Mexico City: Templo Mayor

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The Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. It was dedicated simultaneously to Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, as well as to Quetzalcoatl in his form as the wind god, Ehecatl. According to tradition, the Templo Mayor is located on the exact spot where the god Huitzilopochtli gave the Mexica people his sign that they had reached the promised land: an eagle on a nopal cactus with a snake in its mouth. The temple was sacked and destroyed by the Spanish in 1521, and the Mexico City cathedral was built in its place. The Templo Mayor was partially disassembled to be used as construction materials to create the Spanish colonial city. In 1978 electric company workers were digging and struck a massive pre-Hispanic stone disk, later determined to be Coyolxauhqui, Huitzilopochtli's sister, which was dated to the end of the 15th century. To complete the excavation, 13 buildings from the 19th century through the 1930s were demolished and more than 7,000 objects were found which are now housed in the Templo Mayor Museum.

If you’re visiting Mexico City and have any interest in the nation and its history then you definitely need to spend a few hours here and at least one full day in the Historical Center of the city. Visit this area before the National Museum of Anthropology and Teotihuacan. If you only have three days here, that’s pretty much it, but be sure to venture forth in the evening for the delicious cuisine and for some cultural excursions.

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Photos

Original color

Original color

Comments

[Amanda]

Wow!
These pictures and your writing are great. Really brings it to life for me! Is this a snake? It's really cool!