Las diosas del agua y la vegetación

Abstract

In the pantheon of ancient Mexico natural phenomena were considered sacred. They were deified and represented plastically in human form. Most forms of agricultural fertility were seen as female. Their characteristics and even their chronological stages were personified. Conception, growth, and ripening were represented as goddesses of diffrent ages. An iconographic analysis of the pictorial codices reveals that vegetation and aquatic goddesses share many traits, indicating a basic nature common to both. The great earth is sterile without the water that makes seeds sprout within her. This mutual dependency is revealed in myth, symbol, and visual image in ancient mexican religion.