Various cultures around the world have unique creation myths and traditional methods of presenting them through art. The cosmology of the Aztec civilization was quite different from the Europeans that conquered them. Firstly, the Europeans’ Christian God “created mankind in his own image” and granted him dominion over a perfectly constructed world, the Garden of Eden (Holy Bible, New International Version, Genesis 1:27). In the Bible, he is described as a benevolent, if strict, father figure who can forgive humankind their sins and grant them eternal redemption. Consequently, God is depicted in art as a wise, older man with a beard and white hair. Christian art primarily praises the power of His forgiveness and the bountiful nature that He created.
In contrast, Aztec creation stories are based on dismembered gods, and thus the origin of the world is catastrophic violence, which explains why Aztec art depicts divinity as gruesome and awe-inspiring (National University, 2022). Their art functions as a warning and an order to obey. They demand blood in exchange for food, and each sculpture of the gods in Aztec culture contains a receptacle for human hearts (National University, 2022). Unlike Christianity, the central figure is a female goddess, but similarly to Eve, she is primarily a passive player whom the other gods punish. Furthermore, Coatlique’s choice to give birth a second time against her children’s wishes could also be interpreted as the Aztec version of Eve’s sin of disobedience.
Both Aztec and Christian gods are described as perfect and self-contained. However, in the Aztec mythos, gods are above the concepts of good and evil, while in the Christian order evil is considered the dominion of Satan and the opposite of God. Therefore, Aztecs have to appease a bloodthirsty, violent goddess to receive food and survive. On the other hand, Christians have to reject sin and submit their spirit to God to gain eternal salvation. Ultimately, the Christian creation story is based on forgiveness and love compared to the Aztecs’ survival through violence, and this difference is reflected in their opposing art styles.