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You are here: Home / Mythology / Who Was Tonatiuh In Aztec Mythology and Why Was the Lord of the Dawn Angered By Tonatiuh?

Who Was Tonatiuh In Aztec Mythology and Why Was the Lord of the Dawn Angered By Tonatiuh?

June 24, 2020 by Karen Hill

As the sun, Nanahuatzin became Tonatiuh.

Proud of his new power, Tonatiuh hung in the sky and refused to move unless the gods provided sacrifice with their own blood.

The Lord of the Dawn, angered by Tonatiuh’s demand, threw a dart at him. But the dart sailed wide, and the sun fired back, hitting the Lord of the Dawn in the head and making him cold.

For this reason, the dawn is always chilly.

The other gods realized that resistance was useless, and they cut out their own hearts as a sacrifice to Tonatiuh.

Later, the Aztecs would keep this tradition by tearing out the hearts of human sacrifices in order to please Tonatiuh and keep the sun moving across the sky.

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Filed Under: Mythology

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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