Aztec -- Religion

Aztec -- Religion

​Creation Myth

• ​ Years ago people did not have the sciences to help them understand life. For instance, they did not know why the Sun rises each morning or why the seasons change.

• Ancient people saw sickness, death, and natural disasters, but they did not understand what caused them.

​Creation Myth

• ​Groups of people developed their own stories and beliefs to explain the world around them.

• These stories were usually not written down.

• They were passed from one generation to another by telling them out loud as stories.

• People accepted them as the truth. In this way, myths became beliefs.

Multiple Choice

Myths are:

• a story to help explain the world

• Always true

• Written down carefully

Creation Myth

​According to legend, the Aztec were once a nomadic tribe. They wandered the land, setting up temporary homes here and there, fighting off attackers, and surviving on snakes and lizards.

​Creation Myth

​One day, the god of the sun spoke to the people. The god told the Aztec people to look for a sign—an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus. On the spot where the eagle perched, the Aztec were to build a great city.

​Creation Myth

​The legend goes on to describe how the Aztec finally received the sign the god had told them about. The eagle appeared on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco

​Tenochtitlan

​On that day, the Aztec’s wandering ended. They settled down and began building a city. The Aztec people called their new home Tenochtitlán, which means “the place of the prickly pear.”

​Mexican Flag

​Even today the eagle and serpent are shown on the flag of Mexico.

Multiple Choice

What symbol from the Aztecs is on the Mexican flag?

• eagle with a snake on a cactus

• 50 stars and 13 stripes

• a maple leaf

​Aztec Religion

Religion was important the Aztecs. The honored over 100 different gods.

The Aztecs believed that if a person pleased the gods, the gods would reward them. Rewards would be good weather, good health, good growing crops, victories or riches.

Multiple Choice

The Aztecs believed in over 100 gods and goddesses.

• true

• false

Drag and Drop

The Aztecs believed in many gods, this means they must have been ​

Placeholder

.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

polytheistic

monotheistic

not religious

Sacrifices for Gods

The gods were honored with monthly festivals.


To please and “feed” the gods, the Aztecs participated in flower, animal, and even human sacrifices.

Open Ended

If you gave a very large gift to the gods, what do you think you could expect in return?

​Priests

​Aztec priests were very powerful and had great responsibility. Priests came from all social classes.

The highest priests were nobles. They led religious ceremonies and festivals.

Priests lived in temples, and were often trained from a young age. 

Multiple Choice

Priests came from all social classes

• true

• false

Huitzilopochtli

He is the Aztec god of war and the sun. He is shown as a bird -- sometimes as a hummingbird or an eagle.

Huitzilopochtli

The Aztec lived in a region surrounded by volcanic mountains. It was an area where earthquakes were likely to occur. They believed that the gods controlled these forces of nature. If the people angered the gods, the gods might rattle the earth or release hot lava from the mountains. So, like the Maya, the Aztec made sacrifices to the gods.

Multiple Choice

Which god is on the Mexican flag?

• Zeus

• Quetzalcoatl
• Huitzilopochtli

• Ares

Quetzalcoatl

This is the Aztec god of Knowledge and learning. They believed he created the calendar and discovered corn.

He is a mix of a bird and a serpent.

Multiple Choice

How often were ceremonies held? 

• once a week

• once a day

• once a month

• once a year

Aztec Teocallis

Teocalli means gods' house.

They were built at the center of the city. Teocallis were used for worship, prayer, and to give offerings to different gods.

​

​Many had double staircases and a special temple on the very top.

Multiple Select

What were the Teocallis used for? (pick 2)

• Worship and prayer

• Offerings

• Shopping

• Education

​The Aztecs believed that when people died, their spirit went to a special place, not just one heaven or hell. Where someone went after they died depended on how they lived or how they died.

For example, brave warriors who died in battle went to live with the sun god.

The Aztecs believed it was important to live a good life and honor the gods to have a good afterlife.

​The Afterlife

Multiple Choice

The Aztecs believed that after they died there was:

• immediate reincarnation into another being
• an afterlife with different places

• nothing

• a single destination for all people

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is connected to ancient Aztec traditions. The Aztecs had ceremonies to honor and remember the dead, especially loved ones who had passed away. They believed death was a part of life and that the spirits of the dead could return to visit the living during special times.

Dia de los Muertos

This holiday is still celebrated today. It happens every year on November 1st and 2nd. Families make altars with pictures, candles, food, and flowers, especially marigolds, to help the spirits come visit. People also wear costumes, paint their faces like skulls, and enjoy music and food.

It is not a sad day—it is a happy time to remember people we love.

Dia de los Muertos

Open Ended

Is Dia de los Muertos the same as Halloween?