AZTECS: FOR BLOOD AND GOLD
Wednesday 16 July 2003 8.30pm-9pm
Critic William Feaver explores the complex civilisation of the Aztecs.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London mounted an exhibition, between November 2002 and April 2003, of more than 380 Aztec artefacts, many of which had never been seen outside Mexico.
To whet your appetite, did you know...?
The gods worshiped by the Aztecs were associated with the elements or had animal characteristics
During the night the sun was said to transform into a jaguar and during the day was associated with the eagle
Women who died in childbirth were accorded the same respect as people who died in battle
Rituals included human sacrifice. During a ceremony for Xipe Totec, the victim was flayed and the skin was worn by the priest or draped over a sculpture of the god
The Spanish Conquistadors had the advantage over the Aztecs that the latter could not fight during sowing, harvesting or at night
Gold was not particularly precious to the Aztecs: they called it the excrement of the gods. Feathers and turquoise were more highly prized
