PXL_20250413_152414328

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 07:49:22 +0100

The Templo Mayor was a sacred space, navel of the cosmos, the center radiating four causeways that organized the city layout, while symbolizing the directions of the universe.

The Great Temple embodied the dual vision of the cosmos and was a mirror of the empire, growing in size and splendor as Tenochtitlan augmented its power. Two temples dedicated to the rain god and the war god crowned its summit.

The Huey Teocalli, as the Great Temple was known, was enlarged seven times. To show the grandeur and wealth of the kingdom, a larger pyramid was built over the previous stage every so often. Archaeologists have linked each phase to the rule of a tlatoani, or supreme ruler.

The Great Temple was the most important of the seventy-eight buildings in the great plaza of Tenochtitlan. The foremost political and religious ceremonies were held there. It was a building on a huge platform, with two stairways leading to the shrines of the gods Tlaloc, lord of rain and fertility, and Huitzilopochtli, god of war.

Few vestiges remain from the seventh expansion, which Hernán Cortés saw, because it was destroyed in the colonial period. According to estimates, it measured 84 meters from north to south, 77 from east to west, and was about 45 meters tall.

The Great Temple was built of earth, lime, sand, and volcanic stone. Most of the materials came from places near the city, which saved time and energy. They were probably transported via canoes on the lake that could have carried material weighing up to 1200 kg.