Quetzalcoatl

Overview

Quetzalcoatl was counted among the most prominent deities of the Aztec pantheon. It is said that he and Tezcatlipoca one day split open the body of Tlaltecuhtli, from whose corpse sprang forth the earth and the sky.

The Aztec creation stories tell of how he later slew Tezcatlipoca, the first sun, thus becoming ruler of the second sun. He would thereafter create humans from bones he had gathered in the underworld, sprinkled in his own blood. They say that some of the bones were dropped along the way, and this accounts for the variance in stature among races. In one account, he took on the form of an ant and delivered maze unto the human race.

Death and Succession

One story dealing with the death of the feathered serpent tells of how he had been intoxicated by Tezcatlipoca and inveigled into incest with Quetzalpetlatl, his sister. Filled with remorse, Quetzalcoatl proceeded to immolate himself. But after the eighth day of his death he rose to the apex of heaven and became Venus, the morning star.

However, after another 676 years, the wind god Tlaloc blew away the larger part of humanity, with some surviving as monkeys. He then assumed the role of the 3rd ruler of the sun.