List of Aztec gods
In life, the Aztecs played religion and their gods a central role. All important decisions were made through religious rituals (see also sacrificial cult of the Aztecs ). Most of the Aztecs made their living from agriculture, especially growing corn. For this reason, for example, the rain god Tlaloc had a very important role as rain donor for ordinary people.
There are a variety of gods and deities in the Aztec religion. Since the gods have been assigned different meanings and functions, some of them have multiple names. In addition, the Spanish transcription from the Nahuatl language resulted in different spellings.
The gods were represented either in animal form, in animal-human form or as ritual objects. Each god belonged to one of three areas of the world of gods:
- the creator deities in the overworld of Topan (= heaven)
- the gods of fertility in the middle world Cemanahuatl (= earth)
- the gods of the underworld Mictlan
| Deity | translation | Alternative names | Brief description | image |
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| Acolmiztli | The one from the crooked world | Acolnahuacatl Colnahuacatl |
One of the gods in the underworld Mictlan | |
| Amimitl | Arrow of water | Amihmitl | God of lakes and fishermen | |
| Atl | water | Water god | ||
| Atlacamani | Goddess of storms at sea (hurricanes) | |||
| Atlacoya | Goddess of dryness | |||
| Atlatonin | Atlatonan | One of the mother goddesses and goddess of the coasts and fertility | ||
| Atlaua | Lord of the water | Atlahua | Water god - patron saint of fishermen | |
| Ayauhteotl | Haze deity | Goddess of mist and smoke and goddess of vanity and reputation. Daughter of Teteoinnan and sister of Tlazolteotl and Itzpapalotl | ||
| Camaxtli | The horned one | Mixcoatl-Camaxtli-Xocotl | God of the hunt, the war of fate and fire. Belongs to the four gods who created the world and is the father of Quetzalcoatl. He is also a tribal god of the Chichimecs . | |
| Chalchiuhtlatonal | Glimmering like jade | Water god | ||
| Chalchiuhtecolotl | Magnificent owl | God of the night owls | ||
| Chalchiuhtlicue | The one with the jade skirt | Acuecucyoticihuati Chalciuhtlicue Chalcihuitlicue |
Water goddess - wife of Tlaloc and mother of Tecciztecatl |
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| Chalchiuhtotolin | Magnificent turkey of the night | God of diseases and plagues. Different manifestations of Tezcatlipoca | ||
| Chalmecateuctli | One of the 13 gods of the underworld Mictlan | |||
| Chalmecatl | Lord of the waters | One of the 13 gods of the underworld Mictlan | ||
| Chantico | The one who lingers in the house | Chantico-Cuauhxólotl Chiantli |
Goddess of hearth fire and volcanoes |
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| Chicomecoatl | Seven snakes | Xilons | Goddess of food and fertility, goddess of corn - wife of Tezcatlipoca |
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| Chicomexochtli | Patron god of artists (especially painters) | |||
| Chiconahui | Goddess of the hearth and patron saint of the household | |||
| Chiconahuiehecatl | One of the creator gods | |||
| Cihuacoatl | Woman snake | Chihucoatl Ciucoatl |
Fertility goddess, mother of Mixcoatl. Different manifestations of Ilamatecuhtli, Toci and Tlazolteotl. | |
| Cinteotl | Corn deity | Centeotl Centeocihuatl |
Corn god, son of Tlazolteotl and husband of Xochiquetzal. |
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| Cipactonal | Caiman's morning | God of astrology and the calendar and embodiment of the day | ||
| Citlalicue | Starry robe | Citlalinicue Ilamatecuhtli |
Goddess who created the stars, wife of Citlalatonac | |
| Coatlicue | The one with the snake skirt | Teteoinan Teteo Inan Toci Cihuacoatl |
Mother of the earth, the moon and the stars - mother of Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Xolotl and Coyolxauhqui |
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| Cochimetl | Cocochimetl | God of economy, trade and exchange | ||
| Coyolxauhqui | Golden bells | Moon goddess - daughter of Coatlicue and sister of Centzon Huitznahua - murdered by her half-brother Huitzilopochtli |
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| Cuaxolotl | Goddess of the heart | |||
| Ehecatl | wind | Wind god - another form of Quetzalcoatl | ||
| Huehuecoyotl | The aged coyote | Ueuecoyotl | God of music and dance. The fourth day of the Aztecs' 13-day weekly calendar is dedicated to him |
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| Huehueteotl | The aged god | Ueueteotl | Greisengott - another manifestation of Xiuhtecuhtli |
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| Huitzilopochtli | Hummingbird south | Uitzilopochtli | War god and sun god - son of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl - brother of Malinalxochi and Coyolxauhqui - murdered Coyolxauhqui and 400 other brothers and sisters |
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| Huixtocihuatl | Woman of salt | Uixtochihuatl Uixtociuatl |
Goddess of fertility and goddess of salt and salt water. Sister of Tlaloc | |
| Itzli | Obsidian | Itztli | God of stone (the stone knife) and offerings | |
| Itzpapalotl | Obsidian butterfly | Fire goddess in skeletal form. Wears the wings of a butterfly on her shoulders, the edges of which are lined with sharp obsidian knives. |
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| Ixtlilton | The little black one | Tlaltecuin | God of medicine and healing. Brother of Xochipilli | |
| Macuilcozcacuauhtli | Five vultures | One of the gods of plenty | ||
| Macuilcuetzpalin | Five lizard | One of the gods of plenty | ||
| Macuilmalinalli | Five-grass | One of the gods of plenty | ||
| Macuiltochtli | Five-bunny | One of the gods of plenty | ||
| Malinalxochitl | Floret | Goddess of snakes, scorpions and insects. Sister of Huitzilopochtli. | ||
| Matlalceuitl | Matlalcueje | Rain goddess | ||
| Mayahuel | Mayahual Mayouel |
Goddess of agaves and pulque |
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| Metztli | moon | Meztli Metzi |
Moon god | |
| Mextli | Mexitl Tecciztecatl |
God of war and god of storms | ||
| Mictlancihuatl | Ruler of Mictlan | Mictecacihuatl | Ruler of the realm of the dead Mictlan - her companion was Mictlantecuhtli | |
| Mictlantecuhtli | Ruler of Mictlan | Mictlantecuhtzi Tzontemoc |
Ruler of the realm of the dead Mictlan - his consort was Mictecacihuatl |
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| Mixcoatl | Cloud snake | God of hunting, war and the North Star | ||
| Nanauatzin | Cloud snake | Nanauatl | God who sacrificed himself in a fire so that the sun could continue to shine and thus became the sun god Tonatiuh | |
| Nagual | Something that is my clothing or skin (= disguise) | Nahual Nahualli |
Guardian deity or guardian angel | |
| Ometeotl | God of duality | female: Omecihuatl male: Ometecutli |
Bisexual deity (hybrid beings) - creator of the universe | |
| Ometotchtli | Two-hare | Ometochtli | God of drunkenness / God of intoxication | |
| Opochtli | The left | God of hunting and fishing |
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| Oxomoco | Goddess of astrology and the calendar, wife of Cipactonal | |||
| Patecatl | The medicine countries | God of healing and fertility, lord of pulque and discoverer of peyote |
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| Quetzalcoatl | Feathered snake | (Equivalent to the Maya god Kukulkan or Gukumatz) | Creator god and god of wind, sky, war and earth - twin brother of Xolotl, son of Xochiquetzal and Mixcoatl |
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| Tecciztecatl | The shell lands | Tecuciztecal Tecuciztecatl |
God of the moon - son of Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue | |
| Temazcalteci | Grandmother of the bath | Temaxcaltechi | Goddess of medicine | |
| Teoyaomicqui | Teoyaoimquit Huahuantli |
God of fallen warriors and a sun god at the same time | ||
| Tepeyollotl | Heart of the mountains | Tepeyollotli | God of earthquakes, echoes and jaguars. He is the god of the eighth hour of the night |
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| Tepoztecatl | Tezcatzontecatl | God of pulque and fertility - son of Mayahuel and Pantecatl | ||
| Tezcatlipoca | Smoking mirror | Creator deity and god of the north, the cold, the night sky, the color black, matter, war, heroes, temptation and beautiful women |
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| Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli | Lord in the twilight | Tlahuizcalpantecutli Tlahuixcalpantecuhtli |
Personification of the morning star (Venus), brother of Xolotl, different appearance of Quetzalcoatl |
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| Tlaloc | That lets things sprout | Nuhualpilli (equivalent to the Mayan rain god Chaac ) |
One of the most important gods - god of weather and rain - ruler in the fourth degree of heaven Tlalocan - father of Tecciztecatl, brother of Huixtocihuatl |
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| Tlaltecutli | Lord of the earth | Tlaltecuhtli | Earth deity - appears as a sea monster, snake or crocodile | |
| Tlazolteotl | Dirt goddess | Tlaelquani | Goddess of lust, forbidden love, repentance and moral purification |
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| Tonacatecuhtli | Lord of maintenance | God of fertility, he divided the world into oceans and land; his wife was Tonacacihuatl | ||
| Tonacacihuatl | Wife of keep | Goddess of the feminine principle, wife of the god Tonacatecuhtli | ||
| Tonantzin | Our dear mother | div. | Mother goddess or mother of gods | |
| Tonatiuh | Sun | Sun god - countless people were sacrificed in his honor - his image can also be found today on the Mexican peso |
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| Tzitzimitl | Elderly grandmother | Grandmother goddess | ||
| Xipe Totec | Our Lord, the skinned one | Yopi | Spring and agriculture god - slaves were sacrificed annually in his honor |
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| Xiuhcoatl | The snake of fire | Responsible for droughts and bad harvests | ||
| Xiuhtecuhtli | The god of the year / grass god / turquoise god | Huehueteotl | Fire god - man of Chalchiuhtlicue - different appearance of Huehueteotl |
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| Xochipilli | Flower prince | Macuilxochitl | God of love, flowers, music, dance and corn - twin brother of Xochiquetzal |
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| Xochiquetzal | Flower feather | Goddess of the moon, earth, flowers, love, dances and games - twin sister of Xochipilli |
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| Xocotl | Star god and god of fire | |||
| Xolotl | twin | God of lightning - guardian of the underworld - daily guides the sun down into the earth and up again - his twin brother was Quetzalcoatl |
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| Yacatecuhtli | The one who goes before | Yiacatecuhtli | Patron god of traveling merchants |
See also
Web links
Commons : Aztec Mythology - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
literature
- Norman Bancroft Hunt: Gods and Myths of the Aztecs , Gondrom Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-81121645-7
- Michel Graulich: Le Sacrifice humain chez les Aztèques , éd. Fayard, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-213-62234-5
- Charles Phillips: The Mythology of the Aztec and Maya: An illustrated encyclopedia of the gods, myths and legends of the Aztecs, Maya and other peoples of ancient Mexico , Southwater 2006, ISBN 1-84476236-X
- Karl Taube : Mythes aztèques et mayas , Seuil, collection sagesse, Paris 1995, ISBN 2-02-022047-4
- Rafael Tena: La religón mexica, catálogo de dioses . In: Arqueología Mexicana , Edición especial 30. 2009
