Principal Beliefs
The Aztec people worshipped over 1,000 gods. They believed that the sun fought darkness every night and rose to save mankind. They believed the earth was flat. They also believed in 13 heavens and 9 hells.
In the Ancient Aztec religion, it was believed that the gods controlled all life from the birth of a baby until the death of an older person. Therefore, the Aztecs had to please the gods. The Aztecs would conquer other lands and use some of the captives as human sacrifices to please the gods. They felt that keeping the gods happy would result in good crops, good weather and sunny days. The Aztecs never took the gods for granted. They continually tried to please them. One of the ways in which the Aztec people tried to please their God’s was through human sacrifice, they believed that if they fed the sun blood, it would rise again the next day.
The Aztecs strongly believed in the afterlife. It was the way the Aztecs died rather than the way they lived that determined whether they would go to the sun god or go to the dark and dismal underworld. If a person died a normal death, his or her soul would have to pass through the nine lives of the underworld before reaching Mictlan, the realm of the dead. A warrior who died in battle or a woman that died in childbirth would go straight to the sun god in the sky.
In the Ancient Aztec religion, it was believed that the gods controlled all life from the birth of a baby until the death of an older person. Therefore, the Aztecs had to please the gods. The Aztecs would conquer other lands and use some of the captives as human sacrifices to please the gods. They felt that keeping the gods happy would result in good crops, good weather and sunny days. The Aztecs never took the gods for granted. They continually tried to please them. One of the ways in which the Aztec people tried to please their God’s was through human sacrifice, they believed that if they fed the sun blood, it would rise again the next day.
The Aztecs strongly believed in the afterlife. It was the way the Aztecs died rather than the way they lived that determined whether they would go to the sun god or go to the dark and dismal underworld. If a person died a normal death, his or her soul would have to pass through the nine lives of the underworld before reaching Mictlan, the realm of the dead. A warrior who died in battle or a woman that died in childbirth would go straight to the sun god in the sky.