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Ancient Mexican-Aztec God Quetzalocoatl

The purpose of this research is to examine the ancient Mexican-Aztec God Quetzalcoatl. This deity, originally that of the Toltecs, played a significant role in the rise and fall of the Aztecs, a process which actually required only a few centuries.

A few hundred year before the arrival of Cortes, the Aztecs wandered into the Valley of Mexico, and, in a series of extraordinary brutal wars, conquered the other tribes living there. It is reported that the Aztecs, who in comparison to the people they conquered were no better tan barbarians, had a capacity for learning much from those they conquered. From the more warlike tribes they acquired knowledge of warfare. their more cultivated habits derived from the example of:

. . . the Toltecs, the civilized people whose symbol was Quetzalcoatl, the inventor of arts and of science, the protector of knowledge . . . (Soustelle, 220).

The Aztec conquest of this area and the Toltec civilization was completed sometime after the year 1300 and, since the Spanish expedition under Cortes did not arrive until 1520, this gave the Aztecs roughly two centuries of dominance in Mexico. During this period, captives of other tribes were often sacrificed to the Aztec Gods. The Aztec religion (incorporating Quetzalcoatl and a number of other religious deities from other tribes) was supreme in Mexico during this period.

It is now known what origin of this myth of Quetzalcoatl actually was, although many historians have made educated guesses that he was actually a Viking chieftain who visited among the Toltecs and taught them things that were known in Europe but not in Mexico. In any case, Quetzalcoatl ("The Plumed Serpent') has white skin, a good education and a capacity for travelling across the ocean. He had arrived at the Toltec city of Tula and left there by, according to legend, walking eastward into the Atlantic. By the religious beliefs of the later Aztecs he was one of their most imp...

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Ancient Mexican-Aztec God Quetzalocoatl. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:05, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1682093.html