Templo mayor how many steps

Double reason, then, for the Aztecs to do all they could to keep this fickle deity in a good mood. Huitzilopochtli was the supreme Aztec god and considered the god of the sun, war, gold, rulers, and he was patron of Tenochtitlan. For the Aztecs the best way to gain favour with these two powerful gods was to honour them with a suitably impressive temple monument and to regularly offer sacrifices to satiate their lusty appetites and perpetuate the harmony between gods and humanity.

Further, sacrifices were considered as due payment for the sacrifices the gods had themselves made when they created the world. The sacrifice of animals and non-fatal blood-letting amongst the priestly class were common practices but the Aztecs have now become infamous for their most dramatic and important choice of offering: human sacrifice.

Stone skulls from the Templo Mayor in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. They represent the tzompantli or skull racks where the heads of sacrificial victims were placed. A typical sacrifice involved the victim being stretched over a stone while a priest, armed with an obsidian knife, ripped out their heart and then decapitated and dismembered them. Following all that the corpse was flung down the steps of the pyramid to land at the base where a massive round stone depicted Coyolxauhqui, the goddess who was similarly treated by Huitzilopochtli in Aztec mythology after she had led a rebellion against the great god.

Finally, the heads of victims were displayed on racks known as tzompantli which were set at the base of the pyramid. Sacrificial victims were usually war captives but children were also sacrificed as their tears were considered a favourable link with the life-giving raindrops from Tlaloc.

The priests who carried out this carnage, on occasion, ate the flesh of the victims, with the heart being the most prized, if it had not already been burned in offering to the gods. The Aztec ruler, privileged nobles, and those who had captured the victims in war also participated in this symbolic feast.

One of many surviving examples of Teotihuacan masks. This example was taken to Tenochtitlan by the Aztecs and buried within the Templo Mayor. They were originally used for statues and mummy bundles. Greenstone, shell, and onyx, CE. Sacrifices could also take place to commemorate important state events. One of the most infamous is the four-day butchering of captives when Ahuitzotl re-dedicated the temple and extended it even higher in order to celebrate his imperial triumphs in CE.

Another important event was the New Fire Ceremony, held every 52 years — a complete solar cycle in the Aztec calendar — when the first flaming torch came from Mt. Huixachtlan and was used to light the sacred fire atop the Templo Mayor before being transferred to all subsidiary temples in the city.

Another important festival was held during the month of Toxcatl when an effigy of the god made from dough and dressed in his costume was paraded through the city and then eaten at the Templo Mayor.

State funerals occurred at the site, notably the funeral cremation of three rulers: Axayacatl, Tizoc, and Ahuitzotl. Finally, coronations took place at the temple, notably that of the last true Aztec king Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, better known as Montezuma, in CE. The pyramid was razed following the Spanish Conquest — the Aztecs had used it as a rallying point and defended it vigorously — and a Christian cross had been placed on top of it.

Then over the centuries it was gradually built over and disappeared beneath 19th century CE colonial buildings in downtown Mexico City. Never forgotten, the site was half-heartedly excavated in the early 20th century CE and then systematically from the late s CE.

It was then discovered that the pyramid was in fact a succession of pyramids each built over a smaller predecessor and even the original primitive platform, dated with the aid of a stone hieroglyph to CE, was discovered. Standing about ninety feet high, the majestic structure consisted of two stepped pyramids rising side by side on a huge platform. It dominated both the Sacred Precinct and the entire city. The twin pyramids symbolized two sacred mountains; the one on the left represented Tonacatepetl, the Hill of Sustenance, whose patron deity was Tlaloc , the ancient god of rain; the one on the right represented the Hill of Coatepec, birthplace of the Aztec war god Huitzilopochtli.

The temple structures on top of each pyramid were dedicated to and housed the images of the two important deities. Access to these shrines was by means of broad staircases, flanked by balustrades. Pairs of large, expertly carved serpent heads were placed at their base, while closer to the top, sculptures of figures holding standards displayed banners made of bright paper and feathers.

The seven major building phases of the Templo Mayor began with a simple structure, probably dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, built in when Tenochtitlan was founded. Subsequently the Templo Mayor grew enormously both in size and elaboration, resulting in the impressive structure seen by the Spaniards in Reconstructions and enlargements of the temple were sometimes necessary because of flooding and the unstable lakebed on which it was built.