Home > Myths and Legends of the World > Tlaloc

To the Aztecs of central Mexico, Tlaloc was a god of rain and fertility. Associated with lightning, thunder, and vegetation, he appeared as a man with circles around his eyes and fangs like the teeth of a jaguar. Tlaloc shared the main temple in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán with the gods Quetzalcoatl and Huitzilopochtli. The Maya of Mesoamericacultural region consisting of southern Mexico and northern regions of Central America called Tlaloc Chac, and the Quiché of Guatemala knew him as Tohil.

Tlaloc had both helpful and harmful aspects. He carried four water jugs: one gave rain, but the others poured disease, frost, and drought onto the world. He and his wife, Chalchiuhtlicue, supervised the Tlaloque, spirits in charge of weather and mountains. The Tlaloque delivered rain to the earth and produced thunder by clashing their water jugs together.

Like other...