7 dark and disturbing aspects of Aztec religion you need to know

Perhaps the most well-known aspect of Aztec religion is their practice of human sacrifice.

They believed that the gods needed human blood to sustain them, so they would capture people from neighboring tribes and offer them as sacrifices.

These sacrifices were often elaborate and gruesome, involving the removal of the victim's heart while they were still alive.

In addition to human sacrifice, the Aztecs also practiced cannibalism.

They believed that by consuming the flesh of their enemies, they could gain their strength and power.

Some accounts suggest that they would even eat the hearts of their sacrificial victims.

One of the most chilling sights in Aztec cities was the skull rack, or tzompantli.

These were massive structures made from the skulls of sacrificial victims, arranged in rows and columns.

Some estimates suggest that one skull rack in Tenochtitlan contained as many as 60,000 skulls.

Bloodletting was another common practice in Aztec religion.

Priests and nobles would pierce their tongues, ears, and other body parts with sharp objects to draw blood as an offering to the gods.

Some even went so far as to offer their own children's blood as a sacrifice.

For the Aztecs, war was not just a means of gaining territory or resources – it was also a religious duty.

They believed that their gods required them to engage in constant warfare in order to capture sacrificial victims.

As a result, they were highly skilled warriors who dominated their neighbors through force.

The Aztec pantheon was filled with gods and goddesses of death and destruction.

The most fearsome of these was Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and the sun, who was said to require a constant supply of human blood to keep him strong.

Other deities, such as Xipe Totec and Tlaloc, were associated with human sacrifice and cannibalism.

While the Aztecs are often associated with the sacrifice of adult prisoners of war, they also practiced child sacrifice.

Children were believed to be especially pure and innocent, making them the ideal offerings to the gods.

Some accounts suggest that they were sacrificed in large numbers during the dedication of new temples or during times of crisis.

While the Aztecs were undoubtedly a sophisticated and advanced civilization, their religious practices were deeply disturbing by modern standards.

Human sacrifice, cannibalism, and child sacrifice were all commonplace, and the constant state of war and violence that characterized their society was driven by religious beliefs.

While it is important to understand and appreciate the achievements of ancient civilizations, we must also acknowledge the darker aspects of their history in order to fully comprehend the complexities of the human experience.