The coat of arms of Mexico is a national symbol of Mexico and depicts a Mexican (golden) eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. The design is rooted in the legend that the Aztec people would know where to build their city once they saw an eagle eating a snake on top of a lake. The image has been an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture for centuries. To the people of Tenochtitlan, this symbol had strong religious connotations, and to the Europeans, it came to symbolize the triumph of good over evil.
Depiction of founding myth from the post-Conquest Mendoza Codex.
Teocalli of the Sacred War sculpted in 1325
Tenochtitlan, also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican altepetl in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the city. The city was built on an island in what was then Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. The city was the capital of the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century until it was captured by the Tlaxcaltec and the Spanish in 1521.
Tenochtitlan and Lake Texcoco in 1519
Ruins of the Templo Mayor, main temple of the Mexica people
The western side of the shallow Lake Texcoco. Tenochtitlan is the southern part of the main island (below the red line). The northern part is Tlatelolco.
The Tlatelolco Marketplace as depicted at The Field Museum, Chicago
