According to legend, the Aztecs arrived from a place in the north called "the place of the seven caves," and settled in a valley around Lake Texcoco, in the centre of modern Mexico City. The Aztec were guided by the "Hummingbird from the South," and when they arrived at the lake, they saw an eagle which was perched on a cactus devouring a snake, on an island in the lake.
This vision fulfilled a prophecy and the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on a great artificial island, which today is in the heart of Mexico City.
The Aztecs believed in four great ages, known as the "Five Suns," that preceded the present world each of which ended in a catastrophe.
Our age, the fifth age, escaped destruction due to the sacrifice of a god "full of sores," who was transformed into the Sun.
Important in Aztec religion were the sun, moon and the planet Venus, all of which held different meanings and were connected to different deities and places.
The Aztec pantheon is comprised of many gods related to different themes. For the Aztecs especially important deities were Quetzalcoatl god of civilization and order, and Tezcatlipoca a god of destiny and fortune. Each of these gods were both worshipped in an Aztec religious practice in which living persons would impersonate specific deities and be revered as a god, and often ritually sacrificed.
