Coatlicue

Coatlicue, ‘she of the serpent skirt,’ was the Mexica goddess of the earth and fertility, and the mother of Huitzilopochtli, the war god who guided the Mexica to found Tenochtitlan. She embodies the earth as both womb and grave.

Her colossal statue, unearthed in Mexico City’s main plaza in 1790, is a highlight of the National Museum of Anthropology. Don’t confuse her with her daughter Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess.