Quetzalcóatl

Quetzalcóatl

Quetzalcóatl, limestone figure of the Huastec culture, Mexico, AD 900–1250; in The …

(credit: Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum, New York, Henry L. Batterman and Frank S. Benson Funds)

Feathered Serpent, a major deity of ancient Mexico. Quetzalcóatl began as a god of vegetation in the Teotihuacán civilization. For the Toltecs he was the god of the morning and evening star. The Aztecs revered him as the patron of priests, the inventor of the calendar and of books, and the protector of goldsmiths and other craftsmen. He was also identified with the planet Venus and was a symbol of death and resurrection. One myth held that he was a white priest-king who sailed away on a raft made of snakes. The belief that he would someday return from the east led Montezuma II to regard Hernan Cortes as the fulfillment of the prophecy.