[768] The Anonymous Conqueror, Relatione, etc., ubi supra, Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiv., Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 119, and Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 145, all say that there was no ledge on the west side, merely steps, but this is, doubtless, a careless expression, for 23 steps allotted to each terrace would scarcely have extended over a length of about 300 feet, the breadth of the pyramid. Nearly all agree upon the number of the steps, namely 114. Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 245, however, gives 160 steps; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., pp. 502-3, 60 steps; and Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., p. 333, 30 steps, 30 fathoms wide, but the latter author has evidently mixed up the accounts of two different temples. Tezozomoc, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 152, states that the temple had three stairways, with 360 steps in all, one for every day in the Mexican year. According to Klemm, Cultur-Geschichte, tom. v., p. 155, the steps are on the south corner, but there is no authority for this statement; in the cuts they appear on the north.
[769] 'De tierra y piedra, mezclada con cal muy macizada.' Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xvii. 'Por la parte de fuera iba su pared de piedra: lo de dentro henchíanlo de piedra todo, ó de barro y adobe; otros de tierra bien tapiada.' Motolinia, Hist. Indios, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., pp. 63-4. 'Hecha de manposteria.' Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 144. The pyramid of Teotihuacan, which, according to some authors, has been a model for others, is built of clay mixed with small stones, covered by a heavy wall of tetzontli, which is coated with lime. Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 187. 'Todas las piedras estauan assentadas de tal suerte, que la mezcla casi no parecia, sino todas las piedras vna.' Dávila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex., p. 75. The whitewash may, however, have given it this solid appearance. 'Todos aquellos Templos, y Salas; y todas sus paredes que los cercaban, estaban mui bien encaladas, blancas, y bruñidas.' Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 141. The mortar was mixed with precious stones and gold-dust. Tezozomoc, Crónica Mex., in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 60.
[770] Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 659, states that three sides of the platform were protected by a balustrade of sculptured stone, and this is not unlikely when we consider the slippery nature of the floor and the dizzy height. See Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 141; Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. xlix., cxxiv., and note [75] on polished floors. Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 664, states that the summit was paved with marble.
[771] 'In alto dieci, ò dodici stature d'huomo.' Relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese, in Ramusio, Navigationi, tom. iii., fol. 307. This is followed by Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. ii., p. 29, who says 56 feet, or about 9 perches. No other dimensions are mentioned by the old chroniclers; Brasseur de Bourbourg, however, gives them a base of 20 feet square, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 659-60, but this becomes absurd when we consider the height of the buildings, and the accommodation required for the gigantic idols they contained. This author hazards the opinion that the chapels were placed close to the edge, to enable the people to see the idols from below, but there is no mention of any doors on the east side, and it is stated that the chapels were placed at this end so that the people in praying might face the rising sun. Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 119; Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. li.
[772] 'Que se mandaban por la parte de adentro, por unas escaleras de madera movedizas.' Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 245. Acosta states that the towers were ascended by 120 steps. Hist. de las Ynd., p. 334. The towers were made of 'artesones.' Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 119. Brasseur de Bourbourg states that the outside of the walls was painted with various figures and monsters, but this seems to be a misinterpretation of Gomara, who places the paintings on the inside. Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 660. Bernal Diaz says, besides, that the towers were 'todas blanqueando.' Hist. Conq., fol. 70.
[773] The eaves or the domes of the temples were decorated with fine red and white pillars, set with jet black stones and holding two figures of stone with torches in their hands, which supported a battlement in form of spiral shells; the torches were adorned with yellow and green feathers and fringes. Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., p. 333; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 242.
[774] Most of the old authors say that Tlaloc occupied the second chapel, but as the next largest temple in the court is dedicated to this god, I am inclined to think, with Clavigero, that Tezcatlipoca shared the chief pyramid with Huitzilopochtli. Another reason for this belief is that Tezcatlipoca was held to be the half-brother of Huitzilopochtli, and their feasts were sometimes attended with similar ceremonies. Tezcatlipoca was also one of the highest if not the highest god, and, accordingly, entitled to the place of honor by the side of the favorite god of the Aztecs. Tlaloc, on the other hand, had nothing in common with Huitzilopochtli, and the only possible ground that can be found for his promotion to the chief pyramid is to be seen in the fable of the foundation of Mexico, in which Tlaloc, as the lord of the site, gives the Aztecs permission to settle there. We have, besides, the testimony of Bernal Diaz, who saw Tezcatlipoca, adorned with the tezcatl, or mirror ornament, seated in the left hand temple. Hist. Conq., fol. 71; Ortega, in Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. iii., p. 281. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 660, thinks it possible that the second temple was occupied by different idols, in turn, according to the festival.
[775] 'No eran mas altos que cinco palmos.' Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 119. Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. ii., p. 29.
[776] Clavigero thinks that the stone was of jasper. Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. ii., p. 46, with cut. It is difficult to define the position of this stone; some place it before the idol within the chapel, others at the western extremity of the platform. Referring to the idols in the chapel, Sahagun says: 'Delante de cada una de estas estaba una piedra redonda á manera de tajon que llaman texcatl, donde mataban los que sacrificaban á honra de aquel dios, y desde la piedra hasta abajo un regaxal de sangre de los que mataban en él'—he describes the stone as round. Hist. Gen., tom. i., lib. ii., p. 198. And this I am inclined to accept as correct, especially as several points indicate that the stones stood inside the chapel. Their floor, we are told, were steeped in blood that must have flown from the victims; further, we know that the reeking heart was held up before or thrown at the feet of the idol, immediately after being torn out. The act of sacrifice was in itself a ceremony which could only have been performed before the idol. Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., p. 334, and Solis, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. i., p. 397, place it in the middle of the platform. Prescott, Mex., vol. ii., p. 145, states that the stone (one only) stood near the head of the stairway, but this is most likely a hasty interpretation of Diaz' vague account. There may, however, have been a large stone at this place, which was used for the great and general sacrifices. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Conq., fol. 70; Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiv. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 660-1, manages very dexterously to place the two stones before the chapel, and at the same time near the head of the steps. Klemm, Cultur-Geschichte, tom. v., p. 98, mentions one stone with a hollow in the middle.
[777] Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxxii.; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 119.