The Maya universe
According to stories recorded by the K'iche Maya, the forefather gods Tepew and Q'ukumatz created the Earth from a watery void and added animals and plants. Eventually, humans were made, including twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who defeated the lords of the underworld. Later, the twins' father, the maize god, was resurrected.
The world consisted of Earth (the domain of the Maya people), sky (the realm of celestial deities), and the watery underworld (the realm of the underworld deities.)
24
189 reads
CURATED FROM
IDEAS CURATED BY
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about history with this collection
The importance of practice and repetition in learning
How to stay motivated and avoid burnout while learning
How to break down complex concepts into manageable parts
Related collections
Similar ideas to The Maya universe
The Sun and Moon in Maya Mythology
The Mayan sun god was Kinich Ahau, one of the creator gods more powerful than the Mayan pantheon. During the day, Kinich Ahau would shine in the sky, and at night, transform himself into a jaguar and pass through the underworld.
The moon was associated with a maiden, an old woman, and a rab...
The ancient Maya were devoted astronomers
The Maya believed they could use the stars, moon, and planets to know the will of the gods.
In the early 9th century CE, the Maya day keepers created astronomical tables that tracked the course of the celestial bodies. The tables are found on the walls of a unique structur...
The Mayan deities
- The Itzamnaaj was lord over the most fundamental opposing forces - life and death, day and night, sky and earth. Itzamnaaj could be depicted as a serpent or two-headed reptile.
- Other deities included the sun-god K'inich Ajaw, the rain and storm god Chaak, and the lightning god K'aw...
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates