ipl-logo

Aztec Sacrifice

432 Words2 Pages

The Aztecs’ main god was the sun or Huitzilopochtli. They believed that the sun needed constant replenishment so that it could move across the earth everyday and prevent the world from ending. However, the only way to keep this from happening, and provide mobility for the sun was to offer human sacrifices; he needed human flesh and blood. This accounts for the human sacrifices that the Aztecs had as well as the many festivals, which their ultimate goal to sacrifice humans for Huitzilopochtli and other gods as well. It is important to point that the Aztecs believed that they were living in the 5th and last era, but that they needed to keep the world from ending. Since the Aztecs were obsessed with preventing the world from ending, they used …show more content…

Consequently, they had a warrior society and fought continuously in order to expand their empire and to fulfill their destiny as the superiors of the land, the descendants of the Toltecs, and the followers of Huitzilopochtli. For the most part, they fought societies that resided outside of Tenochtitlan, but that were culturally similar to them. The majority of the sacrificial victims were captured during these wars or were brought in as part of tributes brought from their governing territories. Despite, most people coming from outside of Tenochtitlan, in the majority of cases, people would willingly participate in their deaths. This is the case because they were psychologically conditioned to believing that it was a honor to die this way and that the fact that they were chosen for this, was a godly choice and they needed to fulfill their role. Finally, the Aztecs claimed that they settled in Tenochtitlan because this was their sacred land and they had help the Chichimecs save their city. Their god, Huitzilopochtli, had told them they would know that they had arrived at this sacred land when they saw an eagle eating a snake, while perched on a nopal cactus. The island on lake Texcoco (Tenochtitlan) was that place, and that’s where their people settled and built their

Show More
Related
412 Words | 2 Pages

Also, it was to honor their gods, the god will feel stronger and the Aztecs will believe that if they unpleased the gods they will destroy the world. Additionally, some Aztecs will have a spiritual connection to the gods by offering themselves to be sacrificed. When they will be sacrificed there blood was given to the gods. Based on a interview from an Aztec shown in Document E, the Aztec

Read More
647 Words | 3 Pages

Because of this the Mexica had a very hard time and were forced to settle on inhospitable land. They became dependence of the city of Culhuacan. This was a prestigious city whose rulers were considered the heirs of the Toltec’s. It is said that in acknowledgement for their assistance during battle, the Mexica were given one of the daughters of the King of Culhuacan to be worshipped as a goddess/priestess. When the king arrived to attend the ceremony, he found on of the Mexica priests dressed in the flayed skin of his daughter: the Mexica reported to the king that their god, Huitzilopochtli, had asked for the sacrifice of the princess.

Read More
420 Words | 2 Pages

Introduction The Aztecs lived in a mountainout area with lots of rain. They had a good connection with water to support their farming systems. The Aztecs also participated in human sacrifice. They were polytheistic, meaning they believed in many gods, which they sacrificed people in order to please. Human sacrifice affected culture trhough intimidation and rituals.

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

A major part of Aztec life, centered around religion. The Aztecs believed in a polytheistic, animistic religion. There were about 128 major deities, including gods of rain, fire, water, corn, the sky, and the sun, which showed you how large of a scale their religion was. When it comes to Aztec religion and culture, it becomes crucial to

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

In the absence of Hernan Cortes, due to conflicting matters in Veracruz, the Spanish interrupted the Aztec people in the midst of their custom, human sacrifice. Hostility erupted throughout the city of Tenochtitlan. Due to the absence and lack of decision making on the part of Montezuma, he was renounced by his noblest of warriors and replaced by a new ruler or “speaker.” The Spanish, attempting to restore order to the city, freed Montezuma and demanded him to communicate and calm his people. It is unclear whether he was stoned and struck by the very people he led or stabbed to death by Spanish soldiers, but on 30 June 1520 CE, Montezuma was slain.

Read More
617 Words | 3 Pages

As Cortes and his men travelled through Mesoamerica, they heard tales of a great city in the middle of a lake where the emperor ruled out of. He knew that if he were to be able to conquer the nation he would have to start there, so the Spanish set off towards Tenochtitlan encountering civilisation after civilisation so wonderful and different from the home they came from. One of these places was Tlaxcala, in the time that Cortes was there, he struck an alliance with the Tlaxcalan’s against the Aztecs and these warriors would eventually help him sway the tides and defeat the mighty Aztecs.

Read More
1807 Words | 8 Pages

The Mexica people of Tenochtitlan, situated on an island in Lake Texcoco and the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan’s two principal allied city-states, the Acolhaus of Texcoco and the Tepanecs of Tlacopan, formed the Aztec Triple Alliance which has also become known as the “Aztec Empire”. Henan Cortes, along with a large number of Nahuatl speaking indigenous allies, conquered Tenochtitlan and defeated the Aztec Triple Alliance under the leadership of Moctezuma II. In the series of events often referred to as “The Fall of the Aztec Empire”. Subsequently the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital.

Read More
444 Words | 2 Pages

The Aztecs, like most ancient civilizations, were practicing a polytheistic religion. The most well-known of those civilizations possibly being Ancient Greece. The similarities don’t end there; when most people think of the Aztecs and their religion, they think of their inimical ritual of sacrifice. Thousands of years before, in North Africa, the Carthaginians were sacrificing many of their people, even infants. Most researchers believe it was to appease their gods and even to control the population, which are also reasons Aztec experts believe to be true for the Mesoamerican civilization.

Read More
889 Words | 4 Pages

While many may be aware of the Aztec civilization, their accomplishments can often be overshadowed by the time period when they were conquered by Spanish explorers, such as Hernan Cortez. However, the Aztecs were a prospering society before their downfall to the Spaniards. The Aztec’s demise is not the only characteristic to remember about one of the most commonly recognized civilizations of the fifteen hundreds. As an ancient Mesoamerican civilization displaced by powerful explorers, the Aztecs can still be seen as an organized society driven by their spirituality and traditions. The Aztecs used an organized system of chinampas and documents surveying what conquered peoples owed them, ensuring that they would be productive on a daily basis.

Read More
861 Words | 4 Pages

Alexis Adan 12/4/2014 CH150 T,TH 9:35- 11:00 The Aztec pantheon was a very important and vital concept for the Aztec empire since their religion was born from fear of nature and fear of the end of the world. The death of a sea serpent was actually the cause of the universe’s birth. The Aztecs believed the pantheon attempted to create the world five times.

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

Since the aztecs believed that their god of the sun needed nourishment as human blood; therefore, they power of the Aztec empire implemented human sacrifice for the sake of their

Read More
531 Words | 3 Pages

Moreover, the Aztecs believed that the sun would fight darkness every night and rose to save mankind. The Aztecs believed that the Earth was flat and there were thirteen heavens and nine hells. The Aztecs also believed that the Gods controlled all aspects of life, from the birth of a baby till the death of a person. Moreover, this lead to the Aztecs having to please the

Read More
706 Words | 3 Pages

To add on to this their warriors were the best defense any group could have asked for, the Aztec believed that anyone could be a warrior. Warrior training started very early in

Read More
957 Words | 4 Pages

The Aztecs were quite different. Cortes noted that the Aztec believed and worshipped multiple gods and idols. “Three halls are in this grand temple, which contain the principal idols” (Hernan Cortes: From the Second Letter To Charles V, page 3). Cortes even tried to “divert them from their idolatries, and draw them to a knowledge of God” (Hernan Cortes: From the Second Letter To Charles V, page

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

They had public ceremonies and prayed to agriculture god for good harvests. Priests kept calendars. Sometimes war prisoners were sacrificed to the gods. Aesthetics (Art, literature, music, dance, leisure activities, legacies to world culture) Aztecs built large and unique structures. They consisted of mainly temples and city walls.

Read More

More about Aztec Sacrifice

Related Topics

Open Document