PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The story
The name Quetzalcoatl means "Feathered Serpent." It brings together the magnificent green-plumed quetzal bird, symbolizing the heavens and the wind, and the snake, symbolizing the earth and fertility. Quetzalcoatl's name can also be translated as "precious twin," and in some myths, he had a twin brother named Xolotl, who had a human body and the head of a dog.
History
The rise of Quetzalcoatl
In the beginning was the void. It was at some ancient time in the Aztec creation story that the dual god, Ometecuhtli, created itself. (Looking back, of course, the Aztecs believed that the many opposites that they saw in the world would have to somehow unite in the origin of the world.) This god was good and bad, chaos and order, male and female. Being male and female, it was able to have children. It had four, which came to represent the four directions of north, south, east and west. The gods were Huizilopochtli (south), Quetzalcoatl (east), Tezcatlipoca (west), and u Totec (north).
The gods were Huizilopochtli (south), Quetzalcoatl (east), Tezcatlipoca (west), and Xipe Totec (north).
History
The fall of Quetzalcoatl Aztec Quetzalcoatl sets himself on fire after over-drinking.Some gods who die are also seen as either returning or bringing about life in some other form, in many cases associated with a vegetation deity related to a staple.
