Domain of Great Goddess of Teotihuacan Top 9 Facts

Facts : 1 Domain The Great Goddess is thought to have been a goddess of the underworld , darkness , the earth , water , war , and possibly even creation itselfFacts : 2 To the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica , the jaguar , the owl , and especially the spider were considered creatures of darkness , often found in caves and during the nightFacts : 3 The fact that the Great Goddess is frequently depicted with all of these creatures further supports the idea of her underworld connectionsFacts : 4 In many murals , the Great Goddess is shown with many of the scurrying arachnids in the background , on her clothing , or hanging from her armsFacts : 5 She is often seen with shields decorated with spider webs , further suggesting her relationship with warfareFacts : 6 For example , the mural from Tepantitla shows water dripping from her hands while in the tableau under her portrait mortals swim , play ball , and dance (see photo to right)Facts : 7 This seeming gentleness is in contrast to later similar Aztec deities such as Cihuacoatl , who frequently has a warlike aspectFacts : 8 This contrast , according to Esther Pasztory , an archaeologist who has long studied Teotihuacan , extends beyond the goddesses in question to the core of the Teotihuacan and Aztec cultures themselves: Although I cannot prove this precisely , I sense that the Aztec goal was military glory and staving off the collapse of the universe , whereas the Teotihuacan aim seems to have been the creation of paradise on earthFacts : 9 This is not to say , however , that the Great Goddess does not have her more violent aspect: one mural fragment , likely from Techinantitla , shows her as a large mouth with teeth , framed by clawed hands