Introduction 

The Mayan Pantheon is vast and varies slightly amongst the culture. The Mayans lived along a wide expanse of space and so their language varied too." It is believed that there were some thirty different languages and sub languages of the Mayans" ( Taube 51). However despite this barrier the majority of the mythology stayed the same throughout.  "Especially with the Mayan creation story  ,or myth as you will call it , known as Popol Vuh" ( Taube 53). This myth along with the most crucial gods and goddesses stayed constant through the Mayan lands. The Mayan mythology is full of creativity and strict beliefs and is all the more interesting because of it. Please feel free to enjoy that creativity through the information on my blog here. 

Order of power  

1.) Itzmana 

2.) Chac 

3.)Ah Puch 

4.) Kinich Ahau 

5.) Venus

6.) Ix Chel

7.) Hun Hunahpu

Popol Vuh

As talked about earlier the majority of Mayan culture believes in one creational story known as Popol Vuh. Popol Vuh was called by many names "council book" , " Our place in the shadows", and " the dawn of life" by those who used and consulted with the book ( Tedlock 21). This story or myth as you will call it is the basis upon which many of the gods and goddesses they worshipped took form. Sadly the two main gods who were said to have created all living beings and things on earth have minimal mythology written about them. The Popol Vuh names these creators as " Heart of the sky" and " Heart of the sea" ( Tedlock 30). The creational story is in a poem like form but there are translated versions that tell of a long and imaginative story. 

here is a link to a part of the Popol Vuh  <http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguarsun/popolvuh.html>

Creator & Death Deities 

* Itzamna ( The God of All)
* Ah puch ( Death God) 

                                           Itzamna 

"Itzamna is known as the most powerful Mayan god of all. In many images Itzamna is seen as a lizard but there are a few of him as an elderly man with an elaborate head dress and hooked nose. The reason behind the lizard depictions could be that Itzmana translated means Lizard house. The elderly man depictions could be to show that the god was wise" ( Gods and goddesses). The great amount of images of Itzamna throughout Mayan history show how great his importance was to the Mayan people.

"Itzmana was known as the most powerful god due top the fact that he could take any form he wanted. The god could even take form of others gods and goddesses and in turn take over their duties. In light of this it has been said that many Mayan's rejected all other gods and worshipped only Itzmana. The wide spread belief in only Itzamna almost created a monotheism on the Mayan culture" ( Gods and Goddesses).  

                                            Ah Puch 

Ah puch is the Mayan death god, he is disease, destruction and war ( Myths Encyclopedia). Ah puch lives in Xibalba the Mayan's underworld. "When Ah puch took shape in life he often appeared as a decaying corps with an owls head mask" (Saunders). Ah puch ruled a small portion of the underworld since there were many  lords and underworlders known as Xibalbans. Two main lords of Xibalba were called one death and seven death.

Natural & Agricultural Deities

* Hun Hunahpu
* Chac
* Kinich Ahau ( see Celestial Deities) 

                                       Hun Hunahpu 

Hun Hunahpu is the maize god the , he was also known as the god of growth.  He was a huge part in the creation of the world as the Mayan's knew it. Hun Hunahpu plays a role in the Popol Vuh creation story. He and his twin brother Vacub Hunahpu rid the earth of deamons, making it a safe place for humans (Taube 56). Another reason this god was particularly important  tot he Mayan culture was because maize was one of the most essential crops. Making him a god you definitely wanted to be cool with. 

                                           Chac 

Chac is the Mayan god of rain , thunder and lightening and his role in the mayans lives was essential. Chac was feared though unlike the sun god he could bring down disastrous rainfalls and lightening that was  a swift killer. "Chac is one of the oldest recorded deities within the Mayan pantheon. In the depictions of him he is blue with his hair tied up and barbels at the corners of his mouth, his nose is long and curved and he holds an axe on his belt" ( Laughton 76). Chac was important to the Mayan farmers because he brought the rain that watered their crop. 

Closer look at Chac 

Today the most commonly known and quite popular version of chac is known as Thor. Thor is claimed to be a warrior god of thunder and lightening by the marvel comic books and movies. Unlike Thor Chac had the ability to bring rain storms to the Mayan people. While our comic book god Thor can control thunder and lightening somehow I think the rain power Chac had at the time was of more importance to the Mayan culture and would be to us too if Thor was real. 

In the Mayan Pantheon Chac worked in close relation to the sun god and maize god to create the crops and plants the Mayans needed to survive. The Sun god Kinich Ahua provided the plants  and crops with sunlight , that caused growth when paired with the maize god Hun Hunahpu's powers of growth. The vital rain waters from Chac also aided in the growth process of the plants and crops. Without all three gods working in unison the Mayans would have been in peril. 

The Aztecs would be in the same kind of peril without their rain god Tlaloc. The Aztec rain god just like Chac is said to live among the mountains and to aid in agricultural needs. However unlike Chac The Aztec god Tlaloc takes hand in fertility as well. Both gods were often correlated with the color blue especially when depicted. Tlaloc and Chac were highly worshipped and had temples built in their honor in the different cultures. The Aztec and Mayan Cultures were not the only ones to worship rain gods. There are multiple rain gods rooted in many different pantheons that are probably quite similar. 

Celestial Deities

* Kinich Ahau
* Venus
* Ix Chel

                                        Kinich Ahau 

Kinich Ahau is the Mayan sun god his name in translation means "sun faced lord ( Laughton 66). This god was represented in depictions as a tough looking man with a rather large single front tooth and barbels hun from the corners of his mouth. "The mayans believed that when the sun god started the day out at dawn he was young and vibrant but as the day grew long and dusk came he became old" ( Laughton 66). Kinich Ahau was important in the lives of the mayans because his light was a vital part of their life.  

                                             Venus 

"Venus to the Mayan's is not a female goddess of love but rather a baleful male god"( Laughton 60). When ever the Mayan's saw venus in the sky the would take it as a bad omen. Once upon seeing venus they would begin to prepare themselves for what ever was to come next. "Many Mayan's even thought that the rays from venus were harmful and would keep their windows and doors shut" ( Laughton 60). 

                                             Ix Chel 

"Ix Chel was the moon goddess to the Mayans, she represented fertility and procreation. The translation of Ix Chel means Rainbow lady" ( Maestri). It has been said that Ix Chel was wife to the sun god but it's never been proven. She is most often portrayed in two different forms. "One as a young beautiful bare breasted lady who wears a serpent headdress and the other as an old women with jaguar claws for hands with a serpent headdress" ( Laughton 69). "The belief amongst researchers for the two different depictions is for two moon cycles, a full moon and a crescent moon "( Maestri).