Tlaloc, as shown in the late 16th century Codex Rios.

Tlaloc was, in Aztec belief, the god of rain and fertility. He was greatly feared among the Aztecs, who drowned children to appease him. They believed that Tlaloc was responsible for both floods and droughts, and that he had been created by the other gods. He is commonly depicted as a goggle-eyed blue being with fangs. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (654x761, 90 KB) Summary This is a detail from page 20, reverse, of Codex Rios. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (654x761, 90 KB) Summary This is a detail from page 20, reverse, of Codex Rios. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... A painting of Tláloc, as shown on page 20R of Codex Rios. ... The Aztec civilization recognized many gods and supernatural creatures. ...

Human sacrifices were often made in his honor, usually children. Before the victims were sacrificed, their tears were collected in a ceremonial bowl, to serve as an offering.

Mythology

Tlaloc was first married to Xochiquetzal, a goddess of flowers, but then Tezcatlipoca kidnapped her. He later married the goddess Chalchiuhtlicue, "She of the Jade Skirt". In Aztec mythic cosmography, Tlaloc ruled the fourth layer of the 'Upper World", or heavens, which is called Tlalocan ("place of Tlaloc") in several Aztec codices, such as the Vaticanus A and Florentine codices. Described as a place of unending Springtime and a paradise of green plants, Tlalocan was the destination in the afterlife for those who died violently from phenomena associated with water, such as by lightning, drowning and water-borne diseases (Miller and Taube, 1993). In Aztec mythology, Xochiquetzal (flower feather) was a goddess of flowers, fertility, games, dancing and agriculture, as well as craftsmen, prostitutes and pregnant women. ... Tezcatlipoca as depicted in the Codex Borgia. ... Chalciuhtlicue from the Codex Ríos In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalcihuitlicue) (She of the Jade Skirt) was the goddess of lakes and streams. ... Cosmography is the science that maps the general features of the universe; describes both heaven and earth (but without encroaching on geography or astronomy) A representation of the earth or the heavens. ... In Aztec mythology, Tlalocan is the underworld, ruled by Tlaloc and his wife Chalchiuhtlicue. ... Aztec codices (singular codex) are books written by pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial era Aztecs. ... A painting of Tláloc, as shown on page 20R of Codex Rios. ... Page 51 of Book IX from the Florentine Codex. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Tlaloc, in a famous statue outside of the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.

With Chalchiuhtlicue, he was the father of Tecciztecatl. He had an older sister named Huixtocihuatl. He ruled over the third of the five worlds in Aztec belief. Image File history File links Tláloc. ... Image File history File links Tláloc. ... Front entrance to the museum. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: Country Mexico Federal entity Federal District Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded (as Tenochtitlan) c. ... In Aztec mythology, Tecciztecatl (old moon god; also Tecuciztecal, Tecuciztecatl) was a lunar deity, representing the old man-on-the-moon. He could have been the sun god, but he feared the suns fire, so Nanahuatzin became the sun god and Tecciztecatl (in the form of a rabbit) was... In Aztec mythology, Huixtocihuatl (or Uixtochihuatl, Uixtociuatl) was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water. ...

In Salvadoran mythology, he was also the father of Cipitio. Cipitio is the most popular character of salvadorean mythology. ...

Related gods

Other Mesoamerican people had similar rain gods with slightly different attributes, such as the Maya god Chaac and the Zapotec deity Cocijo. Images of a god looking like the Aztec Tlaloc was in widespread use by the Teotihuacan and Toltec civilizations. The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ... 74. ... Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is an important deity in the pantheon of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Mesoamerica. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In Maya mythology, Chac (sometimes spelled Chaac,) was the god of rain and thunder, and important as a fertility and agriculture god. ... Teotihuacan was the largest Pre-Columbian known city in the Americas, and the name Teotihuacan is used to refer to the civilization this city dominated, which at its greatest extent included most of Mesoamerica. ... The Atlantes – columns in the form of Toltec warriors in Tula. ...

See also

• piñata

A piñata during a Mexican celebration in a German amusement park The worlds largest piñata. ...

References

• Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6. 

Mary Miller is the master of Saybrook College at Yale University and the Vincent Scully Professor of the History of Art. ... Karl Andreas Taube is an American Mayanist, anthropologist, epigrapher and ethnohistorian, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. ...

External links

• Tlaloc image at the Federation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies