One might be concerned that the nearly simultaneous publication of two books about the ubiquitous Mesoamerican god-hero Quetzalcoatl, also known as Plumed Serpent, would be redundant. Happily, apart from their common subject, The Myth of Quetzalcoatl and Legends of the Plumed Serpent could not be less similar. The first is a classic structural analysis of the numerous evolving manifestations of the mythical figure; the second is essentially a love story, that author’s attempt to organize and convey his sense of wonder at the kaleidoscope of exotic Mexican images and experiences.
For more than 5,000 years, despite a succession of more or less dramatic political transformations culminating in the 16th-century Spanish conquest, the figure of Quetzalcoatl has persisted in the mythology and imagery of Mesoamerican culture, maintaining a fundamental identity and presence even while changing in reflection of changes in the culture around him. The deity’s name, a combination of the Nahua words for “feather” and “serpent,” represents his status as a mediator of opposing metaphysical principles: heaven and earth, day and night, birth and death, stasis and change.
Representations of the mysterious figure appear in the earliest known Mesoamerican culture, the Olmec, and continue through numerous transformations. In ancient times, Quetzalcoatl was the creator god who set the great wheel of life in motion. In the classical period, the Plumed Serpent was primarily a fertility god associated with the germinal powers of the earth. Following the fall of the classical kingdoms, the figure took on the mantle of political and military power.
Florescano’s book is an analysis modeled on Joseph Campbell’s deterministic paradigm of the structure of myths. He begins with a survey of the various manifestations of the myth of Quetzalcoatl as revealed in texts and monuments from ancient times through Aztecs. He then discusses the most recent interpretations of the Mesoamerican cosmogony; next, he presents his own interpretation of the myth of Quetzalcoatl in light of these new discoveries. Finally, Florescano compares the symbolism and meanings of the Mesoamerican deity with its American, Mesopotamian, and Mediterranean equivalents, and concludes that “faced with the common mystery of death and the periodic resurrection of life in nature, human beings from different regions and cultures produce similar symbols.”
In contrast, Baldwin’s book is, in his own words, “a mosaic mural…composed of interlocking, contiguous bits and pieces” that comprise this pervasive and enduring cultural icon. Dissatisfied with the available guide-books and their inability to address the deeper meanings of the Mesoamerican culture. Baldwin eventually settled on the figure of Quetzalcoatl as a unifying metaphor for these disparate impressions. As a biographer, he sets out to trace the milestones of Quetzalcoatl’s “life” through the millennia and in the widely varying geographical locations where the god reigned, and through them to understand the mind of the peoples who created him. The illustrations and evocative photographs beautifully complement this highly personal account of the author’s fascination with this complex culture.
