Mesoamerican Pantheon
Tlaloc
Also known as He Who Makes Things Sprout, Tlaloque
- rain
- fertility
- lightning
- earthquakes
The Aztec god of rain, fertility, and water. Tlaloc's distinctive goggled eyes and fanged mouth make him one of the most recognizable deities in Mesoamerican art. He shared the summit of the Templo Mayor with Huitzilopochtli.
About Tlaloc
The Rain Bringer
Tlaloc is one of the most ancient and important deities in Mesoamerican religion. His name derives from the Nahuatl word tlalli (earth) and may mean "He Who Makes Things Sprout." He controlled the rain essential for maize agriculture.
Unmistakable Appearance
Tlaloc is recognizable by his large goggle eyes, prominent upper lip with jaguar fangs, and often a headdress of heron feathers. He is typically painted blue or blue-green.
The Tlaloque
Tlaloc was served by lesser deities called the Tlaloque, small rain spirits dwelling on mountaintops who held water jars. When they broke their jars, rain fell.
Tlalocan: The Earthly Paradise
Tlaloc ruled Tlalocan, a verdant paradise where those who died by drowning or lightning went after death.
The Templo Mayor
Tlaloc's shrine occupied the northern half of the Templo Mayor's summit, painted in blue and white. Huitzilopochtli occupied the southern half.
Origin story
Tlaloc was one of the primordial deities who existed before the current creation. He presided over the Third Sun before its destruction by a rain of fire.
Across traditions
Parallel figures
Figures who play a role like Tlaloc's in other traditions.
MesoamericanChaacIllustrationChaac is the Maya equivalent of Tlaloc, both being rain gods with long noses/fangs
Compare Tlaloc and Chaac side by side
NorseThorIllustrationBoth are thunder gods associated with storms and agricultural fertility
Compare Tlaloc and Thor side by side
Worship and cult
Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Tlaloc
Rain, mountains, and the dangerous gift of water. Blue, fangs, and Tlalocan as a drowned paradise. The Mexica state cult included child sacrifice for rain. Record it; do not soften it into a weather mascot.
Sacred sites
- Northern half of the Templo Mayor
- Mount Tlaloc and other mountain shrines
- Maya Chaac is a cousin, not this temple
Festivals
- Atlcahualo and other rain veintenas
- Child offerings in the Mexica rain cult
Family
ChalchiuhtlicueTlalocQuestions about Tlaloc's family
- Who were Tlaloc's spouses and consorts?
- Spouses and consorts of Tlaloc recorded in the atlas: Chalchiuhtlicue.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Florentine Codex
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
Family relationships come from the atlas's kinship records. Ancient sources often disagree on divine genealogy.
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Genealogy
Family tree
Tlaloc's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.