assistants Huitznahuoc Teohuatzin and the Tepanteotuatzin who were
priests with local jurisdiction in charge of supervising the education given
in schools. Next was the Ometochtzin, Priest of the god of Pulque, and the
chief of singers. Priests subordinate to these "high priests" were
generally called Tlanamacac. Next in order were priests called Tlamacazqui,
and finally young men called Tlamacazton, who stayed in the temple and served
as novitiates
Temple of Quetzalcoatl:
In the Pyramid of the temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan], "The string
walls and tiered panels are decorated with Plumed Serpent heads and masks
of the god Tlaloc, symbol of rain. The shrine on top was built of perishable
materials and has not survived."
Ball
Court:
"Señor Pickled, the Gods of the Aztecs foretold the building of
a teocalli (a sacred city); Huitzilopochtli, the tribal God, told them to search
for an eagle, with a snake in its beak, sitting on a cactus. In 1325, the Aztecs
saw this omen and founded the city named Tenochtitlan." Tenochtitlan is
located in the Historic Center of Mexico City. On the very spot they saw the
eagle on the cactus, they built Templo Mayor. This temple is actually of series
of temples built one on top of the other. The outer pyramid was larger and grander
than any of the the inner pyramids. The top of the pyramid supports two temples.
The blue temple was dedicated to Tlaloc, the God of Rain and Lightning. Rainfall
was vital to the Aztec agricultural based society. They supported a large population
by growing crops on chinampas (irrigated fields). The red temple belongs to
Huitzilopochtli, the God of War. The war god was good to the Aztecs. They captured
many prisoners. The Aztecs believed that the existence of the universe required
human sacrifice. In 1487, they sacrificed 20,000 prisoners. The sacrificial
rites were carried out on the top of Templo Mayor and the bodies were thrown
down the stairs"
Tzompantli
HUITZILOPOCHTLI:
The war/sun god and special guardian of Tenochtitlan) the deified ancestral
warrior-hero, was the Mexica-Aztec patron par excellence. His temple (next to
that of Tlaloc) on the Main Pyramid was the focus of fearsome sacrifices of
prisoners captured by Aztec warriors. Victims' heads were strung as trophies
on a great rack, the Tzompantli, erected in the precinct below. 1520s on the
site of the Aztecs' Tzompantli or Wall of Skulls (a sort of altar on which the
skulls of the sacrificed were placed
Temple of Xipe-Totec:
He who has Skin / Foreskin or Our Lord the Flayed One. Totec = Our Lord, xipe
= skin or flayed skin. God of fertility and spring; possesses the power to
cure eye ailments. Known as one of the 4 Tezcatlipocas. Colors associated
with him are red and white, the same ones connected to the Sun, Venus, and
Quetzalcoatl. The Mixtecs called him 7 Rain.
