The Aztec myth of the unlikeliest sun god - Kay Almere Read
2,191,993 Views
7,850 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
Nanahuatl, weakest of the Aztec gods, sickly and covered in pimples, had been chosen to form a new world. There had already been four worlds, each set in motion by its own “Lord Sun,” and each had been destroyed. For a new world to be created, another god had to leap into the great bonfire and become the fifth sun. Will Nanahuatl complete the sacrifice? Kay A. Read recounts the myth of the sun.
The story tells us that four worlds existed before the fifth and “each was set in motion by its own Lord Sun, and each, in turn, destroyed.” It goes on to say that Lord Feathered Serpent collected the “bones of earlier people” from the underworld, “nourishing them with his own blood to create new life.” Do these passages suggest that: something in this universe is eternal, never changing; on the contrary, things always live and die, change and transform; or do they suggest something else about change?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Kay Almere Read
- Director Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
- Narrator Christina Greer
- Translation Collaborator Jane Rosenthal
- Animator Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
- Composer Cem Misirlioglu
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
- Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Associate Editorial Producer Elizabeth Cox
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Fact-Checker Joseph Isaac
