re in truth many
Quetzalcoatls, for his high priest always bore his name, but he himself
is a pure creation of the fancy, and all his alleged history is nothing
but a myth.

His emblematic name, the Bird-Serpent, and his rebus and cross at
Palenque, I have already explained. Others of his titles were, Ehecatl,
the air; Yolcuat, the rattlesnake; Tohil, the rumbler; Huemac, the
strong hand; Nani he hecatle, lord of the four winds. The same dualism
reappears in him that has been noted in his analogues elsewhere; He is
both lord of the eastern light and the winds.

As the former, he was born of a virgin in the land of Tula or Tlapallan,
in the distant Orient, and was high priest of that happy realm. The
morning star was his symbol, and the temple of Cholula was dedicated to
him expressly as the author of light.[181-1] As by days we measure time,
he was the alleged inventor of the calendar. Like all the dawn heroes,
he too was represented as of white complexion, clothed in long white
robes, and, as most of the Aztec gods, with a full and flowing
beard.[181-2] When his earthly-work was done he too returned to the
east, assigning as a reason that the sun, the ruler of Tlapallan,
demanded his presence. But the real motive was that he had been
overcome by Tezcatlipoca, otherwise called Yoalliehecatl, the wind or
spirit of night, who had descended from heaven by a spider's web and
presented his rival with a draught pretended to confer immortality, but,
in fact, producing uncontrollable longing for home. For the wind and the
light both depart when the gloaming draws near, or when the clouds
spread their dark and shadowy webs along the mountains, and pour the
vivifying rain upon the fields.

In his other character, he was begot of the breath of Tonacateotl, god
of our flesh or subsistence,[182-1] or (according to Gomara) was the son
of Iztac Mixcoatl, the white cloud serpent, the spirit of the tornado.
Messenger of Tlaloc, god of rains, he was figuratively said to sweep the
road for him, since in that country violent winds are the precursors of
the wet seasons. Wherever he went all manner of singing birds bore him
company, emblems of the whistling breezes. When he finally disappeared
in the far east, he sent back four trusty youths who had ever shared his
fortunes, "incomparably swift and light of foot," with directions to
divide the earth between them and rule it till he should return and
resume his power. When he would promulg