The Great Pyramid of Cholula Looks like a Mountain!
The Great Pyramid of Cholula is located ten minutes outside of Puebla in Mexico. It has the largest volume of the pre-Columbian pyramids and is the largest stone monument in the world. Today only part of the staircase on one side of this immense step pyramid has been excavated and restored; the rest is hidden under earth and vegetation giving it the appearance of a natural hill formation. On the top is a church, Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios (the Church of Our Lady of the Remedies).
Image of The Great Pyramid of Cholula from Wikimedia Commons.
Table of Contents
- The Great Pyramid of Cholula - A Teocalli
- Teocalli at Cholula - The Great Pyramid with a Temple atop at Cholula
- This Great Pyramid has a Church not a Temple!
- The Great Pyramid of Cholula Rediscovered and Restored
- Visiting the Great Pyramid of Cholula
- And the Volcano is Active!
- Feedback
- Check out these Great Lenses on other Pyramids
- More about the Great Pyramid of Cholula
The Great Pyramid of Cholula - A Teocalli
Popocatepetl E Izlazihuatl, 1892
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Cholula also has the most amazing location with the volcanos Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl close by.
Constructed by various groups in four stages over hundreds of years from the 3rd century B.C.E. through the 9th century C.E., this Great Pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican deity whose name means "feathered serpent." With Toltec control of the area Cholula and its pyramid attracted many visitors who came to pay homage to the great Quetzalcoatl.
When the Aztecs later took over they regarded the Great Pyramid as the work of Xelhua, one of the seven giants in Aztec mythology. He is said to have escaped the Great Flood by climbing the mountain of Tlaloc (one of the gods). After the deluge Xelhua went to Cholula and began construction of a great monument to Tlaloc - the pyramid of Cholula - which was later dedicated to Quetzalcoatl.
Teocalli at Cholula - The Great Pyramid with a Temple atop at Cholula
Image of Teocalli at Cholula first published in the Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia, from Wikimedia Commons.
This is a drawing of how the great pyramid must have looked in its heyday. There's even smoke coming out of the volcano in the background. The whole thing really does look big and impressive!
In fact, the Great Pyramid of Cholula is the world's largest monument and largest Pre-Columbian pyramid by volume. The base of this pyramid is larger even than the Great Egyptian Pyramids of Giza. The Great Pyramid of Giza is taller than the Cholula pyramid, however.
This Great Pyramid has a Church not a Temple!
Church Built on a Huge Pyramid at Cholula, with Volcano Behind
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The Great Pyramid of Cholula Rediscovered and Restored
It was not until the twentieth century that the pyramid was uncovered by chance. Archaeologists quickly became interested and began to survey and excavate the site. Now a section of the pyramid has been reconstructed. Although only part has been revealed and restored, it certainly shows how impressive the structure must have been when it was completed!Image of Great Pyramid of Cholula showing restored staircase
from Wikimedia Commons.
Visiting the Great Pyramid of Cholula
A great portion of the pyramid though is still underground. In order to explore these a huge labyrinth of tunnels has been excavated, producing five miles of passageways through the different levels of the pyramid. Visitors are warned, however, that although these tunnels are lighted the atmosphere is dark and there is a sense that in the depths of this "mountain" that constitutes the pyramid there may be many ancient spirits who might not want to be disturbed.
Perhaps visiting the church on top of it all is more uplifting!
Catholic Church at Cholula, Famous Twin Volcano in Background
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And the Volcano is Active!
There are many versions of their story, but generally Iztaccihuatl was a princess who fell in love with prince Popocatepetl who was from a different tribe. Her father did not want their marriage so he agreed to it on condition that their tribe fight in a war with his troops, intending that the prince die in battle. He lied to them both, claiming the prince died in battle to his daughter and that his daughter had died of grief to the prince. Fortunately they didn't believe the lies and ran off together and lived happily, albeit briefly, together. Somehow she died and he was griefstricken and wanted to die too. (In other versions she did die before he returned and so he took her body and built a funeral altar and placed her on top; then he also lay down to die.) So the gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccihuatl's mountain is called the "White Woman" because it is often white with snow and resembles a woman sleeping on her back. His mountain beside hers is the volcano Popocatepetl, raining fire in rage at the loss of his beloved.
Popocatepetl Volcano Rises Behind the Hilltop Church in Cholula
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The volcano is still active today. From the pyramid of Cholula you can often see a plume of smoke can be seen rising from the top of Popocatepetl. What I don't know is whether he's happier to see the Catholic Iglesia on top of the pyramid in place of the temple of Quetzalcoatl, or whether that substitution makes him even angrier!
Feedback
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Reply
- Ladydove62 Ladydove62 Aug 6, 2009 @ 7:45 pm
- Fascinating lens. I love the photographs of the church with the volcanoes in the background. Stunning! Interesting story of the prince and princess. 5*
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- nDee nDee Aug 4, 2009 @ 11:04 am
- Simply fascinating! Great lens . . .
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- BevsPaper BevsPaper Aug 1, 2009 @ 5:18 pm
- Wow this is just awesome!
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- RustyM62 RustyM62 Aug 1, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
- Yes I love the photos too, great selections
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- GrowWear GrowWear Aug 1, 2009 @ 11:35 am
- Five miles of passageways. Amazing!
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More about the Great Pyramid of Cholula
- Great Pyramid of Cholula
- Information about the Great Pyramid of Cholula on the Sacred Destinations website.
Lensmaster jptanabe has been a member since May 9 2009, has rated 972 lenses, favorited 56, and has created 100 lenses from scratch. Jennifer Tanabe donates their royalties to Save the Children. This member's top-ranked page is "Chocolate Christmas Ornaments". See all my lenses
by jptanabe
There are so many amazing monuments, like this pyramid, all over the world, created by cultures of long ago or, some say, by aliens! I find them fa... (more)
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