On May 20th, over 460,000 people flocked to Mexico’s Mesoamerican sites to observe the spring equinox. Many expected to receive purifying charges of energy through solar and other cosmic means. It’s no surprise that the third largest pyramid in the world, Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Sun, received the most visitors at a count of 224,000 people which, as you might expect, raised concerns with the National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH).
Standing at the eastern edge of the Avenue of the Dead and at a height of 213 feet, the Pyramid of the Sun is the largest pyramid in Teotihuacan. (It’s just slightly smaller than Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza). However, that statistic might be deceiving. Its original height may have been considerably loftier were it not for errors made during the pyramid’s reconstruction during the first decade of the 20th century. Not only that, but the pyramid was most likely crowned by a temple of perishable materials, which would have added that much more to its size.
Regardless, the Pyramid of the Sun is a true wonder of the ancient world and a marvel of Teotihuacano engineering. The pyramid is oriented to the position of the Pleiades star cluster along the horizon during the equinoxes and it was also built over an underground passageway leading to a four-chambered cave system that had long been looted in antiquity.
Nobody knows for sure what the Pyramid of the Sun meant to its creators. The name itself comes from the Aztec interpretation as its true name had been lost to history long before they arrived on the scene. There is no doubt the grandeur of the pyramid struck wonder with the Teotihuacanos, the Aztecs, and every generation since. The mysterious Pyramid of the Sun continues to inspire people even today, as can be attested annually by the overwhelming crowds that arrive on their equinox pilgrimages.
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