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Message: <blockquote data-quote="D.Shaffer" data-source="post: 3302292" data-attributes="member: 8918">I think making them ghosts is a bit over doing things.  Aztec mythology has a lot in common with animism.  Some of the studied I've read actually believe that Aztec (And other Mesoamerican) belief systems were a mid point being traditional animism and a more 'modern' pagan belief system.  As such, the Aztec gods would be closer to spirits, much like Japanese kami.  They do have a overt fondness for blood, but remember that in aztec belief, they need it to continue to live.  Without blood, they'd die and the universe would end. How that would integrate with multiple pantheons, I'm not sure.  I'd say it was more fatalistic then cynical. Equating Mictlan to hell is overstating things. Mictlan isnt really 'hell' in the way we think of it.  There ARE brutal bits to it, but it's not meant as a means of punishment, per say.  Eventually you get reincarnated out of it.  It's more of a 'holding area', like the Greek afterlife. Heaven is, in many aspects, much like the norse idea of Valhalla, you need to do something worthwhile to get in. Considering both are warrior cultures, this might not be too surprising.  The fallen warrior (Or sacrifice victim, or women who died in childbirth), spends most of the day relaxing (As a hummingbird/butterfly, smelling flowers), and then spends the night escorting the sun in its travel.You also left out Tlallocan. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> That said, I think Aztec society is a good example of LE.  Everything is organized, they were geared for continual conquest, their religion encourages conquest, order is enforced through religious stricture and threat of sacrifice, strict caste system. It even shows how even a 'Evil' society could have good points.  Those with power were held to a higher standard, with tougher punishments. Ways to advanced out of your caste into a higher one through performance in battle.</blockquote>

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