Coatlicue
Mythic, worshipped by the Aztecs of Central America, 1248–1521
The Aztec serpent goddess of life and death, mother of the gods, stars, and the moon, Coatlicue was impregnated by a falling ball of feathers. In one legend, her children, enraged by her pregnancy, conspire to kill her; at the moment of her death, she gives birth to a fully grown and armed Huitzilopochtli, who then slays many of his brothers and sisters. In another version of the story, Huitzilopochtli is born in time to kill his brothers and sisters before they can murder Coatlicue.
