7.2:  The Sacred Landscape

Student Notes

How did religious beliefs affect the worldview of the Aztecs?

Aztec Gods

The Aztecs looked to many gods to give them signs on how to live, but some were greater than other Gods.  

Using the chart below, record the details on each of the Gods

Measuring Time:  The Aztec Calendar

According to legend, there are four eras before the present one.  Each era was destroyed in different ways

• first - destroyed by jaguars

• second - hurricanes

• third - fiery rain

• fourth - a flood

Based on legend, the fifth will be caused by an earthquake.  

What do you notice about the God in the centre of the calendar?

Human Sacrifices:  Why?

Why do you think it was necessary for the 

Aztecs to give the gods human blood?

     Killing another person was a way the Aztecs could show their devotion to their gods.  They believed that a victim's blood was nourishment for the gods.  The Aztecs felt their gods would grow sick and die without the blood, which explains why they felt war was important; giving an opportunity to capture new victims to sacrifice.

     Every 52 years, the "new fire" ceremony took place.  The people would fast and let their fires go out.  Once the sacred flame was lit near Tenochtitlan, a courier would carry the flame to each house and relight the fires.  

Tenochtitlan:  The Centre of the World

     According to the Aztec philosophers, Earth was shaped as a round, flat disc that was divided into four sections.  The centre being Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs felt their gods had assigned them a special place in the universe.

     The city was divided into four sections, symbolizing four directions.  Temples were located in the centre of the city, forming a large square.  This was to be a replication of how they felt Tenochtitlan was a model for the world.  Some temples were built on top of mountains, as the Aztecs believed the physical and spiritual worlds met there.  

     The most magnificent temple was the Great Temple.  This building was shaped like a pyramid, as were most other temples, to resemble a sacred mountain.  The Great Temple was the physical and spiritual centre of the universe to the Aztec people.  

See figure 7-17 (page 163) 

Why do you think the Spanish called Tenochtitlan the "Venice of the New World"?

7.3:  Expanding the Empire