Templo Mayor
The Templo Mayor (Great Temple) was one of the main temples of the Aztecs. It was in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called the huei teocalli[1] in the Nahuatl language. It was dedicated to two gods, Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture. Each one had a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate stairways. The spire in the center of the image to the right was devoted to Quetzalcoatl in his form as the wind god, Ehecatl.[2]
The Great Temple devoted to Huiztilopochtli and Tlaloc was approximately 100 by 80 m (328 by 262 ft) at its base.[3] Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325. It was rebuilt six times after that. The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521.[4] The modern-day archeological site lies just to the northeast of the Zocalo, or main plaza of Mexico City[5] The site is part of the Historic Center of Mexico City, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987.
Templo Mayor Media
View of the Templo Mayor and the surrounding buildings.
Disk depicting a dismembered Coyolxauhqui which was found during construction in 1978
Scale model of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan showing the various stages as it was enlarged over time.
The nested remains of successive phases of construction (1999)
Model of Templo Mayor. Mexico City Metro Zócalo station.
Situation of the Templo Mayor (upper centre) in the central district of Tenochtitlan
View of ruins of the "Eagle" building of the Templo Mayor complex. The roof is there to protect the remains of paintings that are inside.
View of Eagle building and building A in the Templo Mayor complex. The ruins of the Great Temple are in the background.
Inside the protected area of the Eagle Building of the Templo Mayor complex in Mexico City. Remnants of the original paint can still be seen.
References
- ↑ El Templo Mayor (Distrito Federal) Archived 2009-09-25 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). México Desconocido
- ↑ "Study the... WIND GOD". MexicoLore. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ "EL RECINTO CEREMONIAL Y EL TEMPLO MAYOR Evolución de la Gran Tenochtitlan" (in español). Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ "Tenochtitlán". Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ "Templo Mayor". Enciclopedia de Mexico XIII. (2003). Ed. Jose Rogelio Alvarez. Mexico City: Sabeca International Investment Corp.
