Home›Maya Deities›Historicity›Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBrowse ByNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingThis page groups deities by whether their existence in belief is considered fully mythological, debated, or grounded in a historical cult that can be traced. Wikipedia defines historicity as "the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction." Browsing this way helps a visitor separate gods with a documented historical cult from ones known only through later literary retelling.FactsLearn MoreNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of the Maya, reconstructed from hieroglyphic inscriptions, painted pottery and monumental art of the Classic period, from the four surviving Postclassic codices, and from colonial-period books written in Maya languages. Maya deities are unstable by design - they split, pair, age and change aspect with the calendar - and the reconstruction is uneven across regions and centuries. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedKiche and the highland Maya, source of the Popol Vuh and of the continuously kept 260-day calendar 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe Classic-period lowland cities, whose gods are known from their own inscriptions and art 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedYucatec Maya, source of the surviving codices and of the colonial Books of Chilam Balam 2AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedDeity images appear in Late Preclassic murals around the first century BCE and deity names in Classic inscriptions. The Postclassic codices and the colonial Kiche Popol Vuh carry the fullest narrative, and the last independent Maya kingdom fell in 1697. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe Maya are a living people of several million. Highland communities have kept the 260-day count and its day-lords continuously, and older powers persist within a Christianised framework. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe pre-conquest state cults of these gods did not survive the conquest as continuous public worship. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1Learn MoreThe gods of the Maya This group gathers the deities of the Maya civilisation of Mesoamerica, reconstructed from surviving hieroglyphic texts, the painted codices, monumental art, and the colonial-era Popol Vuh of the Kiche Maya. Maya gods are often shifting and multiple, associated with directions, colours, calendar cycles and the maize on which life depended. The browser will find the Hero Twins of the Popol Vuh, the maize god, the rain-god Chaac, the creator Itzamna, and death-gods of the underworld Xibalba. The atlas notes that much Maya religion was lost in the conquest and that reconstruction depends heavily on the few surviving books and on continuing Maya tradition.Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingFilter Results18 entriesMember OfAllThe Hero Twins (2)Child OfAllHun Hunahpu (2)Ixmucane (1)Ixpiyacoc (1)Attested InAllPopol Vuh (4)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (18)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Creator (2)The Hero (2)The Innocent (1)The Magician (1)The Orphan (1)The Ruler (3)Veneration StatusAllHistorically attested; no continuous cult (17)Venerated in a modern revival tradition (1)Era Attested Start YearAll-300 (9)200 (3)900 (1)1550 (4)Worshipped InAllMaya Religion (18)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (3)Childbirth (1)Commerce and wealth (1)Cosmic order and truth (1)Creation and cosmogony (6)Death (4)Healing and medicine (1)Kingship and sovereignty (3)Moon (1)Night and darkness (1)Prophecy and divination (2)Rain and weather (1)Sky (1)Storm and thunder (2)Sun (2)The underworld (1)Travel, roads and boundaries (1)Vegetation and forests (1)War and battle (1)Wind (2)Wisdom and counsel (1)Writing, scribes and learning (1)GenderAllBeyond gender (1)Collective / plural, not a single figure (1)Female (2)Male (14)PantheonAllMaya (18)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 18Ah PuchNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBacabNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBuluc ChabtanNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingCamazotzNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingChaacNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingEk ChuajNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingHun HunahpuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingHunab KuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingHunahpuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingHuracanNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingItzamnaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingIx ChelNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingIxmucaneNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingIxpiyacocNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingKinich AhauNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingKukulkanNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingXbalanqueNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingYum KaaxNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingConnectionsBelongs to TraditionMaya Religion, Religions Well-attested The deities of the Maya tradition.Source The Maya (9th edition)Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houstontier 1Sources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Maya (9th edition)tier 1Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houston, Thames and Hudson, 2015chs. 1-2View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.