Alright, so this idea popped into my head yesterday after watching some ruins documentary. Got me wondering, like, how many of those powerful gods from the Maya and Aztec stories looked kinda similar? Felt like diving in.
Started With A Question
First thing I did was grab a coffee and sit down with my laptop. I remember thinking, “Gotta be some overlaps, right? They were neighbors kinda.” So I opened up a blank document and just started typing out the big names I knew – stuff like Quetzalcoatl for Aztecs and Kukulkan for Maya.
The Deep Dive Mess
Next, I hit the books – well, mostly websites and my old anthropology notes. This part was messy. Real messy. Found out pretty quick that:
- Names changed a lot depending on who was writing and when.
- One site said this, another said something totally different.
- Getting clear pictures of how they actually looked wasn’t easy either – tons of old carvings and drawings.
I spent like two hours just trying to untangle who was who and who might match who. Turned into a wild goose chase for a bit there.
Spotting the Triplets
Finally, things started clicking. The biggest, most obvious lookalikes started standing out. It wasn’t about being exactly the same, but like, you could tell they were playing the same cosmic roles. Here’s what jumped out:
- Feathered Serpent: This was the slam dunk. Aztec Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, wind, knowledge? Looks crazy like the Maya’s Kukulkan. Practically twins in all the important art – wings, snake body, feathers. Couldn’t miss that one.
- Sun and War Lord: Aztec Huitzilopochtli? Big, fierce sun and war guy? Super tough to miss. Found the Maya had Kinich Ahau or sometimes even Tohil taking a similar spot as sun god, with images showing rays or heat beams around their heads. Definitely cut from the same fiery cloth.
- The Shape-Shifty Trickster: This one was trickier. Aztec Tezcatlipoca – obsidian mirror, night sky, smoke, big time schemer. Had to squint at the Maya options. But yeah, Hunahpu from the Popol Vuh, especially the clever tricks he pulls alongside his brother? That vibe of cunning, change, the unpredictable felt like the Maya flavor of that shifty, powerful figure. Images had different details (no smoking mirror!), but the role felt similar.
Wrapping It Up
After sorting through a mountain of info and making my own messy comparisons, it felt pretty clear these three pairs shared major visual DNA. Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan were basically interchangeable in how they were shown. Huitzilopochtli and the Maya sun gods rocked similar solar vibes. And Tezcatlipoca and Hunahpu, though visually distinct, played that same dangerous game-changer role. Not a perfect match every time, but you can definitely see how ideas bounced around and shaped how artists depicted the big cosmic powers. Glad I dug into it – way more connections than I expected!
