Mictlantecuhtli

Mictlantecuhtli is the Aztec deity of death and the ruler of Mictlan, the lowest and northernmost level of the Aztec underworld. He received the souls of those who died of natural causes, as opposed to warriors or sacrificial victims who went to different afterlives. He is one of the most feared and respected gods in the Aztec pantheon.

In codices and art, he is typically represented as a skeletal figure or a man with a skull for a head. He is frequently adorned with bone motifs and owl feathers, symbolizing his domain over the dead. His visual representation is a direct personification of death and decay.

He rules Mictlan alongside his wife, Mictecacihuatl, who is known as the "Lady of the Dead." Together, they govern the underworld and oversee the bones of the dead. Their dual rule reflects the Aztec belief in the duality of the cosmos.

In Aztec mythology, the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl traveled to Mictlan to steal the bones of previous generations to create humanity. Mictlantecuhtli tricked Quetzalcoatl, leading to the bones breaking. This myth explains why humans come in all different sizes today.