Aztec Religion: Did you mean...?

A scene from the 16th-century Florentine Codex depicting Aztec musicians. Music and dance were an important element of Aztec education and public life.

An almost life-size terracotta Aztec Eagle Warrior, one of the elite warrior groups in the Aztec military. 13-15th century CE, from Tenochtitlan. (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City)

Pulque is an alcoholic drink which was first drunk by the Maya, Aztecs, Huastecs and other cultures in ancient Mesoamerica. Similar to beer, it is made from the fermented juice or sap of the maguey plant (Agave americana). In the Aztec language...

Shinto is the oldest religion in Japan and has become an integral part of that country's culture whether it be in daily worship and ritual, the famous tourist site shrines or the appearance of Shinto characters in contemporary comics and...

The Day of the Dead, known in Spanish as Día de los Muertos, is a holiday that celebrates life and honors the dead through traditions, food, decorations, and activities intended to sustain the connections between the living and the dead...

La Malinche, or Malintzin, was the primary interpreter in the retinue of Hernán Cortés during his conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century and has become one of the most divisive women in Mexican history. Though she was called Malintzin...

Quetzalcóatl (pron. Quet-zal-co-at) or 'Plumed Serpent' was one of the most important gods in ancient Mesoamerica. Quetzalcóatl was the god of winds and rain, and the creator of the world and humanity. A mix of bird and rattlesnake, his name...

A map illustrating the various stages of Aztec expansion under successive rulers in the 15th and early 16th centuries CE.

An Aztec (Mexica) shield of wood covered in turquoise and shell mosaic. Likely used only as a ceremonial shield. The design shows solar disks and a long, winding snake crisscrossing the shield horizontally. The shield was dedicated to the...

Ancient Persian religion developed in the region of Greater Iran by the 3rd millennium BCE and corresponds to what is known today as ancient Persian mythology. This belief system informed the Persian Achaemenid Empire, even after the acceptance...