Tonatiuh

deity sky Aztec single tradition · 9

Tonatiuh is the sun god in Aztec mythology. He demanded obedience and sacrifice from the other gods before he would move. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli shot an arrow at the sun god, but missed, and Tonatiuh threw his own dart back at the morning star.

↻ synthesized from 9 sources

When

First attested
1500 BCE
Attested period
900 – 2020
Historical notes
Aztec Empire period.

Relationships

syncretized with
Piltzintecuhtli, Quetzalcoatl
manifests as
Nanahuatzin
manifested by
Nanahuatzin
consort of
Tlaltecuhtli

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“The creation of this god appeared in the Aztec myth of creation. Tonatiuh, the sun god, demanded obedience and sacrifice from the other gods before he will move.”

#13375 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“He was also the secondary Week God for the 10th week of the 20-week cycle of the calendar, joining the sun god Tonatiuh to symbolise the dichotomy of light and darkness.”

#13543 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“Tonatiuh, god of the Sun and ruler of the heavens”

#15423 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“the Aztecs referred to the Spanish explorer and conquistador Pedro de Alvarado as Tonatiuh. Alvarado was said to be violent and aggressive and had a red beard, reminding them of their sun-god warrior (often painted red) Tonatiuh.”

#17550 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“The present era, the Fifth Sun is ushered in when a lowly god, Nanahuatzin sacrifices himself in fire and becomes Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun. In his new position of power, he refuses to go into motion until the gods make sacrifice to him.”

#33340 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001