墨西哥城建立在特诺奇提特兰的废墟之上，它是美洲最古老的现存城市之一。这里的许多地区和自然景观保留了原有的纳瓦特尔语名字，其他许多墨西哥和中美洲的城镇还保留其纳瓦特尔语名称（不论他们原本是墨西卡还是纳瓦特尔语城镇），一些城市的名字夹杂着纳瓦特尔语和西班牙语的混合成分。
Mythology and religion：The story ofVeneration of Huitzilopochtli
The Mexica made reference to at least two manifestations of the supernatural： teotl and teixiptla. Teotl， which the Spaniards and European scholars routinely mistranslated as "god" or "demon"， referred rather to an impersonal force that permeated the world. Teixiptla， by contrast， denoted the physical representations （"idols"， statues and figurines） of the teotl as well as the human cultic activity surrounding this physical representation.
Veneration of Huitzilopochtli， the personification of the sun and of war， was central to the religious， social and political practices of the Mexicas. Huitzilopochtli attained this central position after the founding of Tenochtitlan and the formation of the Mexica city-state society in the 14th century.
According to myth， Huitzilopochtli directed the wanderers to found a city on the site where they would see an eagle devouring a snake perched on a fruitbearing nopal cactus. Legend has it that this is the site on which the Mexicas built their capital city of Tenochtitlan. This legendary vision is pictured on the Coat of arms of Mexico. It was said that Huitzilopochtli killed his nephew， Copil， and threw his heart on the lake. Huitzilopochtli honoured Copil by causing a cactus to grow over Copil’s heart.
According to their own history， when the Mexicas arrived in the Anahuac valley （Valley of Mexico） around Lake Texcoco， the groups living there considered them uncivilized. The Mexicas borrowed much of their culture from the ancient Toltec whom they seem to have at least partially confused with the more ancient civilization of Teotihuacan. To the Mexicas， the Toltecs were the originators of all culture. Mexica legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the mythical city of Tollan， which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan.
神话与宗教：太阳神维齐洛波奇特利的故事
墨西卡提及了至少两种超自然的显灵之神：泰奥特尔和泰克斯皮特尔。泰奥特尔指的是渗透到世界中去的非人为力量，西班牙和欧洲学者经常将其错译为“上帝”或“恶魔”。相比之下，泰克斯皮特尔表示的是泰奥特尔的实体展示，如“偶像”、雕像和雕塑，以及围绕这一实体的人类宗教活动。
太阳神维齐洛波奇特利是太阳和战争的化身，它是墨西卡人宗教、社会和政治活动的核心。它是在14世纪特诺奇提特兰建立并且墨西哥城邦社会形成之后达到这个核心位置的。
根据神话传说，维齐洛波奇特利指点流浪者们去寻找一个城市，那里有一只鹰站在仙人掌上啄食一条蛇。相传这就是墨西卡人建立他们的都城特诺奇提特兰的地方。这个传奇景象被画在墨西哥国徽之上。据说，维齐洛波奇特利杀死了他的侄子科皮尔并把他的心脏扔到湖里。维齐洛波奇特利为了科皮尔，将一棵仙人掌种植在他的心脏上。
根据墨西卡人自己的历史，当他们抵达特斯科科湖周围的阿纳瓦克谷（墨西哥谷）时，生活在那里的人群认为他们很野蛮。这群墨西卡人借鉴了古代托尔特克人的很多文化，他们似乎至少部分混淆了更古老的特奥蒂瓦坎文明。对墨西卡人来说，托尔特克人是所有文化的始祖。墨西哥传说中认为托尔特克人和羽蛇神祭仪都在模仿神话城市托央，他们还认为这些都是在模仿更古老的特奥蒂瓦坎古城。
Human sacrifice：The horrible sacrificscenes
While human sacrifice was practiced throughout Mesoamerica， the Aztecs， if their own accounts are to be believed， brought this practice to an unprecedented level. For example， for the reconsecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487， the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed 84，400 prisoners over the course of four days， reportedly by Ahuitzotl， the Great Speaker himself.
The sheer logistics associated with sacrificing 84，000 victims would be overwhelming， and historians and archaeologists agree that 2，000 is a more likely figure. A similar consensus has developed on reports of cannibalism among the Aztecs.
Accounts by the Tlaxcaltecas， the primary enemy of the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish Conquest， show that at least some of them considered it an honor to be sacrificed. In one legend， the warrior Tlahuicole was freed by the Aztecs but eventually returned of his own volition to die in ritual sacrifice. Tlaxcala also practiced the human sacrifice of captured Aztec Citizens.
活人献祭：惨不忍睹的祭祀场面
当活人献祭活动在整个中美洲盛行的时候，如果他们自己的说法可信的话，是阿兹特克人将这种活动提高到一个前所未有的“水平”。例如，据伟大的演说家亚威佐特所说，1487年，为了修复特诺奇蒂特兰的大金字塔，阿兹特克人在4天的时间里杀死了84400名囚犯。
要运送84000名受害者是一个巨大的工程，因此历史学家和考古学家同意只杀了2000人的说法。这在有关阿兹特克人同类相残的记载中，形成了一个类似的共识。
在西班牙殖民时期，阿兹特克人的主要敌人特拉斯卡拉特卡斯人表示，至少他们当中有一部分人会认为献祭是一件自豪的事。在某个传说中，被阿兹特克人释放的战士特拉灰科尔最后还是自愿牺牲在祭坛之上，特拉斯卡拉也曾对捕获的阿兹特克人进行活人献祭。
