Search

The Online Encyclopedia and Dictionary

 
     
 

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Quotes

   
 

Tecciztecatl

In Aztec mythology, Tecciztecatl ("old moon god"; also Tecuciztecal, Tecuciztecatl) was a lunar deity, representing the old "man-on-the-moon". He could have been the sun god, but he feared the sun's fire, so Nanahuatzin became the sun god and Tecciztecatl (in the form of a rabbit) was promptly thrown into the moon. In some depictions he carried a large, white seashell on his back, representing the moon itself; in others he had butterfly wings. He was a son of Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue.

See also

Last updated: 05-23-2005 19:21:19