Great Temple

Model of the streetscape of the Templo Mayor area; The Great Temple was at the center of Tenochtitlán, the former city on the site founded ca. 1325 by the Mexica people, one of several Aztec groups. A rectilinear urban plan was developed, with large open spaces for communal activities; at its centre was a huge ceremonial precinct containing the most important pyramidal temple, the Templo Mayor (Great Temple), dedicated at the time of the city’s founding jointly to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec patron god of war, and to Tlaloc, the god of rain. The Templo Mayor was the symbolic as well as the physical centre of the Aztec universe, and during the following two centuries of Aztec expansion, when Tenochtitlán became the imperial capital, the structure was enlarged and rebuilt many times. Facing north, the twin temples at its summit looked out on the setting sun. The temple on the left to the north was dedicated to Tlaloc and the southern one to Huitzilopochtil. Both temples were fronted by two enormous staircases bordered by four ramps with serpent motifs. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 6/22/2009