The myth of Quetzalcoatl
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The myth of Quetzalcoatl
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999
- Other Title
-
El mito de Quetzalcóatl
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  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
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Note
Translation of: El mito de Quetzalcóatl. 2nd ed. c1995
Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-280) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Warrior, rain-god, and spirit of the maize, the most familiar of all the Meso-American gods, Quetzalcoatl is better known for his attributes than for his history. How he became the shared hero of warring peoples - the Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayans, the Zapotecs and others - and how he became known to later peoples are complex stories. His very name links the earth ("coatl", or serpent) with the sky ("quetzalli", or precious green feathers). In this comprehensive study, Enrique Florescano traces the spread of the worship of the Plumed Serpent and the multiplicity of interpretations that surrounds him. Florescano compares the Palenque inscriptions (circa 690 AD), the Vienna Codex (pre-Hispanic Conquest), the "Historia de los Mexicanos" (1531), the "Popul Vuh" (circa 1554-1558) and numerous other texts to trace the changes and expansion of the myth. He also consults (and reproduces) archaeological evidence from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, demonstrating how the myth of Quetzalcoatl extends throughout Meso-America.
Chapter topics include the diverse manifestations of divinity in Quetzalcoatl; the god as civilizing hero; interpretations of creation stories and other myths; and a comparative study of other gods and goddesses, including Dumuzi, Tammuz, Osiris, Adonis and Persephone.
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