Quetzalcoatl

Family Tree

The Creation of the World

As one of the four sons of the Aztec creator deities Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, Quetzalcoatl played an integral role in the creation of the universe. After he was born, he and his family waited 600 years for his youngest brother, Huitzilopochtli (who was born without flesh), to join them in the process of cosmic construction.

Quetzalcoatl and either Huitzilopochtli or Tezcatlipoca (depending upon the myth) were responsible for the creation of the cosmos. After creating fire, they molded a partial sun and gave life to the first man and woman.^[4]

In many versions of the myth, Quetzalcoatl worked in opposition to his brother Tezcatlipoca. This rivalry was a recurring theme in Aztec mythology, with the flying serpent (Quetzalcoatl) frequently pitted against the black jaguar (Tezcatlipoca).

Each bout of fighting brought one of the four epochs of Aztec history to an end, ultimately ending with Tezcatlipoca in control of the fifth (and current) age.^[5] During this time, it was conceivable that Quetzalcoatl could defeat his brother once more and regain power. This possibility would become mythologically significant when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century.

Stealing Bones from the Underworld

Quetzalcoatl was instrumental in creating people to populate the fifth age. In order to do this, Quetzalcoatl had to sneak into the underworld of Mictlan and trick Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl, the Lord and Lady of Death, into giving him the bones they guarded. Mictlantecuhtli would only give the bones to Quetzalcoatl if he could create a sound by blowing into a conch shell with no holes in it. Quetzalcoatl managed to complete this challenge through clever trickery. He had worms drill a hole in the conch, then filled the shell with bees. Quetzalcoatl’s actions successfully tricked Mictlantecuhtli into giving him the bones. But this was not enough for Quetzalcoatl. In an effort to further trick Mictlantecuhtli, Quetzalcoatl told him that he would leave Mictlan without the bones.

Before Quetzalcoatl could escape from Mictlan, however, his deception was discovered by Mictlanecuhtli. A deep pit appeared before Quetzalcoatl, preventing his escape. As he fell into the the pit, Quetzalcoatl was knocked unconscious and mixed up the bones he was carrying. After his eventual escape, Quetzalcoatl combined the now slightly shuffled bones with his blood and corn to create the first humans of the fifth age.^[6] The Aztecs used this allegory to explain why people came in all different heights.

The Discovery of Maize

According to legend, the Aztec people initially only had access to roots and wild game. At that time, maize was located on the other side of a mountain range that surrounded the Aztec homeland. Other gods had already attempted to retrieve the maize by moving the mountains, but their efforts had all been unsuccessful.

Where others had approached this problem with their brute strength, Quetzalcoatl chose to rely on his sharp mind. He proceeded to turn himself into a black ant and followed the other ants over the mountains. After a long and difficult journey, Quetzalcoatl reached the maize and brought a kernel back to the Aztec people.^[7]

Other versions of the legend featured Quetzalcoatl discovering a great mountain of seeds that he could not move by himself. He instead solicited the help of Nanahuatzin, who destroyed the mountain with lightning. With the seeds laid bare, Tlaloc, a rain god often associated with Quetzalcoatl, proceeded to snatch them up and scatter them across the land.^[8]

The Fall of Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl

The ruler Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl (also known as One-Reed) was famous for his wise rule. Under his guidance, the capital city of Tula became incredibly prosperous. Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl maintained order across his domain and even eschewed the practice of human sacrifice.

While many were happy with Quetzalcoatl’s reign, his rival Tezcatlipoca was not and plotted to bring him low. One night, Tezcatlipoca plied Topilitzin-Quetzalcoatl with pulque (an alcohol made from agave); afterwards, the drunken ruler slept with his celibate priestess sister. Ashamed of what he had done, Topilitzin-Quetzalcoatl departed Tula and set out for the sea.

It is uncertain what happened next. Some versions held that Quetzalcoatl cremated himself; others stated that he spent eight days in the underworld before reemerging as Venus or the morning star. Yet another version of this tale had Quetzalcoatl parting the sea and leading his followers in a march along the ocean floor. This version’s blatant mirroring of the story of Moses was almost certainly a product of later Spanish influence.^[9]

Cortes: The Second Coming of Quetzalcoatl?

The Aztec believed that Tezcatlipoca ruled of the fifth age, and while they thought that the fifth sun was the last sun, it was not a foregone conclusion that Tezcatlipoca would remain in charge. If Quetzalcoatl did return, however, how would he be known? This question was most likely on Emperor Moctezuma II’s mind when he received word in 1519 that the Spanish had arrived via the eastern coast. The return of Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl, who had departed to the east by sea, certainly seemed like a possibility to the Aztec nobility as they considered the arrival of these seafaring newcomers.

Moctezuma sent a gift of food and the ceremonial clothing of four gods (one set of which belonged to Quetzalcoatl) to the newcomers, presumably to ascertain their true intentions. Cortes may have looked the part of a god, what with bearing the conical helmets of the time and arriving via wind-powered sailing vessels, but his actions soon revealed that he was not the morally upstanding Quetzalcoatl.^[10]

Ultimately, the legend that Moctezuma and the Aztecs believed Cortes to be Quetzalcoatl was a just that: a legend retroactively turned into historical “fact” by Spanish writers. These writers may have misinterpreted a speech Moctezuma gave to Cortes, or simply invented the idea because it fit their historical expectations.

The Wandering Apostle

Quetzalcoatl remained a potent figure well after the Spanish had conquered the New World. The friar Diego de Duran suggested that Quetzalcoatl may have actually been the apostle St. Thomas. The saint had departed from the Roman Empire following the death of Christ, and Duran believed his travels across the sea could explain the elements of Aztec religion that mirrored Christianity. This link to Europe was embraced by 17th-century Mexican nationalists because it meant that their cultural heritage pre-dated Spanish influence.^[11]