Quetzalcóatl (deity)
Quetzalcóatl, known as the Feathered or Plumed Serpent, is one of the three principal deities in Aztec mythology, ranking just below the four creative gods. He is esteemed as the god of learning and the priesthood, and also served as the chief god of Cholula, where a temple dedicated to him still remains. In Aztec lore, Quetzalcóatl is believed to have once lived as a man during a golden age in the region of Anahuac, characterized by a tall stature, light complexion, long dark hair, and a notable beard. His narrative includes themes of exile, as he angered another principal god and departed from his followers at the Gulf of Mexico, vowing to return. This promise created a unique context for the arrival of Spanish conquistadors from the same waters, as they were unexpectedly seen as potential fulfillers of his prophecy. Quetzalcóatl's influence extends beyond Aztec religion, impacting contemporary literature, such as in Leslie Marmon Silko's "Almanac of the Dead," where his symbolism is woven into modern narratives. The rich tapestry of Quetzalcóatl's mythos reflects deep cultural significance and interconnections within Mesoamerican beliefs.
Subject Terms
Quetzalcóatl (deity)
Tribes affected: Aztec, Maya
Significance: Quetzalcóatl, one of the three great Aztec gods, was a benevolent deity who presided over learning and the priesthood
Quetzalcóatl, commonly referred to as the Feathered or Plumed Serpent, was one of the three Aztec “great gods.” These gods ranked in importance immediately under the four creative deities and above the various gods of fertility, nature, the planets, and constellations. The Aztecs had two other great gods: Huitzilopochtli, Hummingbird Wizard or Hummingbird of the South, war and sun god, the chief god of Tenochtitlán (present-day Mexico City), and Tezcatlipoca, Smoking Mirror, chief god of the pantheon, often described in solar terms, the chief god of Texcoco.
Quetzalcóatl, the third great god, was the god of learning and the priesthood and the chief god of Cholula (where the ruins of a temple dedicated to him may still be seen). Aztec myth held that Quetzalcóatl had once been a man, presiding over a golden age in the state of Anahuac. He is generally depicted in sculpture, fresco, and carvings as a man of tall stature with a light complexion, long, dark hair and a substantial beard. Quetzalcóatl somehow angered one of the principal gods and was exiled. He left his followers at the Gulf of Mexico, departing in a wizard skiff made of serpent skins, promising to return. Given Quetzalcóatl’s physical characteristics and his gallant promise to return as recorded in Aztec folk myth, the Spaniards cannot have understood their phenomenal luck in chancing to approach the Mexican coast from the same Gulf of Mexico waters whence Quetzalcóatl left.
In an interesting expression of crosstribal influence, Laguna Pueblo novelist Leslie Marmon Silko uses the Aztec Quetzalcóatl in Almanac of the Dead (1991) as one of the recurring symbols of the text (a stone serpent that appears overnight) and in the retelling of the Aztec cosmogony myth (similar to the Osiris limb-gathering creation myth).