Mythology of the Mayas

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

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Maya astronomers had a remarkably accurate knowledge of the apparent motion of <a href="/venus/venus.html&edu=high">Venus</a>. They knew on what day Venus would appear again in the east after it had disappeared in the west. Venus, the morning star, was the patron planet of warfare.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Windows to the Universe</em></small></p>

Explore Mythology of the Mayas

The Earth: Bacabs

The Earth was conceived by the Maya as flat with four corners. Each corner represented a cardinal ...Read more

The Rain: Xib Chac

Xib Chac was the rain god according to the Mayan pantheon. The rain god was a benevolent deity, ...Read more

The Moon: Ix Chel

Ix Chel, the "Lady Rainbow," was the old Moon goddess in Maya mythology. Mayan people lived ...Read more

Venus: Kukulcan

Maya astronomers had a remarkably accurate knowledge of the apparent motion of Venus. They ...Read more

The Planet Mars

Mayans were sophisticated observers of the sky. Mayans used their astronomical knowledge to ...Read more

The Milky Way

Mayans seem to have thought of the Milky Way as the mystic road along which souls walk into ...Read more

Historical Events

8/10 Robert Goddard, an American physicist, died on this date in 1945 Details
8/15 8.0 magnitude earthquake hits Peru in 2007 Details
8/15 8.6 magnitude earthquake hits Assam - Tibet, 1950 Details

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Did you know?

Did you know that the lights of the aurora come in different colors, depending on the energy of the particles that produce the aurora?

Did you know that the Japanese god Susanowo was the god of the sea and storms, and that he had a terrible temper?

 

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Seismogenic
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Research Highlights

Deadly Tonga Earthquake Revealed as Three Big Quakes

A magnitude-8.1 earthquake and tsunami that killed 192 people last year in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga was in fact a triple-whammy. The 8.1 "great earthquake" concealed and triggered two...Read more


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