The Aztec civilization may have peaked more than 500 years ago, but all the Aztec gods and goddesses remain culturally significant even today. News Today's news ...

Gallery: Sun Gods and Goddesses. News. By Live Science Staff published 18 May 2012 ... The Aztec believed that human sacrifice was necessary to keep the sun moving through the sky.

The traditional accounts of Aztec sacrifice are almost too gory to be true. In them, Aztec priests cut beating hearts from the chests of sacrificial victims before throwing them down the steep steps ...

For thousands of years, cultures all over the world have had effigies -- statues, figurines, carvings or other images that represent people, animals or mythical characters.

The murals feature national icons like Aztec deities, the revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata and Frida Kahlo, with a dash of turquoise across her eyes. But there are nods to more local heroes, too.