The Lightning Serpent of Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18441/ind.v42i1.31-55Keywords:
Iconography, Lightning Serpent, Feathered Serpent, elite, Teotihuacan, precolonial periodAbstract
In this article I sketch a portrait of a supernatural serpent that has received very little attention from the investigators of Teotihuacan: the Lightning Serpent. I present the different forms in which it appears and facets of its nature, establishing a link with the Rain God and the Feathered Serpent. I propose that the headdress on the Feathered Serpent’s back in the Feathered Serpent pyramid in Teotihuacan (which has been interpreted in several different ways), is one of its most remarkable representations. If my proposal is correct, the meaning of the pyramid’s iconography will have to be reconsidered. Finally, our examination of the images of the Lightning Serpent can enable us to recognise the members of the elite of Teotihuacan, who were associated with it.
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