El simbolismo del Templo Mayor de México y sus relaciones con Cacaxtla y Teotihuacan

Abstract

While the southern part of the great pyramid of Tenochtitlan symbolizes Coatépetl, it unlikely that the northern section, pertaining to Tláloc, represents Tonacatépetl, because according to the myth, this hill was hollowed out. It is sometimes called the axis pyramid or center of the world, but it was not located in the middle of the sacred area and was double. However, everything would seem to indicate a union of opposites: the islet of Mexico in the lake, with solar Tenochtitlan to the south and lunar Tlatelolco to the north. Each city had a double pyramid dedicated to the sun and to the Earth-water. This bipolarity is also reflected in the city’s government, with the Tlatoani representing the Sun and the Cihuacóatl the Earth; it is also exemplified by the two central trees supporting the heavens. The opposition between northern and southern sections of the building is further marked by plumed serpent heads to the south and Tláloc-serpents on the northern facade. The same bipolarity-union of opposites is exhibited by the murals at Building A, the Battle of Cacaxtla –where an ideology similar to that of the Aztec period establishes a fascinating link between the Classic and Postclassic– and at the Temple of Quetzalcóatl in Teotihuacan.