Quetzalcoatl

The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses , Devil and Demons

(‘feathered snake’) Originally, an ancient Mexican local god, possibly based on a historical priest-king; subsequently, the culture-hero of the Toltecs. The Aztecs furnished him with various offices: god of the wind, god of the zodiac (the feathered snake was a stellar symbol) and lord of knowledge.

Born into the world by parthenogenesis (→ Coatlicue) he is said to have been seduced by → Tezcatlipoca; whereupon he burned himself to death and was transformed into the morning star. He was also seen as a moon-god who burns himself in the sun’s fires in order to reappear in renewed youth. As divine priest, Quetzalcoatl is the counterpart of the divine warrior Tezcatlipoca. He is also the creator of the first humans, whom he kneaded together out of the meal of the rubbeddown ‘jewel-bone’, mixed with his own blood.