The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is one of the three pyramids in Teotihuacan, Mexico along the Street of the Dead. It was completed in the early third century CE, probably to honor Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent and Tlaloc, the rain god. The temple is a six-leveled step pyramid built in the talud-tablero style. Each level is decorated with the protruding heads of Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc and a bas-relief of Quetzalcoatl in profile with shells around him. The structure follows the contour of the mountain Cerro Gordo, which can be seen from it in the distance. The Teotihuacanos believed that all life came from a cave in a mountain and so copied the mountains in their architecture. Chemists must also look to the natural world when they begin their work because for them everything draws upon the preset structure of the universe. They work with all of the elements in the air, ground, and water. Every part of this world is important to chemists. The symbol of Quetzalcoatl wonderfully presents that the Teotihuacanos also saw a harmony and necessity in the different components of their world. Quetzalcoatl is a snake with feathers and often portrayed in water, representing all three divisions of their world. Sacrifices were made at the temple to encourage the gods to send rain and favor the community. It was viewed as a necessity for the survival of the people of its time. Like the temple, chemistry is meant for the betterment of life. Through research and experimentation, chemists can come up with medicine which people can turn to when they are sick. Pleasing the gods was like the medicine of the time. It was a way for the Teotihuacanos to cope with the problems that they were faced with, like science is for people today.
Temple of the Feathered Serpent
Teotihuacan, Mexico
Mesoamerican
Teotihuacan, Mexico
Mesoamerican