As the one of the Great Protectors of the Aztec nation, the god Quetzalcóatl shared a peculiar bond with his people. An exiled god, it was foretold that one day, Quetzalcóatl would triumphantly return from a distant land and lead his people in a new age of glory on Earth. The story of Quetzalcóatl stands apart from a great many of the myths of the world, in that it had a direct and profound influence upon the course of history. For on the 8th of November 1519, the catastrophic misinterpretation of this legend would spell the doom of the Aztecs. But what had lead to this?
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| The Mask of Tezcatlipoca Artifact in the British Museum |
Though he had been one of the gods which had helped create the world, Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror, slowly began to reveal a streak of deep cruelty. The dark god possessed a magical mirror of obsidian, which reflected the deepest fears in men's hearts, as well as offering its bearer visions of the future. Though the god saw famine and natural disaster before they struck, he deliberately concealed this information from his people, delighting in their misery, and particularly in the resulting anguish of the most adored of the ruling gods - Quetzalcóatl - The Plumed Serpent. Though both gods had fought alongside one another against the great monster Tlaltecuhtli (for more on this and the creation, please click here), and Tezcatlopica had even sacrificed his own foot in the battle, tensions and mistrust began to build. The first to introduce war to the human world, Tezcatlipoca revelled in bloodshed for its own sake, deciding who should live and who should die on the mortal plain of battle.
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Tollán (modern Tula)
Photograph taken by 'Luidger'
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Quetzalcóatl, on the other hand, ruled as a living god king over the great city of Tollán, stronghold and crowning jewel of the Toltec people. The Toltecs prospered under his noble guidance, and the world was happy. Tezcatlipoca, however, was not. A skilled shapeshifter however, the dark god came to a great feast one night in Tollán, and deceived the King, switching his goblet for one filled with an extremely poweful drug. Oblivious, Quetzalcóatl drank from his goblet, eagerly partaking in the night's festivities. Soon inebriated, Quetzalcóatl began to behave most strangely. The people looked on in horror and disgust as their King seduced his own sister. The cries of outrage suddenly broke the spell, and Quetzalcóatl regained control of his senses. Still unaware that the scheme had been Tezcatlipoca's, Quetzalcóatl stood in disbelief at how he could have let himself become so drunk. Ashamed to the core at what he had done, the King left the hall, to the shouts of anger of his deceived subjects. The next morning, stricken with grief and frustration, Quetzalcóatl arose to devastating news. Playing on the events of the previous eve, Tezcatlipoca had roused the people against their King, his words of malice seizing upon the impulses of a mob. Realising the true extent of Tezcatlipoca's treachery at last, Quetzalcóatl's frustration turned to rage, and his wrath was terrible. Tollán burned, the mountains quaked, statues toppled and the fruits of the city's civilisation were buried under the Earth. The furious god commanded the magnificent bird which laired in the city to depart the land and not to return. Tollán's hour of greatness had reached an end.
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| The Sierra Nevada of Mexico Photograph taken by David Tuggy |
Leaving the blasted lands, Quetzalcóatl assembled what remained of his loyal guards and ventured forth into the wilderness. Soon, Quetzalcóatl began to feel grief again. Destroying Tollán had brought him peace, but carried it further from him. After many hours on the road, the exhausted god came to rest at Quauhtitlán. Quetzalcóatl asked his servant to hand him a mirror, and the servant gave the King a polished, reflective obsidian mirror. Quetzalcóatl looked on at his reflection, and saw a broken, elderly face stare back up at him. "I grow old", the god spoke softly. The servants began to weep, mourning the brevity of greatness in the mortal world, that all things, even their great city and King, must all one day end. For behind every glimmer of light, the shadow of Tezcatlipoca lurks. The dejected procession marched onward into the mountains, though stopping as Quetzalcóatl's exhaustion grew. When the god and his servants reached Coaapán, however, an array of deities soared down to the Earth from the high Heavens and surrounded Quetzalcóatl. The gods interrogated the weary traveller, demanding to know where he ventured and why. Quetzalcóatl boldly answered that he was leaving these shores for the land of Tlapallán, the far away realm of his father the sun god, over the distant Oceans, for he had no purpose here any longer, and his ancestral domain called him home. Taking pity on Quetzalcóatl, the gods allowed him to pass, though ordered him to relinquish the divine secrets of his powers, the powers that had allowed him to raise Tollán to such vast heights of human achievement. The arcane magic he wielded would allow any to raise humanity to its former glory. Mistrusting all other gods now due to Tezcatlipoca's treachery, Quetzalcóatl refused, and cast all the records of his secrets into a nearby fountain, where the thundering waters obliterated all trace. Heading further east, Quetzalcóatl continued undaunted along his march of shame.
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Mount Popocatépetl
Photograph taken by Alejandro Garcia |
The god and his procession pushed on deeper and deeper into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The ice and snow drifts began to close in, and the frozen wastes bore no fruit. Higher and higher they rose, and one by one, the sheer cold began to claim the life of Quetzalcóatl's servants. At last, only the Plumed Serpent himself remained. Fighting through the deep snow, Quetzalcóatl began a song of exquisite beauty, mourning all those that died with him. Reaching the summit of the volcano, he slid down the far side, coming at last to the Eastern Ocean. Attracted by his enchanting song, all the serpents of the region were drawn to their Plumed Master. As if by preordained command, the serpents twisted and writhed, and coiled within and around each other, creating a raft of their living flesh. Without a backward look, Quetzalcóatl boarded his serpentine craft, and with his eyes fixed on the horizon of the rising Sun, departed the land of Mexico. The Aztec peoples await his return, when he will appear on the horizon of the Eastern Ocean once again, in all his rightful, regal glory, and his secrets will lead them to a new era of mastery over the Earth.
Many eons later, the Aztecs remained as faithful as ever, awaiting their great deliverer. So when the year 1519 anno domini arrived, and the time came when a stranger from a far away land arrived on the horizon of the Eastern Ocean, the Aztecs were jubilant. Unfortunately, this stranger's name was not Quetzalcóatl, but Hernan Cortés...
United Kingdom
Aztec Hymns:
(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)
Spanish Account of the Conquest of Mexico:
(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself)
General Reference:
(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different from the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)
United States
Aztec Hymns:
(A collection of prayers to the gods, translated from the Nahuatl language)
Spanish Account of the Conquest of Mexico:
(A written account of the conquest given by a Spanish soldier who actually served under Cortés himself)
General Reference:
(A very nice introduction to Aztec and Mayan Mythology, which I found very useful a few years back. Due to the vast nature of the subject, such a book is always helpful in the beginning. The actual front cover is different from the one displayed on Amazon, and the book itself has many high quality photographs in it)
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