Stela with mythological scene

Maya gods and the myths associated with them were based on earlier traditions. On this relief panel, created in the centuries before the Classic period, are elements of a remarkably enduring myth about the origins of the world. At left, an upended crocodile becomes a lush tree. To the right, a figure holds up a vertical element on which a monstrous bird is perched. Perhaps a mythical hero or god, he has lost an arm, likely in confrontation with the bird. This conflict reappears many centuries later in the early colonial book known as the Popol Wuj. Despite this initial loss, the gods who became the sun and moon ultimately defeated the monstrous avian being, who had pretended to shine like the sun but shed only a dim light.

Estela con escena mitológica
Estela 25, Izapa, Chiapas, México
300 a. C a 250 d. C.
Piedra

Los dioses mayas y los mitos asociados a ellos se originaron en tradiciones tempranas. Este panel, labrado en los siglos anteriores al periodo Clásico, contiene elementos de un antiguo mito acerca de los orígenes del mundo. A la izquierda, un cocodrilo parado cabeza abajo se transforma en un frondoso árbol. A la derecha, un hombre sostiene un elemento vertical sobre el que posa un ave monstruosa. Tal vez se trata de un héroe o dios que ha perdido un brazo en un enfrentamiento con este pájaro. Este conflicto reaparece cientos de años después en el Popol Wuj, relato escrito a principios de la época colonial. A pesar de los tropiezos iniciales, las deidades que se convirtieron en el sol y la luna derrotaron a este terrible pajarraco que pretendía en vano brillar como el sol, pues su luz era opaca.