Source recordAncient text
Leyenda de los Soles (Legend of the Suns)
Anonymous Nahua author · 1558 · Nahuatl
Ancient text
Leyenda de los Soles (Legend of the Suns)
Anonymous Nahua author
A Nahuatl account of the successive world ages (Suns) and their destructions, Quetzalcoatl's recovery of human bones from Mictlan, and the discovery of maize, preserved in the Codex Chimalpopoca.
About this work
A Nahuatl account of the successive world ages (Suns) and their destructions, Quetzalcoatl's recovery of human bones from Mictlan, and the discovery of maize, preserved in the Codex Chimalpopoca.
Stories drawn from it
Retellings in the atlas that quote or cite this work.
The Legend of the Five SunscreationThe Aztec creation myth describing four previous worlds that were destroyed, and the creation of the current fifth world by the sacrifice of the gods.
Quetzalcoatl's Journey to MictlancreationAfter the destruction of the Fourth Sun, Quetzalcoatl descends to the underworld to retrieve the bones of previous humanity and create a new race of people for the Fifth Sun.
The Creation of HumanitycreationAfter the Fifth Sun is created, Quetzalcoatl descends to Mictlan, the underworld, to steal the bones of previous humans and create a new humanity, proving the gods' willingness to sacrifice for their creation.
About this record
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.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.