Skip to content
Mictlantecuhtli
EntityQ591056· pop 25· linked from 195 articles

Mictlantecuhtli

Sign in to save

Also known as Mictlantecutli

Mictlāntēcutli or Mictlantecuhtli (, meaning "Lord of Mictlan"), in Aztec mythology, is a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He is one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and is the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld. The worship of Mictlantecuhtli sometimes involved ritual cannibalism, with human flesh being consumed in and around the temple. Other names given to Mictlantecuhtli include Ixpuztec (“Broken Face”), Nextepehua (“Scatterer of Ashes”), and Tzontemoc (“He Who Lowers

Key facts

Deity.type
Aztec
Deity.name
Mictlāntēcutli
Deity.deity_of
Ruler of the UnderworldGod of the dead
Deity.image
Mictlantecuhtli.svg
Deity.caption
Mictlantecuhtli as depicted in the Codex Borgia
Deity.abode
Mictlān (the Underworld)
Deity.consort
Mictēcacihuātl
Deity.gender
Male
Deity.region
Mesoamerica
Deity.ethnic_group
Aztec (Nahua)
Deity.parents
Created by the Tezcatlipocas (Codex Zumarraga)
Deity.children
None
Deity.equivalent1_type
Maya
Deity.equivalent1
Ah Puch
Deity.equivalent2_type
Otomi
Deity.equivalent2
Hmüšithü

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Gender
male
Image
Mictlantecuhtli British Museum.jpg
Work location
underworld
Show 2 more facts
Commons category
Mictlantecuhtli
iconographic symbol
Furipterus horrens
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

7 sections
Contents
  • Attributes
  • Myths
  • In popular culture
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

Mictlāntēcutli or Mictlantecuhtli (, meaning "Lord of Mictlan"), in Aztec mythology, is a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He is one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and is the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld. The worship of Mictlantecuhtli sometimes involved ritual cannibalism, with human flesh being consumed in and around the temple. Other names given to Mictlantecuhtli include Ixpuztec (“Broken Face”), Nextepehua (“Scatterer of Ashes”), and Tzontemoc (“He Who Lowers His Head”).

Two life-size clay statues of Mictlantecuhtli were found marking the entrances to the House of Eagles to the north of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mictlantecuhtli” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (4)