Back المعبد الرئيسى ARZ Temple Major Catalan Templo Mayor German Templo Mayor Spanish Tenplu Nagusia (Tenochtitlan) Basque معبد مایور Persian Templo Mayor French טמפלו מאיור HE Velika piramida u Tenochtitlánu Croatian Templo Mayor ID

Templo Mayor

Templo Mayor
Aerial image of the Templo Mayor
Alternative nameHuey Teocalli
LocationMexico City, Mexico
Coordinates19°25′59.88″N 99°7′58.008″W / 19.4333000°N 99.13278000°W / 19.4333000; -99.13278000
History
PeriodsLate Postclassic
CulturesAztec
Site notes
Official nameHistoric Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco
CriteriaCultural: ii, iii, iv, v
Reference412
Inscription1987 (11th Session)
Area3,010.86 ha
View of the Templo Mayor and the surrounding buildings.

The Templo Mayor (English: Main Temple) was the main temple of the Mexican people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called Huēyi Teōcalli [we:ˈi teoːˈkali][1] in the Nahuatl language. It was dedicated simultaneously to Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, each of which had a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate staircases. The central spire was devoted to Quetzalcoatl in his form as the wind god, Ehecatl.[2] The temple devoted to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, measuring approximately 100 by 80 m (328 by 262 ft) at its base, dominated the Sacred Precinct.[3] Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325, and it was rebuilt six times. The temple was almost totally destroyed by the Spanish in 1521, and the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral was built in its place.[4]

The Zócalo, or main plaza of Mexico City today, was developed to the southwest of Templo Mayor, which is located in the block between Seminario and Justo Sierra streets.[5] The site is part of the Historic Center of Mexico City, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. It received 801,942 visitors in 2017.[6]

  1. ^ El Templo Mayor (Distrito Federal) Archived 25 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). México Desconocido. Retrieved 2010-04-25
  2. ^ "Study the... WIND GOD".
  3. ^ "EL RECINTO CEREMONIAL Y EL TEMPLO MAYOR Evolución de la Gran Tenochtitlan" (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  4. ^ Carrizosa Montfort, Fernando. "Templo Mayor de Tenochtitlan" (PDF). Arqueologia Mexicana Guia de Viajeros (in Spanish). 65. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  5. ^ Jose Rogelio Alvarez, ed. (2003). "Templo Mayor". Enciclopedia de Mexico (in Spanish). Vol. XIII. Mexico City: Sabeca International Investment Corp. ISBN 978-1-56409-063-8.
  6. ^ "Estadística de Visitantes" (in Spanish). INAH. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

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