Athena Review Image Archive ™
The Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá
Temple of the Warriors, Chichén Itzá (photo: Athena Review).
The Early Postclassic Temple of the Warriors (Guerreros) at Chichén Itzá was built by the Toltec conquerors of Yucatán in ca. 950-1000 AD. Similar to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (Pyramid B) at Tula, original home of the Toltecs, the Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá was constructed in four tiers about 40 m. wide. The temple was approached through a colonnaded building with a beam and mortar roof, of which some 80 square columns remain, each covered with relief carvings of Toltec warriors.
On
the temple's side panels are relief carvings of ballplayers, and
typical Toltec motifs of jaguars and eagles eating human hearts, mixed
with Late Classic Maya motifs including Chac masks. On top of the
flattened pyramid structure is a reclining, life-sized Chacmool
sculpture which held offerings, and two bent, feathered rattlesnake
columns (seen near the top of the staircase) standing in front of the
main temple altar.
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