Exploring the Majestic Aztec Temples in Mexico: A Journey Through History and Culture

Mexico is one of the richest Latin American countries in Mesoamerican culture, and it was home to great indigenous civilizations such as the Aztecs, that is why here we will talk about Aztec temples in Mexico.

Before discovering Aztec temples in Mexico you must know the Aztec civilization (also known as Tenochcas or Mexicas), one of the most important peoples in pre-Columbian times. The Aztecs became for thousands of years the most powerful civilization in the region, until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

Before this, it is important to highlight that Aztec temples in Mexico had a great relevance in their society, and they had an extraordinary architecture that led them to become one of the societies with the best works within the Mesoamerican civilization.

All the Aztec temples in Mexico were elaborated with the purpose of venerating the gods, in the same way, the Aztec temples in Mexico were developed according to the interests of the state, and the temples served with a language to transmit which was the vision of the world of the Aztecs in front of other cultures.

We must also highlight the importance of the Aztec temples in Mexico to understand the history and culture of the Mexicans, because this civilization is still in the DNA of their descendants. This people was polytheistic, so the Aztec temples in Mexico were made in honor of various gods.

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Aztec temple Mexico its origins and historical antecedents

The Aztec temples in Mexico were an important part of the culture and religion of this important Mesoamerican civilization, these Aztec temples in Mexico were built on stepped pyramids and were used mainly for rituals of human sacrifices in order to honor the gods. It was the temples of Teotihuacan and also those made by the Cholula civilization, which inspired the Aztecs; the temples of the Aztec civilization were rebuilt from time to time and besides being used to make sacrifices were the center of concentration to worship and pray to the gods.

To better understand the Aztec civilization it is important to mention that in addition to being stepped pyramids, the Aztec temples in Mexico were commonly oriented towards the west, in addition to this, some flights of stairs led to the sanctuary where an altar could be seen at the top. It is important to mention that each of the Aztec temples were usually dedicated to a specific God, however, there was one temple that was dedicated to two Gods.

Inside the temples, shrines were built to praise the Gods and were kept in darkness, with incense and sacred images on pedestals with relics and jewels. Around the temple there were large squares and the structure of their temples were built with bricks, stones and plaster.

Religious and cultural significance of these temples in Aztec society.

The Aztec temples in Mexico had an important cultural and religious significance that deeply marked their society. These architectural works were built with the purpose of facilitating the religion and vision they had of the world.

For the civilization, the temples reflected their customs, culture and religion and these pyramidal structures were the meeting place to make sacrifices, offerings and pray to the Gods.

Main Aztec Temples in Mexico

For the Aztecs, temples were their sacred places, therefore, they were considered the centers of pilgrimage and worship, these architectural works were designed to honor the Gods and perform sacrifices. Generally Aztec temples were built in the shape of a stepped pyramid with a sacrificial altar at the top; here we will tell you about Aztec temples in Mexico:

Templo Mayor

The Templo Mayor also known as the Temple of Tenochtitlan is located in the Historic Center of Mexico City, right next to the Metropolitan Cathedral and a few steps from the National Palace.
It was considered the center of culture and religion of the Aztec civilization, and it was located in the most sacred place in the world of the Aztecs (Tenochtitlan). It should also be noted that this temple was dedicated to two Gods, Huitzilopochtli (God of war and the sun) and the God Tlaloc (God of rain).

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Religious offerings were found at the base of the temple. In addition to this, over the years other treasures have been found such as gold coins, bones and jewels. It is worth mentioning that currently, due to the important findings, the Templo Mayor, the House of the Eagles, the monolith of the earth goddess Tlatecuhtli and the Cuauhxicalco have been enlarged.

Regarding architecture, the Templo Mayor is a building with a fairly large platform, it has a pyramidal base of four bodies, a double staircase and two shrines that are right in the main part.

Teotihuacan

This Mexican temple is located near Mexico City (about 50km away), specifically in a wide valley in central Mexico, approximately 2,300 meters above sea level. It is important to mention that this temple has been investigated for more than a century, however, only 5% of its ruins have been excavated.

Teotihuacan was not built by the Aztecs, but it was venerated and used by this civilization and it had a great symbolic and religious importance for the Aztecs and all the ancient inhabitants of Teotihuacan.

Apparently, this temple was dedicated to the Sun God, so ceremonies and rituals were performed in his honor. In Teotihuacan you can appreciate the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon and the Avenue of the Dead.

Temple of Ehecatl

The Temple of Ehecatl is one of the most recent archaeological discoveries found in Mexico City, and this temple was found in 2014 and began to be open to the public in 2018. It is specifically located on Ricardo Flores Magón Avenue, Guerrero, Cuauhtémoc.

This temple is in the basement of the small shopping center Plaza Tlatelololco and is a circular temple that was elaborated in honor of the God of the wind, hence its name ( Ehécatl). Like all the temples of this god located in Mexico City, it seems to have had great importance for the Aztec civilization.

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Cultural and religious practices of the Aztecs

Most Aztec rituals and ceremonies were centered on human sacrifice, however, it is important to mention that the Aztecs were not the first civilization in Mesoamerica to practice these types of bloody sacrifices, since everything points to the Olmec civilization (1200 to 300 BC) being the first to perform bloody rituals in their pyramids. Although they were not the first, the Aztecs took these sacrifices to a much larger scale and every year hundreds to thousands of people were sacrificed in the great Aztec religious temples, this with the purpose of honoring their Gods and at the same time generate an intimidating effect to the visiting ambassadors.

The Aztecs performed human sacrifices as payment for the sacrifices their Gods had made in creating the world and the sun. Therefore, the blood and flesh of those sacrificed was the food of the Gods, thus guaranteeing balance and prosperity in the Aztec community.

What was the bloody ritual like?

The Aztec bloody rituals were performed in temples dedicated to it, right at the top of the great pyramid, some of the temples where this type of sacrifices were performed are, Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan.

Normally, the victim was stretched on a special stone and his chest was opened to extract his heart with an obsidian or flint knife. After this action, the heart was placed in a stone vessel or a chacmool (carved stone figure with a container in the middle of the belly) and burned as an offering to the god; after the ceremony, the victim could be decapitated or dismembered.

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It should be noted that these were not the only rituals; in some cases, strips of paper soaked in blood were burned, tobacco and incense were burned and in other cases, living beings (non-human) such as deer, snakes and butterflies were included. Precious objects and mass images of the Gods were also offered in sacrifice, which were made with ground amaranth mixed with human blood and honey.

Deities and mythology of the Aztecs

The Mexica mythology is constituted by a group of myths, legends and traditional nahuas of the Aztec people. Before this, it is important to highlight that the Aztec civilization is linked to multiple divinities, among which stand out Gods such as Huitzilopochtli who was the God of war and the sun, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, Tlaloc God of rain, Coatlicue Goddess of the earth and mother of Huitzilopochtli and Ehecatl, God of the wind, and who gave energy to Tenochtitlan, which was the impressive capital of the Mexica Empire.

On the other hand, we must also highlight the architectural characteristics of the temples, which were always made in the form of a pyramid, with bricks, stones and plaster, so thousands of years ago the temples were white. These were located in the upper part of the city, so they were visible to the entire population of the area, in addition, they had several levels, each level was intended to represent different worlds.

Tourism in Aztec temples

Due to their architectural and cultural importance, Aztec temples are visited by millions of people. You must keep in mind that the Aztecs were not a tribe, but rather an expanding empire, so it is not necessary to tour the entire country to see all its monuments.

The ideal way to visit the monuments of the Aztec culture is taking the Aztec route, in which you will visit the settlements of the empire (temples, ruins and monuments), it starts in Mexico City and ends in Manzanillo, which is part of the west coast of the Latin American country.

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