Feathered Serpent (deity)

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The Feathered Serpent refers to prominent serpent deities throughout Mesoamerica. Thought to have originated during the times of the Olmec(1150-500 BC), as some of the earliest known depictions of the serpent god have appeared in their sculptures. There is no surviving account of Olmec religious belief, unlike the later Maya and Aztec. It is apparent however that the Olmec had significantly influenced later mesoamerican cultures as many of the later religions and mythologies are similar to apparent Olmec beliefs, based on archeological findings of various sculptures and jade carvings of the Olmec culture and later pre-Columbian accounts. The Olmecs however did not depict their serpent deity with feather or bird-like characteristics. It is believed that the serpent deity received its precious feathers from the people of Teotihuacan, as several representations exist of a "feathered" or "plumed" serpent. Like the Olmec however, the people of Teotihuacan left little account of their belief system.

In later traditions held throughout Mesoamerica, the feathered serpent was known as a bringer of knowledge, the inventor of books, and associated with the planet Venus (Although traditions vary from different cultures). Along with the feathered serpent deity, several other serpent gods existed in the pantheon of Mesoamerican gods with similar traits.