Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accord ...

, Copil was the son of the goddess Malinalxochitl and

Malinalco Malinalco () is the municipality inside of Ixtapan Region, is a town and municipality located 65 kilometers south of the city of Toluca in the south of the western portion of the State of Mexico. Malinalco is southwest of Mexico City. Malinalc ...

king, Chimalcuauhtli. When grown he sought revenge for his mother's abandonment by her brother,

Huītzilōpōchtli In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli ( nci-IPA, Huītzilōpōchtli, wiːt͡siloːˈpoːt͡ʃt͡ɬi, ) is the deity of war, sun, human sacrifice, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the tribal god of the Mexicas, also known a ...

. When the Mexica were encamped at

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...

, he confronted his uncle. Hostility brewed, and Copil was killed on the hill by Mexicas under orders of Huītzilōpōchtli, while Copil was awaiting to watch the battle between the Mexicas and tribes he incited to fight them. He was slain by priest Cuauhtlequetzqui, who later married Copil's daughter, Xicomoyahual. He was decapitated and his head was placed atop the hill and then an

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...

Lake Texcoco Lake Texcoco ( es, Lago de Texcoco) was a natural lake within the "Anahuac" or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known as where the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan, which was located on an island within the lake. After the Spanish con ...

. His heart was extracted and thrown into the swamp where it grew into

nopal Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads. There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it i ...

. It was here the Mexicas were given the signal to build

Tenochitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * Aztec mythology and religion {{Mesoamerica-myth-stub