![]() The god of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli, played a key role in the Fifth Sun, or the current reality in which the world presently exists. The ancient Aztecs believed that the universe had existed in previous incarnations, often referred to as “suns.” At the time of European contact, the Aztecs claimed they existed during the Fifth Sun, as there had been four previous universes or existences that had been destroyed before. To the Aztecs, understanding Mictlantecuhtli begins not with death, but with the story of creation. By the time of the consolidation of power of the Aztecs Mictlantecuhtli’s worship had been standardized throughout the Empire and he became one of the most powerful and influential gods at the time of the Spanish Conquest. ![]() Art and iconography of the earlier Olmec culture suggests that they, too, had a death god similar to Mictlantecuhtli, but as they did not have a formal writing system, and hence his name is not known. The ancient Maya called him Yum Cimil or Ah Puch. He has counterparts in cultures throughout ancient Mexico and existed in civilizations which predated the Aztecs. Mictlantecuhtli may be one of the oldest gods found throughout Mesoamerica. The Aztecs explained to their European guests that these larger-than-life clay figures represented the powerful Mictlantecuhtli, god of death and ruler of their underworld, called Mictlán. To the residents of the imperial city, these images were beautiful. The astonished Spaniards made note of these impressive statues in their diaries and letters home, describing them as hideous and demonic. Both sculptures had red spots on them, symbolizing spattered blood. Human bones from vanquished enemies served as earspools. Around the necks of the statues were clay depictions of human eyeballs. The skull head was topped with a headdress made of owl feathers and paper banners. In this angry expression, the jaw jutted out slightly, so as to receive and swallow the stars at the break of dawn. Now lost to history, each clay statue depicted a man with a skull for a head and an angry expression on its face. Outside the entrance to this magnificent building stood two statues that frightened the Spanish conquistadors, who were invited into the Aztec capital as honored guests of the Emperor Montezuma. North of the Great Temple in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan stood the House of the Eagles, the headquarters of the special forces of the Aztec military known as the Eagle Knights or Eagle Warriors.
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