The Most Influential Mesoamerican Gods: The History and Legacy of Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, and Tlaloc
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Bill Hare
()
About this audiobook
Gilgamesh, Hercules, Aeneas, and Lancelot are instantly recognized as mythological heroes in the West, evoking visions of Persian monsters, ghastly labors, and the founding and glorification of cities, but the names of Mesoamerican gods remain as mysterious as their spelling. Even those who have come across their names when learning about the history of Mesoamerica – particularly the Aztec and various gods’ roles in the Spanish conquest of their empire – are often unaware that the Mesoamerican deities have tales that equal any of those in the repertoire of the mythological figures mentioned above.
As archaeologists quickly learned, there are numerous temples dedicated to gods all across Mesoamerica, from the Olmec and Toltec to the Aztec and Maya. Furthermore, thousands of people still gather in the ruins of Mesoamerican cities.
From the Aztec to the Maya, Quetzalcoatl - the Feathered Serpent - rears his beautiful head from magnificent relief carvings in temples no less grandiose than the largest pyramid in the region, that of Cholula in Mexico. Furthermore, thousands of people still gather in the great Mayan city of Chichén Itzá during the spring and autumn equinoxes to watch the shadow of the Feathered Serpent slither its way down the temple known as El Castillo.
To the Aztec, Huitzilopochtli wore a blue-green hummingbird helmet and was draped in pure white heron feathers. He carried a smoking mirror, an obsidian mirror, a shield, darts, and the serpent Xiuhcoatl that carried with it the fury and might of the sun. Everything about him - from his clothes to his weapons - emanated and defined royalty. His name meant Hummingbird of the South or Hummingbird of the Left (meaning the “Southern Part of the World”) in the native language of the Aztec, Nahuatl. In his kingly role he was not only irrevocably intertwined with war and conquest but also with trade, the things most important to the great Aztec Empire.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vandals: The History and Legacy of Antiquity's Most Famous Barbarians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval England: The History of England from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Tudor Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Most Influential Mesoamerican Gods
Related audiobooks
Tezcatlipoca: The History and Legacy of Postclassic Mesoamerica’s Supreme God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cholula: The History and Legacy of the Sacred City that Dates Back to the Toltec Empire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAztec Astronomy and Astrology: The History of the Aztec’s Measurements of the Planets and Stars Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Biblical Creation and The Dragon Myth: Mesopotamian Parallels in Hebrew Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeotihuacan and Cholula: The History of the Most Important Mesoamerican Cities of the Preclassic Era Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuetzalcoatl: The History and Legacy of the Feathered Serpent God in Mesoamerican Mythology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Asia Minor’s Most Prominent Ancient Cities: The History and Legacy of the Influential Cities that Dominated the Region in Antiquity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMysterious Mesoamerican Cultures: From Olmec to Aztec, Decoding the Enigma of the Americas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArzawa: The History and Legacy of a Forgotten Ancient Kingdom in Anatolia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSparta: Rise Of The Warrior City-State: 4-In-1 History Of Spartan Warriors, Kings, Queens & Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAztec Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Aztec Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heliopolis: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt's Cult Center for the Sun God Atum Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuitzilopochtli: The History of the Aztec God of War and Human Sacrifice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tlaloc: The History of the Aztec God of Rain and Giver of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Akkadian Empire: An Enthralling Overview of the Rise and Fall of the Akkadians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Arameans: The History of the Influential Semitic Group that Settled in the Levant during the Iron Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ancient Kingdoms of Africa: The History and Legacy of the African Continent’s Most Prominent Kingdoms in Antiquity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsViracocha: The History and Legacy of the Inca’s Creator God Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Underworld in Ancient Mesoamerica: The History and Legacy of Mesoamerican Concepts of Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mythology: Collection of Sagas, Myths, Rituals, and Gods from America and Polynesia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spanish and Portuguese in the New World: The History and Legacy of the First European Rivalry in the Americas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSumer: The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia’s First Civilization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRussian History: The beginning to the 18th Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Oracle of Dodona: The History of Ancient Greece’s Oldest Oracle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Funerary Texts and Spells of Ancient Egypt: The History of the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and Book of the Dead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDoggerland and Cantre’r Gwaelod: The History and Legends Associated with the Sunken Lands of the British Isles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Ancient Religions For You
The Egyptian Book Of The Dead, Part 1: The Ancient Science Of Life After Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5African Mythology and Folklore: The Origins and History of Legends and Myths across Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Psychedelic Origin of Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enuma Elish: The Epic of Creation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Women of the Apocrypha: Judith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tibetan Book Of The Dead: The Bardo Thodol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Christians Were Jews: The First Generation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reign of the Anunnaki: The Alien Manipulation of Our Spiritual Destiny Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Think About God: An Ancient Guide for Believers and Nonbelievers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Early Teachings of the Buddha with Sarah Shaw Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demonic Possession and Exorcism: The History of the Belief that the Devil Possesses People Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Norse Mythology: Tales from the Norse Pantheon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Gods of Olympus: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poems Of Enheduanna Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSimple Upanishad stories that reveal profound truths - Story 1 : Mom! Who is my father? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Oracle of Dodona: The History of Ancient Greece’s Oldest Oracle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Göbekli Tepe: The History and Mystery of One of the World’s Oldest Neolithic Sites Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Egyptian Mythology: Tales from the Egyptian Pantheon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAncient Gods: The Anunnaki Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Celtic Mythology: Tales From the Celtic Pantheon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt: The History of Antiquity’s Most Famous Monuments Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roman Mythology: Tales From the Roman Pantheon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Underworld in Ancient Mesoamerica: The History and Legacy of Mesoamerican Concepts of Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Religion of Samurai Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5What the Bible Says About Sex: Why We Read It The Way We Do Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsViracocha: The History and Legacy of the Inca’s Creator God Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for The Most Influential Mesoamerican Gods
0 ratings0 reviews