Templo Mayor

About Templo Mayor

The great temple at the heart of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, Templo Mayor was uncovered beneath the streets of modern Mexico City in 1978. Its dual shrines dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc and the surrounding museum hold thousands of remarkable offerings and sculptures.

Highlights

• Seven superimposed construction phases revealed through excavation
• Coyolxauhqui Stone — 3.25-meter disc depicting dismembered moon goddess
• Dual shrines to Huitzilopochtli (war) and Tlaloc (rain) at summit
• Museo del Templo Mayor with over 7,000 artifacts
• Located in the heart of historic downtown Mexico City

Temples & Monuments

Dual Shrines

The pyramid's flat summit supported two temples side by side — one dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the sun, and one to Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture. This dual-shrine design reflects the Aztec understanding of the cosmos as balanced between two opposing forces: the warrior-solar principle and the agricultural-water principle. The two staircases ascending the pyramid's western face remain clearly visible in the excavated ruins.

Coyolxauhqui Stone

A massive circular basalt disc 3.25 metres in diameter depicting the dismembered body of Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess beheaded and disarticulated by her brother Huitzilopochtli. Discovered in 1978 during utility work beneath the streets of Mexico City, this find triggered the excavation of the entire site. The stone was placed at the base of Huitzilopochtli's stairway so that sacrificial victims would fall onto the image of the defeated goddess.

Seven Construction Phases

Excavation revealed seven successive construction phases, each encasing the previous pyramid as Aztec emperors enlarged it to mark significant events. The different phases are exposed in cross-section across the ruins, allowing visitors to see the superimposed stairways, floors, and offering caches that span nearly two centuries of imperial power — from the founding of Tenochtitlan to the Spanish conquest in 1521.