The feathered serpent is one of the most well-known images from Mesoamerica, a region that spanned parts of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, and other portions of Central America. This sculpture can be stylistically attributed to the Mexica (Aztec), whose cultural and political epicenter was Tenochtitlan or present-day Mexico City. By the middle of the 15th century CE, the imperial reach of the Mexica had spread throughout the northern part of Mesoamerica.
In Mesoamerican cultures, snakes symbolize the air, earth, and sky, as well as fertility and rebirth. The feathered serpent is typically interpreted as a representation of Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”), who is part of the larger Mesoamerican pantheon of deities. Quetzalcoatl, known as Kukulcan among the Maya, was broadly understood to be a fearsome yet regenerative deity related to warfare and the cosmos.
The feathered serpent is a stylized version of a rattlesnake whose scales are shaped somewhat like small feathers. If one can imagine the slightly flared nature of a rattlesnake’s scales as it begins to strike, it is easier for the modern viewer to visualize its mythological counterpart.
