Tlaloc the Aztec God of Rain and Fertility

Tlaloc the Aztec God of Rain and Fertility Tlaloc (Tl-lock) was the Aztec rain god and one of the most ancient and widespread deities of all Mesoamerica. Tlaloc was thought to live on the top of the mountains, especially the ones always covered by clouds; and from there he sent down revivifying rains to the people below. Rain gods are found in most Mesoamerican cultures, and the origins of Tlaloc can be traced back to Teotihuacan and the Olmec. The rain god was called Chaac by the ancient Maya, and Cocijo by the Zapotec of Oaxaca. Tlalocs Characteristics The rain god was among the most important of the Aztec deities, governing the spheres of water, fertility, and agriculture. Tlaloc oversaw crop growth, especially maize, and the regular cycle of the seasons. He ruled over the 13-day sequence in the 260-day ritual calendar beginning with the day Ce Quiauitl (One Rain). Tlalocs female consort was Chalchiuhtlicue (Jade Her Skirt) who presided over freshwater lakes and streams. Archaeologists and historians suggest that the emphasis on this well-known god was a way for the Aztec rulers to legitimize their rule over the region. For this reason, they built a shrine to Tlaloc on the top of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, just next to the one dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec patron deity. A Shrine in Tenochtitlan Tlalocs shrine at the Templo Mayor represented agriculture and water; while Huitzilopochtlis shrine represented warfare, military conquest, and tribute... These are the two most important shrines within their capital city. The shrine of Tlaloc featured pillars inscribed with symbols of Tlalocs eyes and painted with a series of blue bands. The priest who was tasked with tending to the shrine was the Quetzalcoatl Tlaloc tlamacazqui, one of the most highly ranked priests in the Aztec religion. Many offerings have been found associated with this shrine, containing sacrifices of water animals and artifacts such as jade objects, which were related to water, sea, fertility, and the underworld. A Place in the Aztec Heaven Tlaloc was assisted by a group of supernatural beings called Tlaloques who supplied the earth with rain. In Aztec mythology, Tlaloc was also the governor of the Third Sun, or world, which was dominated by water. After a great flood, the Third Sun ended, and people were replaced by animals such as dogs, butterflies, and turkeys. In the Aztec religion, Tlaloc governed the fourth heaven or sky, called Tlalocan, the Place of Tlaloc. This place is described in Aztec sources as a paradise of lush vegetation and perennial spring, ruled by the god and the Tlaloques. The Tlalocan was also the afterlife destination for those who had died violently of water-related causes as well as for new-born children and women who died in childbirth. Ceremonies and Rituals The most important ceremonies dedicated to Tlaloc were called Tozoztontli and they took place at the end of the dry season, in March and April. Their purpose was to assure abundant rain during the growing season. One of the most common rites carried out during such ceremonies were sacrifices of children, whose crying was considered beneficial for obtaining rain. The tears of new-born children, being strictly connected with the Tlalocan, were pure and precious. One offering found at the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan included the remains of approximately 45 children sacrificed in honor of Tlaloc. These children ranged in age between two and seven years of age and were mostly but not entirely males. This was an unusual ritual deposit, and Mexican archaeologist Leonardo LÃ ³pez Lujn has suggested that the sacrifice was specifically to appease Tlaloc during the great drought that occurred during the mid-15th century C.E. Mountain Shrines Apart from the ceremonies carried out at the Aztec Templo Mayor, offerings to Tlaloc have been found in several caves and on mountain peaks. The most sacred shrine of Tlaloc was located on the top of Mount Tlaloc, an extinct volcano located east of Mexico City. Archaeologists investigating on the top of the mountain have identified the architectural remains of an Aztec temple which seem to have been aligned with the Tlaloc shrine at the Templo Mayor. This shrine is enclosed in a precinct where pilgrimages and offerings were carried out once a year by each Aztec king and his priests. Tlaloc Images The image of Tlaloc is one of the most often represented and easily recognizable in Aztec mythology, and similar to rain gods in other Mesoamerican cultures. He has large goggled eyes whose contours are made of two serpents which meet at the center of his face to form his nose. He also has large fangs hanging from his mouth and a protuberant upper lip. He is often surrounded by raindrops and by his assistants, the Tlaloques. He often holds a long scepter in his hand with a sharp tip which represents lightning and thunder. His representations are frequently found in the Aztec books known as codices, as well as in murals, sculptures, and copal incense burners. Sources Berdan FF. 2014. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. New York: Cambridge University Press.Millar M and Taube KA. 1993. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London: Thames and HudsonSmith ME. 2013. The Aztecs. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Van Tuerenhout DR. 2005. The Aztecs. New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Inc.

How 3 Former PayPal Employees Created YouTube

How 3 Former PayPal Employees Created YouTube What in the world did we do before YouTube was created? Or, rather,  know how to do? Everything from how to put on false eyelashes to the proper way to skin a deer to the chord progressions for your favorite rock songs is now just a click away, thanks to this video-sharing invention by a trio of former PayPal employees. It was February 2005 when Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karin, working out of a garage in Menlo Park, California, debuted their invention. In November 2006, the investors became millionaires when they sold YouTube for $1.65 billion to the search engine Google.   A Virtual Encyclopedia According to Jawed Karim, the inspiration for YouTube came from the halftime faux pas committed by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, when Janet’s breast was  accidentally  exposed to millions of viewers on live television. Karim could not find the video clip anywhere online, so the idea to found a destination to watch and share videos on the World Wide Web was born. Today, YouTube users can create, upload, and share video clips on the site, www.YouTube.com, and also embed them for further sharing on any number of non-YouTube pages, including  Facebook  and  Twitter. Not only that, users can access millions of other videos, both amateur and professional, including music videos, how-tos, product reviews, and political rants- even entire movies and television programs. YouTube even has a satellite television station. And its all mostly free, although there is a subscription component that allows you to customize your use. While almost anything goes on YouTube, there are a few things that dont. Content that is sexually explicit, hateful, violent, or that is threatening or bullying will be removed. Likewise, YouTube does not permit spam, scams, or misleading metadata, and they have strict rules against copyright infringement as well. Users are fully able to flag anything they see as inappropriate, and it will be brought to YouTubes attention immediately. About the Founders Co-founder Steve Chen was born in 1978 in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States when he was 15. He was educated at the University of Illinois and after graduation found employment at PayPal, where he met his fellow YouTube co-inventors and co-founders Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. In August 2013, he and Chad Hurley also launched MixBit, a smartphone video editing company. Currently, Chen is with GV (formerly Google Ventures), a venture capital firm that focuses on technology companies. Born in 1977, Chad Hurley received a bachelors degree in fine art from the University of Pennsylvania and was later employed by eBay’s PayPal division (Hurley designed PayPals trademark logo). In addition to founding MixBit with Steve Chen in 2013, Hurley is also an investor in several major sports teams. Jawed Karim (born in 1979) also worked at Paypal, where he met his future YouTube founders. Karim also pursued an advanced degree at Stanford University and is considered the most elusive member of the threesome. He was the first person ever to post a video on YouTube, a 19-second video of his visit to the elephant exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. As of this writing, the video has had over 72 million views.