Mexico

Aztec Snake Symbol

Understanding the Aztec snake symbol

Snakes are a truly weird species although they’re hated in a couple of nations and religions as the symbol of death and evil in other nations they may be revered as a sign of god and heaven. So it was not quite surprising that the ancient Aztecs would look at the snake as a powerful creature. In actual fact they revered one such feathered snake as their god, “Quetzalcoatl.”

Aztec Snake – The Feathered Serpent

This reverence for the feathered Aztec god was according to genuinely extensive legends regarding the god of life. Even though the legends aren’t pretty clear, it’s evident that he had a tremendous influence on Aztec culture as well as the way of life. It is actually definite that there was a ruler named as Quetzalcoatl or the plumed serpent who was a fantastic and much revered leader in the year AD 947.

He was also progressive enough to abolish human sacrifice and permit only the future sacrifice of snakes, flowers and little birds! This was more than enough to irritate the local priests. This is where the stories get vague with local priests then inviting a vengeful god referred to as as Texcatlipoca to assist them do away with Quetzalcoatl. He was lured in breaking his priestly vow of chastity and thus went into a self imposed exile as penance.

The Aztec revered him as the symbol of death and resurrection and he was later considered as the patron of priests. The name Quetzalcoatl can be roughly translated to “plumed serpents,” “green-feathered-serpent,” or “serpent of valuable feathers.” The main translation of the word is “quetzal,” which is a gorgeous, green Guatemalan bird, and “coatl,” which means serpent. Hence as a result of the significance attached to the name later on Aztecs priests and also the Aztec society came to regard the snake as assign of the god.

The concept of a feathered serpent features a complete range of symbolic meaning for the Aztec society and later on it became an integral part of the Aztec drawing and Aztec books. The Aztec snake symbol became sacred and is still present on Mexican coat of arms. Snake worship was prominent amongst the Toltec and Aztec periods of prehistoric Mexican civilization. An additional Aztec myth also advocates a half-divine, half-human being who came down to earth to learn and educate humankind ; the Aztecs referred to him as the “feathered serpent,” or the reincarnation of the feathered sun who kept the Aztecs alive.

The writer is enthusiastic about Aztec history and has a complete internet site featuring the Aztecs. There you’ll be able to obtain information about Aztecs such as this article. For more of Aztec history, see aztec society.

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