Tlaloc Daniel Hovanes, Karl Tim and Connor

1) Who was the deity?
Tlaloc (Nahuatl: “He who makes things sprout”), represents a rain god wearing a peculiar mask, with large round eyes and long fangs, date at least to the Teotihuacán culture of the highlands. Tlaloc’s cult was apparently considered extremely important and had spread throughout Mexico. In the divinatory calendars, Tlaloc was the eighth ruler of the days and the ninth lord of the nights. Tlaloc had been one of the main deities of the agricultural tribes of central Mexico for many centuries, until the warlike northern tribes invaded that part of the country, bringing with them the astral cults of the sun (Huitzilopochtli) and the starry night sky (Tezcatlipoca).

2) What characteristics did the deity possess?
The shrine of Tlaloc was painted blue and had pillars with Tlaloc's eyes and series of blue bands painted on them. Many offerings have been found associated with this shrine, containing animals related to water environment and artifacts, such as jade objects, related to water, sea, fertility, and the underworld.
Tlaloc was helped in his job by other supernatural beings called Tlaloques who were his assistants in supplying the earth with rain.
In Aztec mythology, Tlaloc was also the governor of the Third Sun, or world, which was dominated by water. After a heavy rain, the Third Sun ended, and animals such as dogs, butterflies and turkeys replaced people.

3) What relationship, if any did this deity have with other deities?
In Aztec myth, Tlaloc belonged to the second generation of gods. The first generation —which comprised Xipe Totec, god of agriculture; Tezcatlipoca, the malevolent creator god; Quetzalcoatl, the feathered-serpent deity; and Huitzilopochtli, protector of the Aztec people—was created by the supreme being Ometeotl. These gods, in turn, created fire, the first man and woman, and the gods of rain and water. Tlaloc, the chief of these water deities, was an immensely powerful divinity. He controlled rain, clouds, thunder, lightning, hurricanes, and mountain springs, as well as a host of lesser deities, known as the Tlaloques, who served as his attendants. Some accounts describe many Tlaloques, while others mention only four or five such beings. Each was responsible for a different type of rain

4) When and where was the deity worshipped?
Tlaloc, lord of celestial waters, lightning flashes and hail, patron of land workers, was one of the oldest and most important deities in the Aztec pantheon. Archaeological evidence indicates that he was worshipped in Mesoamerica before the Aztecs even settled in Mexico’s central highlands in the 13th century CE.

5) How did people worship the deity?
To appease this god, the Aztec people would offer up human sacrifices; in Tlaloc’s case it was usually children. The priest would however, would collect the tears of these young terrified victims as an additional offering. He would sometimes make them cry more through tortures like pulling out their nails. The