Tezcatlipoca
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
In Nahuatl mythology, Tezcatlipoca ("smoking mirror") was the god of the night, the north and temptation. He owned a mirror that gave off smoke, killing his enemies. He was the antithesis and rival of Quetzalcoatl. He was a god of beauty and war.
Attributes of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl originally came from older traditions than the Aztecs: the Olmecs and the Toltecs. The Aztecs assimilated them in their religion, and the two deities were equated and considered twin gods. They were both equal and opposed. Thus Tezcatlipoca was called "Black Tezcatlipoca", and Quetzalcoatl "White Tezcatlipoca".
In one of the Aztec accounts of the creation of the world, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca joined forces to create the world. There was only the sea, and the monster of earth Cipactli. To attract her, Tezcatlipoca used his foot as bait, and Cipactli ate it. The two gods then captured her, and distorted her to make the land from her body. After that, they created the people.
Tezcatlipoca kidnapped Xochiquetzal, the goddess of flowers, because he felt that he deserved her more than her husband, Tlaloc. He was also said to be married to Xilonen.
As Mixcoatl, Tezcatlipoca invented fire by rotating the heavens on its axis as a drill. Omacatl and Titlacahuan, Tezcatlanextia, were also aspects of Tezcatlipoca.
References in modern culture
Tezcatlipoca plays a major part in the story of the PC adventure game Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror.
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