Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/429

Rh were situated two towers, the shrines of the divinities to whom it was consecrated. It was here that the sacrifices were performed and the eternal fire was maintained. One of these shrines was dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, the ether to Huitzlipochtli; which divinities sustained the same relation to each other in the Mexican mythology as Brahma and Siva in that of the Hindoos. Besides this great pyramid, according to Clavigero, there were 40 similar structures, of smaller size, consecrated to separate divinities; one was called Tezcacalli, which was covered with brilliant materials, and sacred to Tezcatlipoca, the god of light, the soul of the world, the vivifier, the spiritual sun; another to Tlaloc, the god of water, the fertilizer; another to Quetzalcoatl, said to have been the god of the air, whose shrine was distinguished by being circular, "even," says Gomera, "as the winds go round about the heavens; for that consideration made they his temple round." Besides these, there were the dwellings of the priests (amounting, according to Zarate, to 5,000) and of the attendants in the temples, seminaries for the instruction of youth, and, if we are to credit some accounts, houses of reception for strangers who came to visit the temple and see the grandeur of the court; also ponds and fountains, groves and gardens, in which flowers and "sweet-smelling herbs" were cultivated for use in certain sacred rites, and for the decoration of the altars. "And all this," says Solis, "without retracting so much from that vast square, but that 8,000 or 10,000 persons had sufficient room to dance in it, upon their solemn festivals." The area of this temple was consecrated ground; and it is related of Montezuma that he only ventured to introduce Cortes within its sacred limits after having consulted with the priests and received their permission, and then only on the condition, in the words of Solis, that the conquerors "should behave themselves with respect." The Spaniards having exhibited, in the estimation of Montezuma, a want of due reverence and ceremony, he hastily withdrew them from the temple, while he himself remained to ask the pardon of his gods for having permitted the impious intrusion. There is a general concurrence in the accounts of this great temple given by the early authorities, among whom are Cortes, Diaz, and others, who witnessed what they described. They all unite in presenting it as a type of the multitude of similar structures which existed in Anahuac. Their glowing descriptions, making due allowance for the circumstances under which they wrote, are clearly sustained by the imposing ruins of Papantla, Xoxachalco, Misantla, Quemada, and the thousand other monuments which are yet unrecorded by the antiquary. Solis speaks of eight temples in the city of Mexico of nearly equal grandeur with that above described, and estimates those of smaller size to amount to 2,000 in number, "dedicated to as many idols of different names, forms, and attributes." Torquemada estimates the number of temples in the Mexican empire at 40,000, and Clavigero places the number far higher. "The architecture," he adds, "of the great temples was for the most part the same with that of the great temple of Mexico; but there were many likewise of a different structure, composed of a single body in the form of a pyramid, with a staircase, &c." Gomera says, "They were almost all of the same form; so that what we shall say of the principal temple, will suffice to explain all the others." Cortes, in a letter to Charles V., states that he counted 400 of these pyramidal temples at Cholula. From all sources we gather that the principal temples, or rather sacred places, of Mexico consisted of large square areas, surrounded by walls, with passages midway at their sides, from which avenues or roads sometimes led off; and that within these enclosures were pyramidal structures of various sizes, dedicated to different divinities, as also the residences of the priests, with groves, walks, and fountains. It has already been said that the pyramids of Teotihuacan, which are found within eight leagues of the city of Mexico, on the plain of Otumba, are probably among the most ancient monuments of Mexico. There are two principal ones, dedicated, according to tradition, to the sun and moon respectively; each built of cut stone, square, with four stages and a level area at its summit. Humboldt says the larger is 150 feet and the smaller 145 feet high. Mr. Brantz Mayer, however, affirms that the larger is 171 feet high; Mr. Glennie, 221 feet. It is 680 feet square at the base, covering an area of 11 acres, or nearly equal to that of the great pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. The pyramid of Cholula also has four stages, and when measured by Humboldt was 160 feet high by 1,400 feet square at the base, covering an area of 45 acres.—The temples of Central America, of which so many ruins still exist, although possessing a general correspondence with those of Mexico, had nevertheless many features peculiar to themselves. The artificial terraces or pyramidal elevations seem to have been usually less in size, but crowned with more extensive buildings, upon which aboriginal art exhausted its utmost capabilities. These structures were marked by broad stairways, leading directly to their principal entrances. Upon some of these terraces a single building was erected, but upon the larger ones several (usually four) were arranged so as to form a court or area. They were massively built, the walls being in all cases of great thickness. The larger number were one story high; but there were many of two, and some of three or more stories. In these cases, each successive story was usually smaller than that below it, giving the structure the appearance of a pyramid of several stages. The fronts of these buildings, though sometimes stuccoed, were usually of stone, and covered with elaborately carved figures and ornaments, many of them