Aztec Mythology

Visit the links to learn about Aztec myths related to objects in the sky, the Earth, and aspects of their world.

Back to the World Map
<a href="/mythology/coyolxauhqui_moon.html">Coyolxauhqui</a> was the <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html">Moon</a> goddess according the Aztec mythology. The image above reproduces "The Coyolxauhqui Stone," a giant monolith found at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico.</em></small></p>

Explore Aztec Mythology

The Earth: Coatlicue

Coatlicue, whose name means "Serpent Skirt," was the Earth goddess of life and death in the ...Read more

The Rain: Tlaloc

Tlaloc was an important deity of rain and fertility of the Aztec mythology. Aztec people were ...Read more

The Moon: Coyolxauhqui

Coyolxauhqui was the Moon goddess according the Aztec mythology. Her name means "Golden Bells." ...Read more

The Sun: Huitzilopochtli

Huitzilopochtli, whose name means "Blue Hummingbird on the Left," was the Aztec god of the ...Read more

The Sun: Tonatiuh

For the Aztecs, who lived in central Mexico, Tonatiuh was a Sun god. Aztecs believed that four ...Read more

Venus: Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli was an Aztec god whose symbols were the planet Venus and the feathered ...Read more

The Pleiades: Tianquiztli

The Pleiades were known to the Aztecs as Tianquiztli which means "marketplace." The Aztecs ...Read more

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that lunar eclipses are produced by the Earth casting its shadow on the Moon?

James Clerk Maxwell developed a system of equations that is fundamental to an area of physics – do you know what equations there are?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Rayleigh wave
xRayleigh wave : A Rayleigh wave is a seismic surface wave causing the ground to shake in an elliptical motion, with no transverse, or perpendicular, motion.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

More than One: Long-Reining Microbe Controlling Ocean Nitrogen Shares the Throne

Scientists have been taking a close look at special types of bacteria that live in the ocean. These microbes may be tiny, but they play a big part in the nitrogen cycle. The little round bacteria are able...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA