A story of the great pyramid of Tenochtitlan
There is much we don’t know about the people that inhabited Mesoamerica (i.e., the Central region of Mexico through to most of Central America) before the arrival of the Spanish. A great part of what we know comes from the writings and descriptions of soldiers and religious missionaries that witnessed the Conquest or that led the conversion of the indigenous people to the Catholic faith.
One of these missionaries was Diego Duran (1537–1587), who developed close relationships with the natives and even learned to speak their language, Nahuatl. He documented their culture and practices in the History of the Indies of New Spain, also known as the Duran Codex. The book contains the history of the creation of the Aztec empire, with a chronology of its emperors through to the arrival and conquest by the Spanish.
The legend of the foundation of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, is well known. The story goes that Huitzilopochtli, the hummingbird god of war and sun, told the Aztecs to leave Aztlan, their place of origin, and look for a sign where they should build their city. This sign would be an eagle devouring a snake, standing on a cactus.
From humble beginnings, the Aztecs built a city that rivalled in beauty and majesty any contemporary city in Europe. When the Spanish arrived, they were amazed at the splendour of Tenochtitlan and described their impressions of Tenochtitlan as follow:
When we saw all those cities and villages built on water; and the other great towns on dry land, and that straight and level causeway leading to Mexico, we were astounded. These great towns and shrines and buildings rising from the water, all made of stone, seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis. Indeed, some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream. It is not surprising therefore that I should write in this vein. It was all so wonderful that I do not know how to describe this first glimpse of things never heard or never seen, and never dreamed of before. (Bernal Diaz del Castillo in The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, 1568).
One of the most notable features of the city was its main temple (Templo Mayor), dedicated to both Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.
We don’t know who were the men that built this pyramid-temple, how exactly did the build it, and why. It is only through our imagination that we can reconstruct what happened. This is a story of how it might have happened: A story of the great pyramid at Tenochtitlan.
Open sources
[1] History of the Indies of New Spain (Duran Codex). National Library of Spain. http://bdh.bne.es/bnesearch/detalle/bdh0000169486
[2] Tenochtitlan and Tlalelolco Market. Mural by Diego Rivera. National Palace, Mexico City. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Murales_Rivera_-_Markt_in_Tlatelolco_3.jpg
[3] All other illustrations are by Paul Hernandez-Martinez.
[4] Music by Pond5 stock.
