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Ancient History

Life In The Ancient Mayan Empire Was Unbelievably Strange

a digital painting portrays an ancient mayan scene

The Mayans Worshipped Over 250 Gods 

The Mayans worshipped many gods. Credit: Yucatan Times

Keeping track of all the Mayan gods can be a dizzying affair. This is partially due to the fact that the names of many of the gods often change by region, as well as particular details of the myths. However, the core identity of the gods and mythological ideas stay the same despite having different names. For example, whether it was thirteen gods involved, or two, there seems to be an agreement that the gods created humanity from corn.

And apparently it was not a straightforward process. Practically every aspect of Mayan life was covered by at least one deity. For some gods, no information about them can be discerned, and some are conflated either with each other or with later Christian ideas. We would have a better picture of the richness of Mayan theology today if the Europeans had not burned the Mayan books.

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