But a new Tepanec king, fearing the military prowess of the Mexicas, initiated a series of attacks. Meanwhile, the Mexicas, known for being ferocious fighters, worked as hired soldiers for the powerful, well-established Tepanecs. The Mexica drained the swamp and began to build an urban center that would soon become the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Huitzilopochtli told the Mexica that this would become their homeland. There they saw an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake grasped in its beak. According to legend, their warrior god Huitzilopochtli led the Mexica to an island in a swamp. For years they were forced to wander in the wilderness. After they foolishly sacrificed the daughter of a Culhua king, the Mexica were punished and driven into exile. These established groups shunned the Mexica as snake-eating barbarians. These city-dwelling agrarians, the Tepanecs, the Acolhuas, and the Culhuas, had already established themselves around Lake Texcoco and competed against one another for dominance in the region. Huitzilopochtli (wee-tsee-loh-POHCH-tlee) Calling themselves the Mexica, these nomads from the north found most of the land already occupied by a sophisticated agricultural-based culture that dwelt in and around well-developed cities.Ī Pronunciation Guide to Some Aztec Names from the north, a place they called Atzlan. These fierce, Nahuatl-speaking people from the Chichimec culture began to arrive around 1200 A.D. The people who would become the Aztecs were latecomers to the Valley of Mexico, the area that now surrounds modern Mexico City. But the very beliefs that were intended to maintain the Aztec Empire contributed to its downfall. They sacrificed warriors captured in battle and other men, women, and even children to satisfy what they believed was the gods’ voracious blood appetite. They believed that in order to maintain the empire, they were obligated to return the blood to the gods. The Aztecs believed that the gods had given their blood to create human beings. The nameless warrior described above represented hundreds of thousands of humans who were sacrificed to the gods during the time of the Aztec Empire. At the bottom, more priests cut off the head to display it with hundreds of others on a skull rack. Others shoved the lifeless body down the bloody stairs of the Great Temple. He offered the still-pulsing heart to Tonatiuh, the sun god. With practiced motions, the priest thrust a hand into the wound, grabbed the warrior-god’s heart and ripped it from his chest. The chief priest raised his arm high and plunged a knife deep into the warrior-god’s chest. Four priests seized the warrior-god’s arms and legs and spread him on a stone altar. The warrior’s whole life had prepared him for this glorious moment.Īt the top of the pyramid temple, the warrior-god was greeted by the nobleman who had captured him. Soon he would join Tonatiuh, the sun god. The ultimate honor awaited him at the top of the pyramid stairs. After months of preparation, the priests took the warrior-god to the Great Temple.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |