The peoples of Mesoamerica saw themselves in a world ruled by natural forces animated by deities: as the elements often threatened them, with earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters, many of the deities they represented were often seen as grim, menacing and often angry.
But they also maintained the integrity of the universe, bringing the annual renewal of the maize harvest upon which Mesoamerican people depended.
The souls of the dead looked kindly on their living relatives. The head of the community, and later the king, had the power to invoke their help and to mediate between the people and the gods. Among the most important gods at Monte Alban were the fire-serpent, god of lightning, and the were-jaguar, god of the earth and especially earthquakes.
Teotihuacan's principal deities were Tlaloc, the god of rain, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, and Xipe Totec, responsible for the renewal of vegetation. The religious authority of Teotihuacan was probably enormous.
In Aztec times, long after the collapse of Teotihuacan's empire, the city itself remained an important place of pilgrimage. A reason for its sanctity may have been the cave that lies beneath the Temple of the Sun, thought to have been the place where humanity emerged into the world.
