page_title: Aztec mythology
section_title: Pantheon
hierarchical_section_title: Aztec mythology / Pantheon
caption_attribution_description: Page 48 of the Codex Borgia.
context_page_description: Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City – but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec. There are different accounts of their origin. In the myth the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the north called Aztlan, the last of seven nahuatlacas to make the journey southward, hence their name "Azteca." Other accounts cite their origin in Chicomoztoc, "the place of the seven caves," or at Tamoanchan.
  The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, meaning "Left-handed Hummingbird" or "Hummingbird from the South." At an island in Lake Texcoco, they saw an eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, perched on a nopal cactus.
context_section_description: Water deities
  Tlaloc, god of rain and lightning and thunder. He is a fertility god
  Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism.
  Huixtocihuatl, goddess of salt
  Opochtli, god of fishing and birdcatchers, discoverer of the harpoon and net
  Atlahua, god of water, a fisherman and archer
  Fire deities
  Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire and time
  Chantico, goddess of firebox and volcanoes
  Xolotl, god of death, associated with Venus as the Evening Star (Double of Quetzalcoatl)
  Death deities
  Mictlantecuhtli, god of the dead, ruler of the Underworld
  Mictecacihuatl, goddess of the dead, ruler of the Underworld
  Xolotl, god of death, associated with Venus as the Evening Star (Double of Quetzalcoatl)
  Sky deities
  Tezcatlipoca, god of providence, the darkness and the invisible, lord of the night, ruler of the North.
  Xipe-Totec, god of force, lord of the seasons and rebirth, ruler of the East.
  Quetzalcoatl, god of the life, the light and wisdom, lord of the winds and the day, ruler of the West.
  Huitzilopochtli, god of the war, lord of the sun and fire, ruler of the South.
  Xolotl, god of death, associated with Venus as the Evening Star (Double of Quetzalcoatl)
  Ehecatl, god of wind
  Tlaloc, god of rain and lightning and thunder. He is a fertility god
  Coyolxauhqui, goddess and leader of the Centzonhuitznahua, associated with the moon
  Meztli, goddess of moon
  Tonatiuh, god of sun
  Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars
  Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars
  Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of the morning star (Venus)
  Lords of the Night
  Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire and time
  Tezcatlipoca, god of providence, the darkness and the invisible, lord of the night, ruler of the North.
  Piltzintecuhtli, god of the visions, associated with Mercury (the planet that is visible just before sunrise or just after sunset) and healing
  Centeotl, god of maize
  Mictlantecuhtli, god of the Underworld
  Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms and baptism
  Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds
  Tepeyollotl, god of the animals, darkened caves, echoes and earthquakes. Tepeyollotl is a variant of Tezcatlipoca, associated with mountains
  Tlaloc, god of rain and lightning and thunder. He is a fertility god
  Lords of the Day
  Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire and time
  Tlaltecuhtli, old god of earth (changed in the landscape and atmosphere)
  Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms and baptism
  Tonatiuh, god of the Sun
  Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds
  Mictlantecuhtli, god of the Underworld
  Mictecacihuatl, goddess of the Underworld
  Centeotl, god of maize
  Tlaloc, god of rain and lightning and thunder. He is a fertility god
  Quetzalcoatl, god of the life, the light and wisdom, lord of the winds and the day, ruler of the West.
  Tezcatlipoca, god of providence, the darkness and the invisible, lord of the night, ruler of the North.
  Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of dawn
  Citlalicue, goddess of female stars (Milky Way)
  Citlalatonac, god of female stars (Husband of Citlalicue)
  Earth deities
  Xipe-Totec, god of force, lord of the seasons and rebirth, ruler of the East.
  Tonacatecuhtli, god of sustenance associated with Ometecuhtli
  Tonacacihuatl, goddess of sustenance associated with Omecihuat
  Tlaltecuhtli, old god of earth (changed in the landscape and atmosphere)
  Chicomecoatl, goddess of agriculture
  Centeotl, god of the maize associated with the Tianquiztli (Pleiades)
  Xilonen, goddess of tender maize
  Matron goddesses
  Coatlicue, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth
  Chimalma, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth
  Xochitlicue, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth
  Itzpapalotl, obsidian butterfly,  leader of the Tzitzimitl
  Toci, goddess of health
caption: Embodied spirits; Tonalleque (1), Cihuateteo (2).
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