The Rise and Fall of the Feathered Serpent

In the ancient city of Tollan, the god Quetzalcoatl ruled as a benevolent priest-king. He was a god of peace who refused human sacrifice and taught the people how to cultivate maize, work with precious stones, and chart the movements of the stars. Under his rule, Tollan prospered as never before. The crops were abundant, the people were happy, and the arts of civilization flourished.

But his rival Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror, grew jealous of Quetzalcoatl's influence. Through cunning and deception, Tezcatlipoca showed Quetzalcoatl his own reflection in a smoking mirror and made him feel shame for his mortal form. He then tricked Quetzalcoatl into drinking pulque, a fermented drink, causing him to become drunk and neglect his sacred duties. In his intoxicated state, he slept with his sister Quetzalpetlatl.

Upon waking, Quetzalcoatl was consumed with guilt and shame. He decided he could no longer rule Tollan. He gathered his followers and set out eastward toward the sea. Along the way, he left marks of his passage: he shot an arrow into a great tree, he left his footprint in stone, and he built a ball court. When he reached the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, he built a great raft of intertwined snakes and sailed east, either toward the mythical land of Tlapallan or, in some versions, he cast himself into a great funeral pyre and his heart rose into the sky to become the morning star, Venus.

Prophecy said he would return one day, and when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, some believed Quetzalcoatl had come back.