The Second Ruined City - Labna, Tikal, Kabah? |
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Episode 27-28 - It has been generally accepted
that the Second Ruined City was mostly based on Labna because of its
arch. Although I agree that the city is partially based on Labna, I
think that portions of the city is also based on the ruins of Kabah
and Tikal.
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Kabah is home to the stunning façade of
the Codz-Pop (meaning "rolled-up mat"). Try to visualize the
effect of a whole wall of Chac masks, around 250 in total, with big
round eyes and protruding, curled noses. The intricacy of the carving
is amazing and much of the detail is intact, though many of the noses
are incomplete. Even the steps into the building are part of a Chac
face; the footstep is a curved nose. Its a tremendous sight, and
the suggestion that each nose may have held a torch to light up the
whole structure conjures up a remarkable picture in the mind. Note also
the elaborate roof comb, once 10 ft (3 m) high, perforated with rectangular
openings.
On the same side of the road are the Great Temple and Temple of the Columns, palace-like structures with plainer façades, where restoration work is ongoing. The grounds are lawned and fairly flat, so its easy to wander around. Dont miss the Arch of Kabah on the other side of the road, marking the end of a ceremonial sacbe about 2½ miles (4½ km) long leading from Uxmal. In the other direction the sacbe is believed to have extended to Labná. |
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Labna, which means "Old or abandoned house", was
thus named at the time of its discovery and exploration. Along with
Uxmal, Sayil and Kabah, it forms the jewels of Northern Maya architecture
and sculpture. This site has attracted worldwide attention for its
well-formed and finely ornamented arch, which must have been the entrance
to an area dedicated to great celebrations. http://www.thenettraveler.com/labna_in.html |
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Temple of the Second City - Tikal |
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Tikal (tkäl´), ruined city of the Classic
Period of the Maya, N central Petén, Guatemala. The largest and
possibly the oldest of the Maya cities, Tikal consists of nine groups
of courts and plazas built on hilly land above surrounding swamps (which
may have been lakes in former times) and interconnected by bridges and
causeways. The main civic and religious center of the city covers about
500 acres (200 hectares). Temples and palaces rise above the plazas.
The design of the buildings is for the most part monumental and static
and utilizes harmonious combinations of solid masses. The tallest structure,
a temple, is 229 ft (70 m) high. With a backdrop of lush tropical vegetation
the abandoned city is an impressive sight. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2001 Columbia University Press. |
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Statue of the Winged Serpent |
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Episode 23-25, 27-28 - According to MCoG, the Winged Serpent built the Cities of Gold and many of the cities the heroes Quetzalcoatl, Toltec and Aztec god and legendary ruler of Mexico,
usually referred to as the Plumed, or Feathered, Serpent, the translation
of his Nahuatl name. In the 10th century AD the Toltecs transformed
what had been a god of soil fertility, worshiped in Teotihuacán
before the 9th century, into a deity associated with the morning and
evening star, Venus. The Aztecs later made him a symbol of death and
resurrection and a patron of priests. The opposing deity in the dualistic
Toltec religion was Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night sky. He was believed
to have driven Quetzalcoatl from his capital, Tula, into exile, from
which, according to prophecy, Quetzalcoatl, described as light-skinned
and bearded, would return in a certain year. Thus, when the Spanish
conqueror Hernán Cortés appeared in 1519, the Aztec king,
Montezuma II, was easily convinced that Cortés was the returning
god. Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Quetzalcoatl The Feathered Serpent. The Precious Twin who lifts the sun out of darkness, god of the winds and the breath of life, First Lord of the Toltecs. Lawgiver, civilizer, creator of the calendar. Demons tempted Quetzalcoatl constantly to commit murder and human sacrifice, but his love was too great for him to succumb. To atone for great sins, Quetzcoatl threw himself on a funeral pyre, where his ashes rose to the heavens as a flock of birds carrying his heart to the star Venus. A frieze in the palace at Teotihuacan shows his first entry into the world in the shape of a chrysalis, from which he struggles to emerge as a butterfly, the symbol of perfection. Quetzalcoatl is by far the most compassionate of the Aztec gods -- he only demands one human sacrifice a year. Often considered synonymous with HUITZILOPOTCHLI. Kukulcan (Maya) "The Feathered Serpent.) Serpent god. The city of Quirigua was dedicated to his service. Roughly similar to Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs. He is said to have built the great city of Chicen Itza. Viracocha (Inca) Literally, Sea-Foam. The Creator. The teacher of the world. After the Great Flood, which covered even the highest mountains and destroyed all life, Virococha molded new people out of clay at Tia Huanaco. On each figure of clay he painted the many features, clothes and hairstyles of the many nations, and gave to them their languages, their songs and the seeds they were to plant. Bringing them to life, Viracocha ordered them to travel underground and emerge at different places on the earth. Then Viracocha made the sun and the moon and the stars, and assigned them to their places in the sky. Raising up smaller Viracocha, the God ordered them to go about the world and call forth the people, and see to it that they multiplied and followed the commandments they had been given. Some of the little viracocha went south, some went southeast, while the God's two sons traveled northeast and northwest. Viracocha himself traveled straight north. Some tribes had rebelled, and these Viracocha punished by turning the people into stone. At Pucara, forty leagues north of Cuzco, Viracocha called down fire from the sky upon those who had disobeyed his commandments. Arriving at last at Cuzco and the seacoast, Viracocha gathered together his two sons and all the little viracocah, and they walked across the water until they disappeared. http://nikki.sitenation.com/namerican/southgods.html |
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Doors of Night - Olmec Jaguar Statue |
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Episode 27 - In one of the temples of the second city, our heroes find a stone jaguar that guards the doors of night. I can't remember where I found this picture so if anyone knows, please tell me. |
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Statue of the Second City - ? |
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